Sara Teasdale Sara Teasdale "The Kiss"
I hoped that he would love me,
And he has kissed me on my mouth,
But I am like a stricken bird
That cannot reach the south.
For though I know he loves me,
Tonight my heart is sad;
His kiss was not so wonderful
As all the dreams I had.
Title
The title of the poem is reflective of the major conflict that arises from a kiss. It is significant in that it is describing what the conflict has been caused by.
Speaker
The poem is written in first person. The person is describing her thoughts and feelings after she is kissed by the man of her dreams. The choice of voice is important because it reveals the inner and intimate thoughts of a woman that any reader, especially young women, should be able to identify with. If it had been written using any other voice, the words would not have been nearly as powerful or so full of emotion.
Setting
There is no tangible setting to this poem yet that makes it all the more powerful as it makes it timeless. The poem is more about the dreams a woman has of love and the realities that are exposed to them. This conflict can be identified with women in any century. The mood and atmosphere set by Sara Teasdale is one of shock and sadness as the woman's experience of being kissed brings her to the realization that her dreams of true love and the emotions she would feel are not the same as in reality. The kiss she receives from the man she loves does not meet the expectations of her dreams.
Structure
The poem is written in two four line stanzas with every other line indented. The second and fourth line of the first stanza rhyme and the second and fourth line in the second stanza rhyme. It may also be important that at the end of the first line in each stanza there is a repitition of "love me." The syllable pattern is identical in both stanzas where the number of syllables in each line are 7,6,8,6. The simplistic form of the poem reflects the relatively simple theme of the poem.
Speech Figures
The rhyming pattern is abcbaded. The only simile in the poem is: "But I am like a stricken bird/ That cannot reach the south." (Teasdale) This passage is describing the woman's feelings as she is suddenly shocked into the reality that she cannot attain her dreams. The kiss she receives from the man she loves is not as she had dreamt it would be. There is a mild personification in the passage: "Tonight my heart is sad". The heart is an organ and cannot feel emotions. However this is a common personification that people can identify with as they usually link emotions with the heart. The irony of this poem is that she had hoped for so long that the man would love her only to find out that he was not as wonderful as the dreams she had.
Sense to Sound
Words were chosen with care to fit the syllable and rhyming patterns as well as portray the powerful emotions that the woman was feeling. The diction is an almost relaxed formal style. This is because there is no use of contractions or slang yet the writing is easy and simplistic. This style is significant as it allows the reader to really identify with the words as they are so simple and yet so powerful.
Summary
This poem is most likely more memorable to women than to men as women are more likely to dream about love as young girls only to find that love is never as easy as it is in their dreams as children. The poem describes what a woman is feeling after being kissed by the man she had hoped for so long to love her only to find that his kiss was not as she had dreamt it to be. It captures the essence of a woman who is awoken to the reality of life which in this case is through the kiss and thus the title. The central idea of the poem is captured in the closing quote: "His kiss was not so wonderful/ As all the dreams I had." (Teasdale)
