755.1863.Alter! When the Hills do –

ED’s poem:

Alter! When the Hills do –
Falter! When the Sun
Question if His Glory
Be the Perfect One –

Surfeit! When the Daffodil
Doth of the Dew –
Even as Herself – Sir –
I will – Of You –

An interpretation:

Alter! My love for you will alter when the hills do –
Falter! When the Sun
Questions whether His Glory
Is perfect –

I tire of you? When the Daffodil
Tires of Dew –
When she does – Sir –
I will of you –

It’s impossible to know who “Sir” is, Sue or Wadsworth or both. ED loved them both, unrequited.

A simple switch of “Sir” (Line 7) to “Sue” would suggest a lost Variant B sent to Sue, which certainly seems possible if we assume Austin burned it.

A simple switch of “the Sun” (Line 2) to “Wadsworth”, and the poem becomes sarcastic mania (Greek definition).

The 8 different types of love explained
Emily Gulla   –  Cosmopolitan – Updated: 24 May 2024

  1. Eros (sexual passion)
  2. Philia (deep friendship)
  3. Ludus (playful love)
  4. Agape (love for everyone)
  5. Pragma (longstanding love)
  6. Philautia (love of the self)
  7. Storge (family love)
  8. Mania (obsessive love)

 

  1. Mania (obsessive love)
    https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/love-sex/relationships/a34896557/types-of-love/

“Mania can be a a jealous and obsessive kind of love, . . . . . It often involves feelings of codependency, or the feeling that another person will heal and complete you.”

“However, we would now consider these behaviors to be symptoms of an unhealthy or a toxic relationship, rather than being a positive kind of love.”

 

 

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