Love Poems - Folio Society
Metaphoric illustrations for a series of love poems, written by poets : Emily Dickinson, John Donne and Imtiaz Dharker.
‘The Good Morrow’- John Donne
‘The Good Morrow’ illustration displays a couple entering a ‘new world’ of which they have created for themselves. This entrance has been captured by the black hole, to represent the idea that they have left their ‘unawakened’ past. Moreover, the waves of the sea have been illustrated using hands reaching out for each other to represent the theme of togetherness and to highlight the fact that their ‘new world’ is only achievable because they have each other.
This is further emphasised by placing the characters on opposite ends, to balance the symmetry of the page and to also symbolise another key theme of balance. The only thing needed in their ‘new world’ is each other and their “little room”.
‘Wild Nights’- Emily Dickinson
To display the common themes within the ‘Wild Nights’ poem, I decided to illustrate the couple rowing within a compass. This is to remind the reader that the experience felt by the characters within the poem is just an imagined fantasy- an unrealistic situation. The cardinal directions represent the ongoing theme of guidance, with the combination of nature prints to represent the Garden of Eden.
The motion of rowing is a sensual movement, and so the paddle has also been illustrated using the shape of a heart, to symbolise the couples love for one another.
‘The Trick’- Imtiaz Dharker
‘The Trick’ is a poem about the speakers experience of only seeing her lover in her dreams.
Once again, the imagery of this illustration is to remind the reader that this experience is not real. This has been achieved by placing her lover on a large orange tree, with a “cast of glow” in the lovers face, as he always enters “the door of dreams, carrying oranges”.
The clouds have also been illustrated using only numbers to represent the “countless hours” that the speaker experiences; whether that be waiting for her lover to enter her dream, or the time spent when she is with him.
To further emphasise her desperation to see her lover in her dream, she is positioned on her bed in a lustful haste (in the dark) and within the shadow of the tree, as she is unable to reach out to him.
