Unrequited love
A love situation in which one person loves another who does not reciprocate the feeling. Unrequited love often features yearning, anguish, hope, and despair, presenting love's vulnerability and one-sidedness.
Real World
The Petrarchan tradition of worshipping an unresponsive beloved influenced centuries of love poetry — Shakespeare's sonnets to the Dark Lady and the Fair Youth both interrogate why the beloved refuses to reciprocate.
Exam Focus
Identify whose perspective dominates in unrequited love poems — the speaker's voice reveals what the text values: longing, self-delusion, or critique.
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