Old Love

From a formal point of view, “Old Love” contains elements of two different poetic genres: the dialogue poem and the persona poem. In a dialogue poem, there are two speakers who talk to each other, often holding contrasting views on a specific topic. The whole poem might consist of their words only, like in a dramatic dialogue, or there might be some surrounding narration or description from a neutral perspective. A persona poem typically consists of the words or thoughts of one specific character (or persona) who is distinctly different from the author. That persona’s perspective does not necessarily reflect the author’s point of view. In its purest form, such a poem creates an individualized persona, a single character with idiosyncratic psychology and motivation.

“Old Love” is not quite a dialogue poem or a persona poem. Although it contains two distinct characters, only the uncle’s words are presented as direct speech. The niece or nephew watches and listens silently, not engaging in a dialogue, yet their reaction to the uncle’s words is clearly conveyed (Lines 7-10) so that they are not merely a passive observer either.