On Friendship

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1769

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Divinity

The idea of divinity or the divine nature is an important motif in the poem. The speaker personifies the force of friendship as something godlike, speaking to both the power of friendship and its special character. In using phrases such as “Celestial strain” (Line 2) and “divinely Bright” (Line 3), the speaker closely associates friendship with the heavenly realm and with the illuminating powers often credited to the divine in Christian theology and art. In describing friendship as exercising an “ample reign” (Line 1), the speaker suggests that friendship itself is a divine force, one that can even mirror the “Amor,” or love, of the divine itself. In personifying friendship through the vocabulary and imagery of the heavenly realm, the speaker elevates friendship as something that is both human and transcendent.

Creation

Creation is another important motif in the poem. The divine power of friendship is also a generative one, both as part of its inherent nature and in terms of its effects upon the speaker. Creation appears in the imagery of music, with the speaker describing the “notes” of friendship “Extend[ing] […] to a Celestial strain” (Line 2). The idea of musical “notes” soaring or extending in a “Celestial strain” to places the human eye cannot see or even fathom suggests the vastness of what friendship can encompass, invoking its heavenly nature. Significantly, this creative force is then induced in the speaker herself, whose “thoughts” then generate “Mental Imaginations [that] give [her] Joy” (Line 6). At the poem’s close, the speaker feels inspired and compelled to exercise her own creativity, writing of how she will now “[her] thoughts in Contemplation steer” (Line 7) in response to the “Superlative fair” (Line 8) of the friendship she is experiencing.

Footsteps

In the last line of the poem, the speaker mentions “Footsteps” (Line 8), which she will “steer” (Line 7) through the deep “Contemplation” (Line 7) she experiences in light of friendship and its joys. The footsteps and the way the speaker seeks to “steer” them are a symbol of action, reflecting the way in which friendship is not only something the speaker passively receives with “gratitude” (Line 5), but something that inspires her to think deeply and begin creating and doing herself. The use of “Footsteps” conjures up imagery of motion, alluding to walking and suggesting that the speaker now wishes to take a more active role in experiencing friendship. This symbol reflects the theme of Equality and Empowerment in Friendship.