Visitor

Would you rather be a host or a guest? Some people have a natural gift for hospitality, a way of setting guests at ease and making them feel welcome. Other people would much rather be on the receiving end of hospitality. In “Love After Love,” you don’t have to choose between being the host or the guest: you get to play both roles. And both of you are looking pretty pleased about the arrangement. In the context of the poem, this visit with yourself could be viewed as an extended metaphor. What message do you suppose Walcott wants to convey through this metaphorical visit with yourself?

• Lines 2-4: Even though this visit is weird, at least it’s a happy weird. The second line makes clear that the encounter is a joyful one (full of “elation”), at least from the perspective of you-as-host. 
• Line 5: By the end of the first stanza, it’s clear that both of you are pleased as punch with this encounter, since both of you are smiling. Think of a time in your life when you felt pleased with yourself or proud of yourself or at peace with yourself. How do the feelings evoked by that memory compare to the feelings suggested by Walcott’s metaphorical visit?
• Line 6: Even if you’re not Rachael Ray, you probably break out the chips and dip when a visitor arrives. In Walcott’s poem, the metaphorical visit includes refreshments (see “Eating and Drinking” below for more about the symbolism of these images). 
• Line 7: So far, this visit is all good. Maybe you should pay yourself a visit more often! Except… how would you do that? If Walcott’s visit is a metaphor for a psychological process of self-discovery, then the poem seems to suggest that you can use your imagination to learn more about yourself. And apparently that process doesn’t need to feel threatening; it can be like a loving visit between two old friends.