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sSubject/Class Paper was submitted for  [AP English lit and comp]
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a[AP English part ? essay: Re: Law Like Love                    ]3 Letter
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I                                                    2 [ ]  4 [ ]
s                                                           5 [ ]English
SSchool/University/College/Institution [St. Joseph's Collegiate ][ENG] [X]
iCity & State (Province) of Inst.      [Buffalo, NY             ]History
OName of Teacher/Prof. submitted to    [Mr. Zabawa              ][HST] [ ]
nGrade Received (If Received Yet)                           [92 ]Science
 Date Paper was submitted (mm/dd/yy)   [            01/08/93    ][SCI] [ ]
FName of Author (Real or Alias)        [The Saint               ]Health &
oHigh School Avg./College GPA of Author                 [95.6   ]Sports
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m Edition Info [                                                ] -
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Paper 7: Law Like Love                    Due date: 01/08/93

     W. H. Auden, in his poem "Law like Love," portrays

'Law,' in lines 1-34, as an undefinable concept, one that

each person defines uniquely, with a definition of no true

depth.  Then in lines 35-60 he analyses the nature of Law and

he explains that despite Law's undefinable nature it is a

strong force in life, and thus like Love it is not well

understood but always a significant presence. This analysis

and portrayal of Law and the contrast between Law and Love is

done using stylistic elements such as diction.

     In lines 1-34 it is as if the question is asked, "what

is Law?" and a number of people answer, yet no one can truly

define it with any depth but all admit some relationship with

the Law and Auden attempts to point out this confusion and

ignorance about the Law. Firstly, the diction is quite

shallow in meaning, no words of great abstraction are used,

and the language used is very simple with almost no double

meanings.  In fact most of lines 1-34 are spent by the author

in describing what others think about Law and so no insight

is included. For example diction in a stanza such as this:

         Law, say the gardeners, is the sun,

         Law is the one

         All gardeners obey

         Tomorrow, yesterday, today.

cannot be interpreted as such because it appears to have no

hidden meanings in the diction, the diction used is very


simple and of no depth. Furthermore, the repeated use of the

phrase "Law is" in the lines causes a slight 'hammering'

effect and it suppresses any urge on the part of the reader

to consider his own definition of Law. This shows that the

poet is attempting to show only the various definitions that

others give for Law and does not yet want the reader to

consider for himself what the Law may be. Moreover, the poet

attempts to show that Law cannot be accurately or

intelligently defined by submitting the often meaningless and

repetitive definitions of such as the judge:

         Law is as you know I suppose,

         Law is but let me explain it once more,

         Law is The Law.

In this example definition the poet shows that even the judge

does not know what Law really is by making the judge's

definition 'go around in circles.' It is also notable that in

lines 1-34 the words 'I' or 'you' are never once mentioned

whereas in lines 35-60 they are mentioned in a significant

context. Thus lines 1-34 are written in quite an impersonal

and unemotional tone as can also be seen by the point of view

that is used which is always the third-person. In lines 1-34

the poet never relates the Law to himself, instead he only

submits what others "say" it is and this is a good reason why

those lines appear to be written in a detached and objective

manner. The combination of this detached manner with the

shallow diction and various confusing definitions presents

Law as a concept which no one really knows anything about,

yet many different types of people, gardeners to judges to

the "loud angry crowd," feel that they know what Law is and

how it affects them. In this way Auden points out the danger

of such an ambiguous creature which everyone relates to yet

know one truly knows.

     In lines 35-60 Auden takes a more personal perspective

through which he admits that although Law is almost

undefinable it is no doubt a great force in life and he

subsequently compares it to Love. Firstly, there is more

emotion in lines 35-60 than in 1-34 and the author writes

from a more personal perspective as can be seen by his use of

such phrases as "If we, dear, know we know no more."  It

appears that in these lines he no longer wishes to define Law

but wishes to admit that Law has a great affect on life and

in any case it exists. This admission comes in these lines

where the author says that although "we" do not know what Law

really is, "we" know it exists:

         If we, dear, know we know no more,

         Than they about the law,

         If I no more than you

         Know what we should and should not do

         Except that all agree

         Gladly or miserably

         That the law is

The author's attitude towards Law in lines 35-60 appears to

be one of awareness but not of a constant relationship with

it. For example the poet says that he cannot be suppressed

from slipping into an "unconcerned position" and this appears

to be a sign that the poet is aware of Law but does not wish

to assign it as much importance as the others did in lines 1-

34. Another example of this attitude is when he says, "Unlike

so many men, I cannot say Law is again." It appears that he

is fatigued from the discussion and no longer wishes to

discuss it. However, Auden decides at the end to compare Law

with Love and this is interestingly done in the last stanza.

In the "Like love..." lines at the end Auden points out

properties of Love which are similar to that of Law and it is

notable that if the word "love" is replaced in each of those

lines with "law" it would make just as much sense

idealogically as it does with "love."  For example, Auden

says "Like love we don't know where or why," if one were to

replace "love" with "law" it would mean the same about law,

that "we" do not know where law truly comes from or why it is

the way it is, as Auden establishes in lines 1-34, and this

is as love because we do not know where or why it occurs. It

appears that Auden, in lines 35-60, states to the reader that

even though no one really knows what Law is, everyone knows

it exists and it is thus like love.

     Finally, it should be said that in this poem Auden

explores the nature of Law and decides that it is like love

because it is little understood but highly important to many.

He portrays his feelings on Law using stylistic elements such

as diction and tone.
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