In lines 60-64 and 29-30,
respectively, Lorenzo and Isabella declare their undying love for each other
and admit that each cannot live without the other. Consequently, the two lovers
put each other at terrible risk because the death of one would result in the
death of the other. The speaker warns of this high risk love when he states
“Even bees…/ [know] there is richest juice in poison-flowers (103-104). The
“richest juice in the poison-flowers” symbolizes the mortal risk of the
intense, eternal love between Lorenzo and Isabella and foreshadows the terrible
consequences of loving so deeply. Because “even bees” understand the danger,
Lorenzo and Isabella knowingly put each other at risk for the sake of love.
As the “ancient harps” state on
line 397, “Love never dies, but lives, immortal.” However, eternal love itself
is not enough because Isabella cannot live without her beloved Lorenzo. The
“basil,” in lines 425-432, which flourishes because “she ever fed it with thin
tears” (425), embodies her love for Lorenzo, but the “basil” cannot embody
Lorenzo himself. Consequently, “[Isabella] withers, like a palm…/ and [dies]
forlorn” (447, 497). In illustrating the plight of Isabella and Lorenzo, the
speaker shows that risking life on love is foolish because love alone cannot
sustain life and, while love can be eternal, life is finite and easily
terminated. This begs the question: should we not love to the fullest for fear
of committing a mortal error? Is it wise to love at all?
Love does play a very dangerous role in Isabella. While it does lead to the eventual death of Lorenzo and Isabella I would still argue that their lives were enriched by their love and this made their dying in love worthwhile. I would also argue that neither Lorenzo nor Isabella see death as the end of their love, as lines 398-400 argue, “If Love impersonate was ever dead, pale Isabella kiss’d it, and low moan’d. ‘Twas love; cold,-- dead indeed, but not dethroned” (398-400). These lines argue that love survives death, and so after death lovers can continue to love. Isabella believes that she and Lorenzo will be united in death. When she receives word of his death she promises “Sweet Spirit, thou hast school’d my infancy: I’ll visit thee for this, and kiss thine eyes, and greet thee morn and even in the skies” (334-336). While she is heartbroken that her love is gone, she still promises to love him in the next life.
ReplyDeleteIn a more direct response to your question, I think it is still possible to try to love to the fullest. Isabella’s brothers still loved her, but their love was tempered by jealousy and disdain for Lorenzo. While not positive attributes of a loving relationship these thoughts kept the two brothers grounded in something separate from their love, and thus able to survive. Keats seems to argue that not many people will find the sort of perfect unblemished love that Lorenzo and Isabella find, and thus with a less ideal love they will have something to hold onto that gives life sustenance besides the love. Love is certainly a tricky topic in this poem; it is something that is at the same time utterly perfect and ultimately deadly, which makes for a very dangerous combination.
Isabella and Lorenzo do indeed "risk life on love", but this phrasing implies that the two had a choice-- that they made a conscious decision to love each other although it may have lead to their ultimate demises. This, however, doesn't seem to be the case. Even before they speak, the two are already in love: it would have taken some real objective foresight for either party to see that their attraction may ultimately be fatal, especially since Isabella presumably didn't know that her brothers would kill Lorenzo. So, falling in love was not a choice, it was as uncontrollable as the word "falling" implies.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your overarching question, then, as to whether or not it is "wise" to love-- it doesn't seem like one could help it either way. I don't imagine Isabella could have chosen not to love Lorenzo even if she had the capability to objectively see their future. On a more universal note, as to whether we "should not love to the fullest for fear of committing a mortal error": if you have brothers like Isabella's, perhaps you should be concerned. Otherwise, I say go for it. It's a rare person who would chop of their dead lover's head and plant basil over it. Considering her mental state, Isabella seems like she was doomed to an untimely end from the very beginning.
I'm glad you brought up the theme of immortality that this poem features, as it opens up a number of other questions and comparisons. I think it's interesting to note that the romance between Isabella and Lorenzo seems to be quite brief, as they spend "a who long month of May in this sad plight" (25). This brevity stands in stark contrast with both the descriptions of their (seemingly) immortal love and the seasonal imagery that permeates the poem. It's worth noting that while the poem opens in the spring, its imagery has moved on to winter by the closing stanzas, as evidence by the line "Let not quick Winter chill its dying hour!" (450). The physical aspect of their relationship is unable outlast even the passing of the seasons.
ReplyDeleteThinking about the passage of time and immortality inevitably brings me back to Diderot's "fallacy of the ephemeral"- how might Diderot have responded to the words of the "ancient harps"? Can the readers of the poem or the characters within it truly comprehend the concept of immortal love? Does Keats' portrayal of Isabella and Lorenzo's romance fall victim to this fallacy, or can the poem act as a commentary on it instead?