"True Love" By Wislawa Szymborska

“True Love” by Wislawa Szymborska is a warm, tender and compassionate poem, in which the narrator is mocking those who do not believe in true love.  She speaks for all of those out there who do not exactly know what true love is by asking the question, “True love, is it normal, is it serious, is it practical?” (Szymborska, 1-2).  People do not believe in true love for the certain fact they have never experienced it.  “What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own?” (Szymborska, 3-4).  People do not want to look at the happiness and laughter between two people who share a mutual bond for one another simply because they have not found it for themselves.  I believe Szymborska is trying to persuade her readers to try to look at the positivity in life and realize that being in love is one of the most beautiful things one can encounter.  Just because love has not made its way in their life, does not mean they will never experience it.  It is their faith in love that will result in happiness.

            I feel like this poem is repetitive in the sense that from many people’s perspectives, true love just does not exist.  Many people dread the holiday which comes every year on February 14^th.  How many of you actually had a date on Valentine’s Day?  I’m sure those who have, were experiencing some sort of happiness and joy as they were getting ready and trying to impress the one they admired.  Those who did not have a date were probably sitting at home watching television with an emptiness feeling in their stomach knowing many people were out celebrating.  I think those who actually put the holiday down are having an envious feeling that other people are happy and have something to do on that day.  Szymborska points out the jealousy these people have towards those who are happy.  “Listen to them laughing – it’s an insult” (Szymborska, 17).  Why would one not want to see another happy?  Afterall, happiness makes the world a better place. 

            I think this poem is one of my favorite poems because it is a repetitive form of mockery of those who do not believe in true love, and I used to be one of those people.  She teaches me a lesson by convincing me of acting so silly at one point in my life when all of my friends were getting boyfriends except for me.  Throughout the poem, she builds on these dishonorable feelings humans have building up inside.  The poem is very easy to comprehend because the words display a simple structure.  Szymborska makes her point very clear and it is obvious that she is a strong believer in true love.  She wants the people who do not believe to quit raining on other people’s sunshine just because they have not experienced this greatest gift of all.

            The irony sets in towards the end of the poem when she says, “Let the people who never find true love keep saying that there’s no such thing” (Szymborska, 34-33).  At this point, I come to the conclusion the narrator already found her true love and she will continue to be in love even with all of the negative emotions of people surrounding her.  If one does not believe in love, that is fine, but in order to not be depressed, it is important to realize true love does exist.  Szymborska challenges us to think about the very last line, “Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die” (Szumborska, 35).  If these people would turn their thoughts around and have faith in love, then life would be so much more wonderful.  “So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love, but the best one of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).  The Bible says it best!