1. Love After Love Explore the poems meanings Explore the poems meanings Examine the language used by Walcott to express his ideas Examine the language used by Walcott to express his ideas

2. Whats the poem about? This poem is about self-discovery. This poem is about self-discovery. Walcott suggests that we spend years assuming an identity, but eventually discover who we really are Walcott suggests that we spend years assuming an identity, but eventually discover who we really are This is like two different people meeting and making friends and sharing a meal together This is like two different people meeting and making friends and sharing a meal together

3. Christian Imagery. Is this positive This is impossible. So what could it mean? The poem uses a darker tone. Why? This may mean the narrator is entering a new life. Or can you see other meanings? The tone in the first verse seems joyful What could this mean? Love After Love The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the other's welcome, And say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you All your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, The photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life.

4. The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome, And say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. Prediction for the future: positive outlook Walcott talks of discovering yourself, understanding yourself Written in the second person. Why? Why have you become a stranger to yourself? Mostly this poem is iambic which mirrors English speech patterns and gives this poem a conversational tone

5. Why have you become a stranger to yourself? We spend our lives accommodating others and thus our true self becomes a stranger. Could the poem be suggesting that this is a bad thing but one from which we will recover? We have ignored ourselves in order to accommodate a lover/partner but this partner could never know us as well as this stranger will. Pick out quotations that support both views. Are there any that disprove either view? Are there any other interpretations?

6. The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome, And say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. This is a time for calm and reflection, at what stage of life might this be? If this is old age/near death, who else could the stranger be?

7. The time will come when, with elation, you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror, and each will smile at the other's welcome, And say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was yourself. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. Does this poem have a hidden reproachful message? Imagine the poem is post-death; what does that do to the meaning? You come to know yourself again and are pleased Religious feast with a stranger who loves you You have ignored this stranger in favour of wordly things Remove the false image of yourself from the mirror; see the truth Perhaps we ignore God and focus on ourselves and our lives. Could Walcott be suggesting we shouldnt or that it just doesnt matter?

8. Remember: Poems can and SHOULD be interpreted in different ways Poems can and SHOULD be interpreted in different ways Love After Love is generally accepted as being a happy, positive poem but, as weve seen, it can be viewed in other ways Love After Love is generally accepted as being a happy, positive poem but, as weve seen, it can be viewed in other ways Use phrases like: Use phrases like: …could suggest… …could suggest… …may be understood as… …may be understood as… …may be…but equally, could also be… …may be…but equally, could also be…

9. Use your notes and answer the following in full sentences, using quotations when appropriate What do you think this poem means? Why does the poet imagine someone as being like two different people at the same time? How important is it for us to recognize what we are really like and accept ourselves for this? Why is the poem written to you rather than about me? Is the poet giving advice to everyone? Why does the poem use images of feasting?

10. Other Cultures? Walcott is West Indian with a strong Methodist upbringing Walcott is West Indian with a strong Methodist upbringing This poem sees him using Christian religious imagery in a positive, constructive manner This poem sees him using Christian religious imagery in a positive, constructive manner Are there any other poems in the cluster which use religious imagery? Are there any other poems in the cluster which use religious imagery?