The poet uses the analogy of music to convey his message that love is essential to life. Without love, life is not fully experienced. The poem should be viewed in the context of Owen’s War experiences, which made him question his conventional religious faith. The first stanza speaks of chaos of life in the pursuit of love. In the second stanza he moves to something more gentle, asserting that life is meaningless until ‘I had made hearts beat, and touched Love’s body … ’

An interesting observation is that the first stanza is divided into two quatrains, and 4/4 time is a common time signature for love songs. Furthermore, in Genesis Chapter 1-19 it states that on the fourth day of Creation God created time and the material world. It is the material world — sun, stars, etc — that was important to Owen.

For comparison see his poem Maundy Thursday

Structure
The poem is an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet of fourteen lines. The metrical rhythm is iambic pentameter, that is, five iambs or metrical feet per line, each foot comprising one unstressed and one stressed syllable.

In this poem there are two verses, the first an octave divided into two quatrains. This is has a choppy rhythm, with percussive consonants, imitating the sound of drums, and setting up the comparison of life as a song. The rhyme scheme is ABBA CDDC. The second six line stanza, (otherwise known as a sestet), is smoother and more melodic. The rhyme scheme is EFEFGG. It draws on an analogy of life as a symphony, enhanced by Love.

In Petrarchan sonnets the first octave or eight lines (here two quatrains), are followed by a volta or ‘turn’ in which the ‘argument’ is reversed or answered. So the last six lines or sestet form a resolution.

For more about sonnets, including Petrarchan sonnets, see Glossary.