'DOWN WITH ROMANTIC LOVE' AND ' PUTTING A

PRICE ON LOVE': A COMPARE

By Aderonke S. Ogunsakin
ronky4success@gmail.com
Pan Atlantic University
Lagos, Nigeria
November, 2013

These two classic about love expresses divergent views of the phenomena called love, but there
are areas of convergence which shall be explored in this compare.
Mark Vernon's 'down with romantic love is an idealized notion about love being inimical to
long-lasting relationship, whilst Al Kennedy's 'putting a price on love' expresses the fact that
there is priceless value to love.
Al expresses the deep unfathomable meaning of love in the statement Love. Just four letters to
name something commonplace and yet unfathomable which concurs with Mark's expression of
romantic love as a myth, expressed as ...I think the romantic myth is one of the most pernicious
of our times. They both perceive love as essential for living. These authors also explore the two
extremes of love, for them love is an oxymoron, with two face, making people to fall in love
intoxicatingly or stand in love by being with someone, yet be free (Mark), Al writing about love
says "...the more it consoles me, the more it threatens...". Both writers are in congruence on the
issue of romantic love as being unrealistic, Mark saying "If romance first draws the eye,
relationships

have

chance

to

thrive

when

it

does

not

seal

the

deal."

These works differs in style, in argument, in breadth of coverage and in ideology.

Al for example is broad in his coverage of the word love, covering love in man-woman
relationships, in friendships, love in the society and the misuse of the word love in many
unrelated scenarios. Marks writing is more on the love relationship between a man and a woman
relationship and marriage.
Al is paradoxical in his style and still drives home his point; "a love made public can seem
cheap, manipulative, not love at all." Yet in another paragraph he wrote "...I do think there is a
place for love in the public domain", while Mark is consistent with his argument all the way.
These works contribute immensely towards the understanding of love; Mark's work is a great
'DOWN WITH ROMANTIC LOVE' AND ' PUTTING A PRICE ON LOVE': A COMPARE

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read for man woman relationship, a piece that is consumable for the public. However, Al
Kennedy's "Putting a price on love" is more holistic in his write up and the literary contribution
is deep compared to Mark Vernon's "Down with romantic love".

'DOWN WITH ROMANTIC LOVE' AND ' PUTTING A PRICE ON LOVE': A COMPARE

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