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
- Eros (sexual passion)
- Philia (deep friendship)
- Ludus (playful love)
- Agape (love for everyone)
- Pragma (longstanding love)
- Philautia (love of the self)
- Storge (family love)
- Mania (obsessive love)
- 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.”