Connections Accros Texts Flashcards
(10 cards)
(Theme):
💘 Enduring / Spiritual Love
(Analysis):
In Jane Eyre, love is presented as deeply spiritual and unwavering—Jane and Rochester reunite despite blindness, trauma, and time apart. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 mirrors this ideal of love as “an ever-fixed mark,” constant and eternal. Byron’s focus on inner beauty resonates with Rochester’s love for Jane, based on her mind and soul, not appearance.
Sonnet 116 – Shakespeare
She Walks in Beauty – Byron
Poems:
(Theme):
💔 Forbidden / Destructive Love
(Analysis):
Rochester’s entrapment in a loveless marriage and the resulting chaos reflect the destructive consequences of unregulated passion—like the knight in Keats’ poem, left desolate by a femme fatale. Blake critiques societal repression of love, much like how Victorian law prevents Jane and Rochester from marrying. Love becomes both intoxicating and damaging.
La Belle Dame Sans Merci – Keats
The Garden of Love – Blake
Poems
(Theme):
🔥 Passion vs Morality
(Analysis):
Marvell promotes urgent, sensual love, whereas Jane consistently prioritises morality and conscience. She refuses to become Rochester’s mistress, despite her desire for him. Her integrity contrasts with the persuasive male speakers, showing love as a moral decision, not just an emotional or physical one.
To His Coy Mistress – Marvell
Poems
(Theme):
👰 Marriage and Social Expectation
(Analysis):
Hardy’s speaker highlights the social stigma around female sexuality and marriage—echoed in Jane’s refusal to be “ruined” like Bertha. Burns presents a tender parting caused by social divisions, similar to Jane and Rochester’s separation. Both texts show how love is shaped—and often thwarted—by societal forces.
The Ruined Maid – Hardy
Ae Fond Kiss – Burns
Poems
Theme
🕊 Female Autonomy in Love
(Analysis):
Jane refuses to be an object of male desire or control. While Lovelace and Marvell portray women as passive recipients of male pleasure, Jane asserts her independence and moral agency. She rejects Rochester’s proposal when it would strip her of dignity, contrasting sharply with the male entitlement in the poems.
The Scrutiny – Lovelace
To His Coy Mistress – Marvell
Poems
(Theme):
🧠 Unrequited / Repressed Desire
Non Sum Qualis… – Dowson
Who So List to Hount – Wyatt
(Analysis):
Jane’s repression of her feelings for Rochester during his marriage, and St. John’s rejection of emotional connection, parallel the emotional agony in both poems. Dowson’s speaker clings to a lost love, as Rochester does with Jane. Wyatt’s sense of unattainable love reflects Jane’s refusal of an immoral relationship, even when it breaks her heart.
Poems
(Theme):
⚖️ Power and Inequality in Love
The Flea – Donne
The Scrutiny – Lovelace
(Analysis):
Jane fights for equality in love—refusing to be “beneath” Rochester despite class and gender differences. Donne and Lovelace show manipulative male voices exploiting love or lust. Jane’s rejection of these dynamics positions her as a proto-feminist figure demanding mutual respect in relationships.
Poems
(Theme):
🌹 Idealised vs Realistic Love
She Walks in Beauty – Byron
Sonnet 116 – Shakespeare
(Analysis):
Jane Eyre blends romantic ideals with harsh reality. Rochester is flawed, and Jane knows love is not perfect—it must be just and equal. Byron’s idealised beauty contrasts with Jane’s moral and emotional strength. Shakespeare’s sonnet praises steadfast love, which only emerges in Jane Eyre once moral obstacles are overcome.
Poems
(Theme):
🏛 Love and Religion / Duty
The Garden of Love – Blake
To His Coy Mistress – Marvell
(Analysis):
St. John urges Jane to marry out of religious duty, not love—just as Blake critiques how religion can stifle natural affection. Marvell’s pressure to ignore time and duty contrasts with Jane’s prioritisation of spiritual and moral integrity, even when love is at stake.
Poems
(Theme):
🫂 Emotional Honesty and Vulnerability in Love
Ae Fond Kiss – Burns
Non Sum Qualis… – Dowson
(Analysis):
Jane and Rochester both suffer emotional isolation, but their eventual reunion is rooted in mutual vulnerability and truth. Burns and Dowson reveal the pain of love lost or unfulfilled. Like Rochester, these poetic voices are tormented by absence and regret—mirroring the emotional cost of suppressed love in Jane Eyre.
Poems
