Law Like Love by W.H. Auden

            In the poem, “Law like Love” by W.H. Auden, there is a clear difference between the conceptions of what “law” is shown as in the lines 1-34 and the lines 34-60. In the first half of the poem, “law” is clearly defined as something that is distinct to the person who seems to be explaining law. Auden shows this with the lines, “Law, say the gardeners, is the sun” (line 1), “Law is the wisdom of the old” (Line 5) and “Law is the Law” (line 18).  Auden uses the gardeners, elders and judges to exemplify how some believe that there are some who believe that they have a definite answer to things.

However, in the next half of the poem, the idea of “law” shifts to a more uncertain definition. Auden compares law to love, one of the most uncertain aspects of humans. This comparison is to show that there are those who believe otherwise; that nothing really has a definite answer. The second half of the poem is where the main idea of the poem really shines. “Law” is something that people create and is relative to people, that is why it cannot have a definite answer or meaning much like love is. Love is bizarre and strange and many people have tried to define what it is, just as they have tried to define what “law” is, yet there is no answer. That is what Auden attempted to portray in this poem by utilizing the different conceptions of “law”.