The Silent Sacrifices of Love

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…derstanding. The speaker takes a very realistic approach to love through the description of his relationship with his young lover. He acknowledges that there must be sacrifices and compromises made on both sides in order to sustain any relationship. By explaining the hard work that goes into maintaining a relationship, he brings down to earth the fairy-tale notion of love that is usually glorified in poetry, and he portrays love in a very realistic light.