Ode on Indolence Love Quotes

A pretty young woman represents love, and she's the first one to reveal herself to the speaker. He recognizes her instantly. That could indicate that a fair woman would be the most tempting vision for the speaker. It's his idea of love. Still, she doesn't manage to turn his head for long. Would falling in love ruin the speaker's idle relaxation? For him, it would. After all, dating usually involves a lot of time and effort.

Here, the speaker questions the definition of love. What does it actually mean? Love means different things to different people at different times in their life, of course. He also wonders where love lives, and he doesn't know how to find it. It'd be foolish, he says, to try and pursue love. Better not to try at all.

He will not cry over love, or over love's departure. That's quite a different sentiment than the one we are used to when we read poetry, which is often about heartbreak. Here, the speaker has prevented heartbreak from happening by avoiding giving his heart to anyone. Well, that's one way to avoid getting dumped.