Two Poetic Legends on Love

W.B. Yeats and Khalil Gibron have each written poems dealing with love and its true nature. The two poets have different takes on what love does and its ultimate effect on the people it takes on and it is shown throughout their work. The “Crazy Jane” series of poems by Yeats and “The Prophet” by Gibron are their most known works on the subject. They discuss the true nature of love and each has a different perspective. Love can be difficult and great, but never solely one or the other. Whether or not it goes either way isn’t really up to the person but more often, fate can decide the outcome.
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Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ William Butler Yeats’ describes love as a an emotional feature which leads to evil things taking place. In the poem, “Crazy Jane And The Bishop,” Jane’s life is turned upside down because her true love Jack, is banished by the Bishop. The Bishop is attracted to Jane and uses his power to get Jack out of the picture, even though she has no affection towards him. In this sense, Jane’s love just turned into suffering since she couldn’t be with the man she loved. She holds the Bishop in such disgust, she says, “That I, midnight upon the stroke, may call down curses on his head, because of my dear Jack that’s dead.”

Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½In Yeats’ “Crazy Jane Grown Old Looks At The Dancers,” an aged version of Jane watches as two young people dance. Throughout the poem, she compares the dancing two the two people fighting. At one point she says, “Love is like a lion’s tooth.” That line sums up Yeats’ belief in what love is. It can hurt anyone in its path, much like a sharp lion’s tooth is capable of. Though the two young people may be in love, Jane interprets that, not as love but as hatred between the two. Terms like “danced heart’s btruth”, “leave him to his fate” and “they had all that had their hate” show the more depressing side of love. Even though the two people may not be at odds now, Jane hints that their future will not be as smooth.
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Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Khalil Gibron’s work about love in “The Prophet” describes the emotion as more of an equally positive and negative feeling. Unlike Yeats’, Gibron notes that for all the good things love can do or bring, a bad thing is just as possible. One line, “Even as he ascends…and caresses your tenderest branches…so shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth,” shows just how two-faced love can be. While he can make you feel safe and at peace with everything else, he can just as quickly turn your life into hell.
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Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ One of the main points Gibron makes is that people should respect love and understand that it can be a very selfish emotion. “Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself” says Gibron, which also goes with the line “If you seek only love’s peace and pleasure, then it’s better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s floor.” For those people who believe that only good can come of love and possibly even take if for granted, they can’t win. But even with that, love can be a positive feeling. Gibron makes it seem as if love is an entity, not just a mental state but like it’s an actual being. This is far different from Yeats’ take on love as he treats it as if it’s nothing but a jinx for bad luck and eventual misfortune.

Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ Both poets, William Butler Yeats and Khalil Gibron feel love can be hectic and cause loads of grief. But the difference is that Gibron still believes that love can be a great thing and as long as people understand that they have a fifty-fifty chance of having success, then nothing should be taken as a surprise. In Yeats’ poetry, he can be quite depressing in telling what people can expect back from experiencing love. The two different interpretations were probably created from each’s personal experiences throughout their lives, which influenced their poetry.