“Symptoms of Love” by

Robert Graves

A Presentation by

Sarah Thrower

“Symptoms of Love” Love is a universal migraine, A bright stain on the vision Blotting out reason.

Symptoms of true love Are leanness, jealously, Laggard dawns;

Are omens and nightmares— Listening for a knock, Waiting for a sign:

For a touch of her fingers In a darkened room, For a searching look.

Take courage, lover! Could you endure such pain At any hand but hers?

Symptoms of Love:First Impressions

This poem is typically thought of as a negative poem.

From the very beginning of the poem the narrator never leaves the reader in doubt of his contempt for love.

As the poem progresses, it seems as if the narrator is in a perpetual state of sullenness.

Symptoms of Love:Vocabulary Indicators

The narrator uses many negative words as indicators of his contempt for true love when he describes love as a “universal migraine” (1) and a “stain” (1). The narrator also describes signs of love as “omens” (7) and “nightmares” (7).

Symptoms of Love:Expectations

As a result of the overall negative diction that the narrator uses to describe true love, the reader can only assume that he does not expect anything good to come from a romantic attachment.

Symptoms of Love: A Turning Point

The last stanza completely turns the meaning of the poem around as it reads:

“Take courage, lover!

Could you endure such pain At any hand but hers?” (13-15)

Notice that the poem ends on an optimistic note with obvious encouragement in line 13. Here narrator implies that the suffering one endures while in love is worth it, for the right person at least.

Symptoms of Love: The Meaning Of It All

After one reads the poem thoroughly, it seems the narrator implies that ultimately love inflicts pain, and in order for one to endure such a hardship they must have an addictive or fanatic personality.

It is also obvious that the narrator wishes to convey his opinion that true love makes you blind, unhealthy, and anxious. Though in the end, one may endure the sufferings of love for the right person.

Symptoms of Love: One Last Note

In the end, I think the narrator would agree with me when I say that this poem can be summed up by the immortal words of Robert Palmer:

“Might as well face it, you’re addicted to

love.”

Acknowledgements

Graves, Robert. “Symptoms of Love”. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 5th ed. Robert DiYanni. Boston; McGraw Hill, 2002. 807.

Palmer, Robert. “Addicted to Love.” Riptide. Polygram Records, 1985.

Romeo & Juliet image courtesy of: Virtual Love Cards (Image URL)