"Give me a kiss, and to that kiss a score; Then to that twenty, add a hundred more: A thousand to that hundred: so kiss on, To make that thousand up a million. Treble that million, and when that is done, Let's kiss afresh, as when we first begun"
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Robert Herrick's poem vividly illustrates the boundless and limitless nature of love and love through the metaphor of kisses, used here as a measurable step of intimacy and connection. The speaker starts by asking for a kiss, which forms the structure of the romantic exchange. This basic interaction rapidly escalates in magnitude and strength, as the speaker requests a rating, or twenty kisses, to be contributed to the preliminary one. The progression continues with the addition of a hundred more, recommending an ever-deepening level of love.
As the speaker's needs increase to a thousand, and then to a million, the focus shifts from mere numbers to the limitless potential of love. Herrick utilizes the images of increasing kisses to convey an eternal abundance, recommending that love, like numbers, is endless and can continue to grow beyond conventional limitations. This continuous reproduction underscores the idea that real love is expansive and limitless.
By using this progression, Herrick poetically captures the intoxicating, overwhelming feeling of remaining in love, where borders blur and rational computations no longer use. The notion of "trebling that million" further highlights the belief that like can and should defy boundaries, growing exponentially and transcending the regular.
The poem culminates in a renewal of love with the line "Let's kiss afresh, as when we first started", which represents a cyclical nature of love. Regardless of the large variety of kisses counted, the speaker recommends that each kiss is as fresh and passionate as the really initially, highlighting the continuous novelty and renewal fundamental in real psychological bonds.
Overall, Herrick's poem is an event of love's limitless capacity, magnificently conveying how love constantly revitalizes and broadens, defying the restrictions of time and number. It invites readers to acknowledge love's potential to renew and grow definitely, capturing the romantic ideal that each moment together is as intense and meaningful as the first.
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