Heart to Heart

Definition, or the speaker’s attempt to define an object (in this case, the concept of “heart”), is the core theme in “Heart to Heart,” driving the argument and lyrical arc. “Heart” is a complicated idea, and Dove’s goal in writing this poem is to explore its various definitions as they relate to the speaker. Line 1 begins, “It’s neither red / nor sweet” (Lines 1-2), immediately discrediting two common metaphorical turns of phrase. This line of thought continues, “It doesn’t melt / or turn over, / break or harden” (Lines 3-5). Following this list of what the heart is not, the speaker then deduces that if the heart is not these things, “it can’t feel / pain, / yearning, / regret” (Lines 6-9). Through the act of trying to define the heart, the speaker comments on the difference between the literal and metaphorical heart.

Line 10 begins again with another attempt at definition: “It doesn’t have / a tip to spin on, / it isn’t even / shapely” (Lines 10-13). Again, the speaker uses negation, followed by affirmative lines: “just a thick clutch / of muscle, / lopsided, / mute” (Lines 14-17). This repeated action—of using negation to define what the heart is not, followed by a description of what the heart is—creates a consistency in the poem, an expected pattern.