40-love

The poem focuses the reader attention thanks to its particular layout. The poem is divided in two symmetrical column by a vertical line. The poet wants to recreate a tennis field with the layout as the reader can understand from the presence of tennis in the poem.

The reader when reads the poem has to switch with her or his eyes from the left to the right part of the poem. The intelligent reader understand that the poet’s intention with the layout is to recreate the visual reader experience when he or she watches a tennis match.  

The words “tennis” and “between” are split and are dived between the right and left part of the poem.

This variation from the regular pattern slow down the reading. As a consequence the reader has to focus his or her attention on what was saying in the previously part.

From another point of view the deviation from the regular pattern has the function of a full stop. It follow that the action ends and another one starts.

Now moving on with the layout analysis the reader can see that each column have 11 words.

Considering the title the intelligent reader can suppose that it may refer to love between middle aged people.

Firstly “40” may be the age of the two people involved in the relationship, secondly “love” add to “40” the meaning of “relationship between people  that have 40 years”.

As the reader goes on with the reading the first two words “middle aged couple” confirm the previously idea. The poet is referring to a middle age couple.

As the reader starts reading the poet talks about the tennis match between the couple.

Moving forward with reading the poem use the idea of the net between the couple even in the home context. This idea highlight how the couple in divided and don’t communicate. In addition maybe they fight as they do during their tennis match.

Considering the economy of the text the reader may suppose that the poet is referring to a personal experience or maybe he wants to talk to how love ends as a result of the maturity of the couple.

The intelligent reader understand that the poet intention is to communicate that the middle age couple, the couple with a long relationship, have problem as they become older.

The maturity add obstacle with the communication between the couple or as the poet says “a net”.

The poet intention is to communicate that is normal to have this problem so the poem’s addresses are all the middle age couple.