The language of love: a WGBH interview with Dean Schopf on romantic poetry

Perhaps the most oft-repeated theme in the history of poetry is the pleasures and pains of love. And with Valentine’s Day approaching, this seems like a perfect time to consider how poets through the ages have sought novel ways to express the language of love. In an upcoming WGBH-FM interview, associate dean for the Master of Liberal Arts Program Sue Weaver Schopf shares her deep knowledge of love poetry from Shakespeare to modern times on The Callie Crossley Show, this Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14.

Says Dean Schopf, “While more traditional poems pay tribute to the beauty, grace, and uniqueness of the beloved, others examine particular stages of love, ranging from the first flush of desire and seduction to later betrayal and bitterness. Love poems can be humorous, too, upending the reader’s expectations by mentioning endearing traits such as the homeliness and clumsiness of the beloved, singing the praises of the one-night stand, or meditating on the paradoxes of late-in-life love.”

The show will broadcast live at 1 pm, online and on 89.7 FM, with Dean Schopf’s interview airing during the first half hour. (Schopf appeared on this same program in December to discuss the vampire in literature and film.)

This semester, Sue Weaver Schopf teaches ENGL E-208/W The Expatriate Moment in Paris.