**Plot / Overall Description**
*Love s Cross?Currents* (often titled ** Lesbia Brandon **) is a lyrical poem in which the speaker addresses a beloved woman, expressing an intense, almost obsessive love that transcends conventional Victorian morality. The poem unfolds as a series of passionate declarations and vivid sensual images:
1. **Opening Invocation** The speaker summons the beloved, calling her Lesbia, and declares that his heart is forever bound to her.
2. **Contrasting Currents** He likens their love to intersecting rivers, suggesting that their emotions flow together despite societal constraints and personal doubts.
3. **Sensory Imagery** The poem is rich with visual and tactile details soft skin, fragrant breath, the glow of moonlight creating an intimate atmosphere.
4. **Yearning & Conflict** The speaker confesses both the joy of their union and the pain of secrecy, hinting at the tension between public decorum and private desire.
5. **Resolution of Devotion** The closing lines reaffirm an unwavering commitment, promising that the speaker s love will endure beyond any external opposition.
Although brief and non?narrative, the poem s plot is essentially the emotional journey of a lover proclaiming and defending a same?sex affection against the backdrop of Victorian restraint.
*Love s Cross?Currents* (often titled ** Lesbia Brandon **) is a lyrical poem in which the speaker addresses a beloved woman, expressing an intense, almost obsessive love that transcends conventional Victorian morality. The poem unfolds as a series of passionate declarations and vivid sensual images:
1. **Opening Invocation** The speaker summons the beloved, calling her Lesbia, and declares that his heart is forever bound to her.
2. **Contrasting Currents** He likens their love to intersecting rivers, suggesting that their emotions flow together despite societal constraints and personal doubts.
3. **Sensory Imagery** The poem is rich with visual and tactile details soft skin, fragrant breath, the glow of moonlight creating an intimate atmosphere.
4. **Yearning & Conflict** The speaker confesses both the joy of their union and the pain of secrecy, hinting at the tension between public decorum and private desire.
5. **Resolution of Devotion** The closing lines reaffirm an unwavering commitment, promising that the speaker s love will endure beyond any external opposition.
Although brief and non?narrative, the poem s plot is essentially the emotional journey of a lover proclaiming and defending a same?sex affection against the backdrop of Victorian restraint.
Details
| Title: The Novels Of A. C. Swinburne: Love’s Cross Currents: Lesbia Brandon |
| Author: Algernon Charles Swinburne |
| ISBN: 9780310000000 |
| Subtitle: |
| Genre: Poetry; Romance; Vintage; Literary Collection (Single Author) |
| Subject(s): |
| Publication Date: 28491 |
| Original Publication Date: |
| Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group |
| Language: English |
| Format: Hardcover |
| Pages: 377 |
| Rating: |
| Notes: |
| Book_ID: 102874 |