Two Pesentations of Love in Maya Angelous Poems ‘A Kind...

These poems written by Maya Angelou both portray love in a very different way. The detrimental effects of love are shown in ‘A Kind of Love, Some Say’ and the empowering effects of love are shown in ‘Where We Belong, A Duet’. ‘A Kind of Love, Some Say’ shows that Love and relationships is what causes the struggle for identity as in the other poem being in love and in a relationship allows the persona to find their true identity. The poem ‘A kind of love some say’ is one of Mayas more emotional poems. The reader gets the feeling that the poet is discussing the pain that comes from an abusive relationship, both physically and mentally. She compares the differences between both physical and mental anguish, giving the impression that†¦show more content†¦This contrasts sharply with the poetic devices used to emphasise the extent of the violence on the women in ‘A kind of love some say’, ‘Hard impact. Then swollen lids’. This shows us the impact of the love and the relationship is weighing her down. Love here is shown as a burden, which needs to be thrown away, ‘Of lost romance, but hurt’. The first stanza in ‘Where we belong, A duet’ the persona describes the places in which to find love ‘In every town and village, In every city squares’. The last two lines ‘Hoping to find, someone to care’ show us that the person a didn’t actually find love there, this portrays a lonely image and puts the persona in a vulnerable position. As a reader we feel that the persona only wants someone to care and love her, no strings attached, ‘I don’t even remember their names, I was quick and breezy’ shows us this. Here love is shown as giving the persona fulfilment and confidence from the quick and easy relationships. The quotation ‘Now I am where I belong’ shows she is comforted and contented by her relationship. This contrasts sharply to the attitudes portrayed in ‘A kind of love some say’. The last stanza of the poem shows the persona talking about emotional pain, ‘Sadists will not learn that Love, by nature, exacts a pain, Unequalled on the rack. This shows us that the emotional pain of love can be worse than the actual physical pain described in the poem. This shows the