In "The Broken Heart" we see a heart get devoured and destroyed—good times. That's the price of being in love, though, at least according to the poem's speaker. The entire poem is a treatise on what it's like to be in love, or at least to experience love that—for one reason or another—goes unfulfilled. In a nutshell? This is not a fun experience. So, try to avoid it if you can.
Spoiler alert: you can't.
The poem is really speaking to all of us here, those of us who have known, or who will know, how totally devastating it can be to experience a love gone bad. Consider this a blues song—just, you know, three hundred years ahead of its time.
Questions About Love
- Based on this poem, what do you think the speaker's previous experiences with love were? How can you tell?
- Does the speaker see any redeeming qualities to being in love? How do you know?
- Do you believe the speaker's final claim that he'll never be able to love again? Why or why not?
- If this speaker had to give advice to a person falling in love for the first time, what do you think it would be? What parts of the poem support your answer?
Chew on This
Melodrama much? This poem is a classic rant from someone who is experiencing heartbreak for the first time. Though he doesn't realize it yet, the speaker will soon get over it and learn to love again.
The speaker hits the nail on the head. Having your heart broken does diminish your capacity to love again. Little by little, losing love takes a toll on our ability to experience it in the future.