Love and suffering go hand in hand together in "The Broken Heart." It's kind of like love is the chocolate and suffering is the peanut butter, and the speaker of the poem is taking a big bite out of the worst candy bar…ever. We don't get any of the singing birds or stirring violins that typically go with being in love. Instead, we get the devastating ammunition and killer fish that go, for our speaker, with not being in love. In other words, our speaker is suffering. Lucky for us, though, he's not suffering in silence, and he's doesn't want to suffer alone. This poem is designed to make you feel his excruciating pain. Buckle up.
Questions About Suffering
- How realistic is the speaker's suffering in this poem? Do you have to have experienced heartbreak to identify with him? Why do you think so?
- Of the various metaphors for suffering used in this poem, which is the most effective to you and why?
- It's been said that suffering yields wisdom, so what do you think the speaker has learned by the end of this poem? How can you tell?
- Can you ever truly love without suffering? Why or why not? How would the speaker answer this question?
Chew on This
The speaker's suffering is really the star of the show here. He's way more interested in describing emotional pain than he is describing love.
Unless you've been dumped, you'll never understand the speaker's point of view.