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Szymborska Nobel Prize Laureate Wislawa Term Paper

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Such selectivity in romance is an outrage against justice, disrupting "painstakingly erected principles," and casting out morality (lines 11-13). Sarcasm oozes from these lines, for no one could possibly claim that love is immoral without joking or being completely insane. The poet's intent is not to be literal but to underscore the pain of loneliness, of being excluded from that rare "light that descends from nowhere." The rarity of true love is another main theme of Szymborska's poem. If everyone would enjoy love's fruits then the narrator might not be as perturbed. However, most people do not experience the sublime joy that lovers do. The most sardonic stanza in "True Love" is the fourth. Szymborska thickly spreads her verse with sarcastic lines like "It's hard even to guess how far things might go / if people start to follow their example." (lines 22-23). The most ironic line of the poem is line 24, when the narrator asks, "What could religion and poetry count on?" Self-referencing her own craft, Szymborska suggests that poetry depends on pain. If everyone fell in love forever, there would be no need for religious quests or for poetic...

Her craft is fueled by the fact that love is a rare gem. Loneliness and the lack of true love inspire spiritual and artistic fervor.
On the surface, Szymborska's poem lambastes romance. The poem reminds me of romantic comedies that show montages of couples sitting on park benches or embracing by the beach while the protagonist mourns the break up of a relationship. The sickening feeling people get when they watch two people madly in love is the essence of Szymborska's poem. She understands the paradox of despising lovers while longing for true love more than anything else. Ironically, Szymborska's words have the opposite effect of their literal meaning: in disparaging love the poet celebrates it. Complaining about romance as fervently as she does in "True Love" makes readers think about relationships with even more intensity than they would after watching a Hugh Grant movie.

Works Cited

The Nobel Foundation. "Biography: Wislawa Szymborska." Retrieved 20 May, 2007 at http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996/szymborska-bio.html

Szymborska, Wislawa. "True Love."

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Works Cited

The Nobel Foundation. "Biography: Wislawa Szymborska." Retrieved 20 May, 2007 at http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1996/szymborska-bio.html

Szymborska, Wislawa. "True Love."
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