Song (“When Love comes singing…”)
The poem explores themes of unrequited love, joy, and heartbreak. The speaker reflects on the experience of witnessing a loved one find happiness with another. Despite the emotional pain, there is a sense of acceptance and understanding of the joy that love brings, even if it is not directed towards the speaker. In the first stanza, the speaker acknowledges the joy that love brings to the heart of another, recognizing that they will feel a sense of ecstasy from this happiness, even if it is not their own. The imagery of the sea symbolizes distance, yet the speaker's heart remains connected to the joy of the beloved. The second stanza deepens this connection, emphasizing that the speaker's heart will resonate with the happiness of the loved one, suggesting an empathetic bond that transcends physical separation. The heartbeat becomes a metaphor for shared emotional experiences, highlighting the intensity of the speaker's feelings. In the final stanza, the speaker confronts the bittersweet nature of love. As the beloved finds joy in another's embrace, the speaker expresses a mix of sorrow and acceptance. The act of rejoicing for the beloved's happiness is intertwined with personal heartbreak, illustrating the complexity of love where joy and pain coexist. Overall, the work captures the essence of selfless love, where the speaker prioritizes the happiness of the beloved over their own desires, ultimately leading to a poignant reflection on the nature of love and loss.
By Sara Teasdale · First published 1918 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Romanticism, Modernism · 112 words
First lines
When Love comes singing to his heart / That would not wake for me, / I think that I shall know his joy / By my own ecstasy.
And tho' the sea were all between, / The time their hands shall meet, / My heart will know his happiness, / So wildly it will beat.
And when he bends above her mouth, / Rejoicing for his sake, / My soul will sing a little song, / But oh, my heart will break.
Similar titles
- Roundel by Sara Teasdale
- The Kiss by Sara Teasdale
- A Ship Came Sailing by Sabine Baring Gould
- The Years by Sara Teasdale
- Pierrots Song by Sara Teasdale
- The Rose by Sara Teasdale
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The poem expresses personal emotions and thoughts, characteristic of lyric poetry.
- Romanticism — Themes of love, longing, and emotional intensity align with Romantic ideals.
- Modernism — The exploration of individual feelings and subjective experience reflects modernist tendencies.
- Narrative Poetry — The poem tells a story of love and emotional conflict, fitting the narrative poetry genre.
Tags
love · joy · ecstasy · heartbreak · longing · sorrow · happiness · desire · emotion · poetry · romance · yearning
What this Textopian page supports
Song (“When Love comes singing…”) is listed on Textopian as a poem by Sara Teasdale, dated 1918 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Sara Teasdale
- Date: 1918 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Romanticism, Modernism, Narrative Poetry, Confessional Poetry
- Length: 112 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Song (“When Love comes singing…”) by Sara Teasdale
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph