essay by Diane Ackerman
from “love’s vocabulary”
Critical Vocabulary
Guise: form or outward appearance; outfit
Increment: an addition or increase by a standard measure of growth
Supple: flexible or easily adaptable
Gradation: a slight, successive change in color, degree, or tone
Intangible: something that is difficult to grasp or explain
analyzing the text
1. Infer Ackerman begins by stating that “Love is the great intangible.” What does she mean by this statement? What details and examples in the first two paragraphs help to support this idea?
Ackerman is saying that love is an emotion that cannot be easily understood. She develops this idea by comparing love to a dream state that has aspects of both nightmares and daydreams, yet is neither.
2. Evaluate In lines 28-33, what human qualities does Ackerman attribute to love? Describe the tone she creates by this use of personification.
Ackerman presents love as being heroic, artistic, healing, calming, compassionate, annoying, uplifting, and corrupting. Her tone is informal.
3. Cite Evidence In lines 60-62, how does Ackerman use figurative language to support her idea that love “isn’t monotone or uniform”? What additional evidence does she provide to support this point?
Ackerman uses a metaphor to compare love to “a fabric whose pattern and brightness may vary.” She also provides a series of quotes that exemplify the many different contexts for love, ranging from the love of food to the love of a child.
4. Analyze Why does Ackerman include references to Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How Do I love Thee?” and John Donne’s poem “The Flea”? What point is she trying to make citing these literary works?
Ackerman includes references to the poems to support her idea that our vocabulary for speaking about love is so limited that people are forced to be very creative in order to express their feelings. Elizabeth Barrett Browning comes up with the conceit of counting the ways she loves, and John Donne uses the image of lovers’ blood marrying in the stomach of a flea.
5. Infer In line 105, Ackerman calls love “a sort of traffic accident of the heart.” What idea about love is she conveying?
In the metaphor comparing love to a “traffic accident of the heart,” Ackerman conveys the idea that people think of love as dangerous because they have little control over it and it can hurt them.
6. Interpret In lines 123-127, Ackerman writes, “Values, customs, and protocols, may vary from ancient days to the present, but not the majesty of love.” What does she mean by this statement? What example does she use to develop this idea?
The statement means that love is a constant in human history. Ackerman supports this idea with the example of seeing two people wearing different clothing, yet recognizing that what they have in common is that they are both clothed.
7. Evaluate What is Ackerman’s tone throughout the essay? Cite specific words and phrases she uses to create the tone.
The tone of the essay is informal.
**Specific words and phrases will vary, but your responses should be supported by text based evidence.**