Extracted Parts:

When love beckons to you, follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.

Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred
feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that
knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not
all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

Think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
(Khalil Gibran “On love”)

Summary

The path of love is worth following, though sometimes it is hard and painful. Love strips
away protective emotional armor and leaves someone "naked," ready to be reshaped into a more
sacred being. It reveals a person's secret heart.

Love gives only of itself and takes only from itself. It cannot be possessed or controlled.
When someone loves, they must not hold back. They must allow the experience of love, with all
its joy and pain, to envelop them. Thus, they will learn the true meaning of ecstasy, gratitude,
and contentment.
Authorial Style

Khalil Gibran's writing style is poetic and esoteric in nature. His poems are highly vivid
with imagery and symbolism, giving his writings a Freudian quality that speaks to the
subconscious or primal state, within the reader. It explores many Christian themes and imagery.
Also, it is written in an archaic style as you can see in his poem. His choice of word will able you
to have dictionary on your side as you read his poem.

Analysis:

The poem consists of metaphors that compare love into something. It established the
transformative power of love. The statement “Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but
from itself" and "Love possesses naught nor does it seek to be possessed” are particularly
significant. Love in its purest form gives only itself because there is no higher gift to give. No
material offering can compare. In giving, it takes nothing in return but the love freely given by
the beloved. Therefore, love will not seek to possess or solicit to be possessed. It is not a
possession. It allows freedom and requires freedom in return, for love thrives in freedom.

Graphological Features

The poem is divided into 5 stanzas. The first and fourth stanzas contain 6 lines. The
second stanza contains 10 lines. The third stanza composed only of 2 lines. The last or fifth
stanza comprises of 11 lines. Both comma and full stop is used almost in equal proportion in the
poem. There is also a used of semi-colon in lines 15, 23, 30, 32, 33, and 34. And, the use of
apostrophe in lines 16, 18, 19, 20, and 33.

Phonological Features

The poem has rhyme on lines 1, 3, and 5. But, the rest of the lines don’t have any
rhythmic patterns. This probably because these type of poem is prose poetry. It is a hybrid genre
that shows attributes of both prose and poetry. It may be distinguishable from the micro-story.

The use of repetition in the word “love” is another noticeable phonological feature which
assists in placing emphasis on the main theme of the poem which is love.
Lexico-Semantic Features

The poem uses literary devices and imagery to help the readers to understand better what
does the author is trying to say and perceive. The literary devices that the author uses are
allegory, allusion, analogy, and personification. While the type of imagery that the author used is
organic imagery.

Allegory- when Gibran compared love to sheaves of corn he used this literary device.

“So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.” Line 10
Allusion- Gibran uses an allusion when referring to love as a "he" at the beginning of the
excerpt.

“And when he speaks to you believe in him,” Line 5

“Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.” Line 8
Analogy- this device is used when Gibran establishes a relationship between two
concepts that have similarities.

“Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.”
Line 6
Personification- Gibran uses this when he refers to love doing things that a human would
do.

“When love beckons to you, follow him” Line 1

“For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you” Line 7

Organic imagery- as the author describes internal sensation about the speaker of the
poem feels. This feeling is love, as what the poem is all about.
Syntactic Features

The type of sentences that are commonly used in the poem is declarative and imperative
sentences. The use of these types of sentences harmonizes the tone and the mood of the poetic
persona.

The pseudo declarative sentences such as the following:

“Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.” Line11

“He threshes you to make you naked.” Line 12
“For love is sufficient unto love.” Line 24
“Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.” Line 26

The pseudo imperative sentences such as the following:

“When love beckons to you, follow him” Line 1

“And when his wings enfold you yield to him” Line 3
“And when he speaks to you believe in him” Line 5

Foregrounded elements
The foregrounding elements used in poem is parallelism a repetition of
sound, structure, word or idea.
“And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s
sacred feast.” Line 17
“Love possesses not nor would it be possessed” Line 31
“Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.” Line 30

The expressive means that are shown in the poem are the following:
“For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.”
“But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,”
“And to bleed willingly and joyfully.”
 “To return home at eventide with gratitude;”

Stylistic Devices that are shown in the poem are the following:
“Think not”
“not nor”
Conclusion
The poem “On Love” by Khalil Gibran is indeed an amazing poem that tackles about
love. The author’s writing style is simple yet needs you to have dictionary besides you because
there are some words that would be new to you and also the author’s used of archaic word. The
used of imagery plays important role in the poem as it drags you to the author’s feelings towards
the poem. It creates internal sensation and burst out emotions. The used of literary devices as
well add spice to the poem. The syntax is simple as it doesn’t have a rhythmic pattern. Though,
some sentences in the lines have long sentences, it still made the poem expressive. Lastly, the
poem talks about the power of love. Love takes nothing in return but to love freely. In which, we
must never limit ourselves to love because pain is part of loving.