Poetrybounding: How to Dress Like William Morris’ ‘Love is Enough’
Poetry is art from the realm of words. From melodic rhyme schemes and iambic meters to emotional unpacking found in freestyle, the power of this literary genre arguably springs from its ability to transform words into visceral feelings. Any poetry should transcend its textual domain to move into a non-verbal space, be it of the mind or the heart. But outside the internal human experience, poetic literature stays stagnant in limited mediums of translation inside physical and digital books and recitals. So, why not translate words into a new visual experience, one known to combine an inner sense of beauty into an external personal aesthetic composition?
Fashion has the power to inform people of someone’s personality and perception of image while also impacting the onlooker with distinct combinations of form and color. Because of its aesthetic power, it fits perfectly as a mode of adaptation to poetry’s emotional influence. One core emotion that most poems try to replicate is love, so for the first rendition of this amalgamation of poetry and fashion, I chose to look into Love is Enough Song I by William Morris.
“Love is enough: though the World be a-waning
And the woods have no voice but the voice of complaining,
Though the sky be too dark for dim eyes to discover
The gold-cups and daisies fair blooming thereunder,
Though the hills be held shadows, and the sea a dark wonder,
And this day draw a veil over all deeds passed over,
Yet their hands shall not tremble, their feet shall not falter;
The void shall not weary, the fear shall not alter
These lips and these eyes of the loved and the lover.”
The poem’s central message resides in the idea that true heartfelt love does not falter when faced with overbearing challenges. Love is enough to banish this fear and exhaustion that comes from the challenges of life, illustrated through the imagery of dark skies and seas, diminishing surroundings, shadowy and hazy mountains, and moaning trees, all represented by the invisible antithesis of a heavy veil. Three words can sum up the imagery of fear trying to weigh down and suffocate the lovers by overwhelming them into an isolated world of distress: dark, enclosing, and heavy. So, garments that can portray these ideas cannot become the center of the look; they need to surround the body. Since dark often relates to the absence of light and heat, a black coat or jacket is a very on-point piece that can represent the cold the environment is trying to use to oppress the lovers, especially if it is a heavy jacket. To match it, black or dark grey sweatpants mimic the same weight, color, and form the jackets can suggest, but they also serve as more of a coadjutant and low-key garment for the look.
However, Love is the word that should primarily define the poem. It is not for nothing that the lovers need only their company to survive through the opposing forces around them; not for nothing that their lips and eyes, arguably the parts of a person’s body that drive the most attention, define their bond and do not falter to the darkness. That is why it should become a significant part of the look.
In the poem, two lines create a direct opposition to the oppressive forces of life. One of them mentions two flowers, daisies and gold-cups, or cups of gold, which still bloom under the darkness. Love Enough does not concretely state what they mean, but under my interpretation, these flowers represent the lovers surviving and thriving under the oppression. Because of this, the piece of garment that fits the best with the image of being surrounded by a heavy black jacket is a yellow/white floral shirt. I find that a daisy picture covered by yellow/white/cream cloth creates a beautiful contrast between death and life, mainly because the flower’s petals are white, giving color to the mournful black look.
The second line that directly opposes the surrounding menace’s vigor mentions that the lover’s hand would not tremble, and their feet would not falter. The only idea that comes to my mind is embalming the hands and feet with colorful garments to depict the warm strength of love. Since I already chose the daisy as a shirt motif, I will pick the cups of gold as the accessory color, the color that represents Love in the poem. Therefore, any shoe, glove, scarf, belt, bag, and hat should be colored like the flower. And in the case makeup is considered a significant aspect of the look, adding subtle yellow and white tones to the eyeshadows and blushes could be sufficient, as well as dabbing on the black lipstick (well, maybe?), but they are not a needed feature.
All things considered, the look I concocted feels directed towards a more winter scene with the black shades dominating the warm yellow-orange tones but can be modified by anyone to become spring/summer-like, removing the coat and some accessories, and changing the pants from sweatpants to trousers. In the end, a poem can be, and many times should be interpreted differently by each reader, so my guide is only a glimpse into the realm that connects both fashion and poetry.
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