If Love Was Jazz (Leaving Cert English): Revision Notes
If Love Was Jazz
About the poet
Linda France is a contemporary British poet born in 1958 in Newcastle upon Tyne. She has established herself as a significant voice in modern poetry, having published eight poetry collections throughout her career. France has received various prizes and awards for her work, demonstrating her skill and recognition within the literary community. Her poetry often explores themes related to nature and jazz music, both of which clearly influence her distinctive poetic voice and subject matter.
Understanding the poet's background helps explain why France chose jazz as her central metaphor. Her personal connection to jazz music gives authenticity to the poem's musical imagery and terminology.
Jazz music context
Understanding jazz music helps us appreciate the poem's deeper meanings. Jazz developed in the late 20th century within African-American communities in New Orleans. The music became strongly associated with nightlife, sexuality, partying, and alcohol - essentially representing "good-time" music that embodied freedom, spontaneity, and passionate expression. This cultural context is crucial for understanding why France chooses jazz as her central metaphor for the kind of love she desires.
Central theme and main idea
The poem's core concept revolves around an extended metaphor that compares love to jazz music. Throughout the nine stanzas, France repeatedly uses the conditional phrase "If love was..." to explore different aspects of jazz and what they might represent in a romantic relationship.
The speaker reveals a fundamental dissatisfaction with her current love life, describing it as dull, respectable, but not exciting. In contrast, jazz makes her feel excited, dazzled, and alive. She expresses a deep longing for love that could provide the same rhythm and heat that jazz music delivers. The poem ultimately represents a desire for passionate, vital love rather than merely comfortable or socially acceptable relationships.
Stanza-by-stanza analysis
Stanza 1: "If love was jazz"
The opening stanza establishes the central metaphor and the speaker's yearning. She imagines being "dazzled by the razzmatazz" - overwhelmed by jazz's excitement, sparkle, and energy. The speaker clearly states her desire for love to provide the same rush that jazz delivers. This sets up the comparison that will run throughout the entire poem.
Stanza 2: "If love was a saxophone"
France focuses on the saxophone's distinctive sound, which represents strong emotion. The metaphor "I melt in its brassy flame like wax" suggests the powerful effect the saxophone has on her - love should make her melt internally, but currently doesn't achieve this effect. The image of the saxophone "glowing like a flame" on stage connects to the broader metaphor of love as fire, emphasising passion and intensity.
Stanza 3: "If love was a guitar"
This stanza introduces themes of physical intimacy and touch. The line "I'd pluck its six strings" clearly expresses her desire for physical connection and intimacy. The musical term "eight to the bar" indicates she wants rhythm and action in her love life, suggesting her current relationship lacks the dynamic energy she craves.
Stanza 4: "If love was a trombone"
The trombone, played with a slide mechanism, allows France to explore ideas of positioning and slow, sensual movement. The explicitly sensual image "I'd feel its slow slide / right down my backbone" creates intimate, physical imagery.
Sound Devices Analysis: France employs sound devices here, including assonance with long 'o' sounds in "love, trombone, slow, backbone" and alliteration with "slow slide" - these create a soft, sensuous mood that matches the stanza's content.
Stanza 5: "If love was a drum"
The drum stanza plays with double meanings through the word "snare", which refers both to a type of drum and a trap. The speaker wants to be "caught up in love's rhythm" - trapped in the best possible way. The phrase "kept under its thumb" uses the idiom meaning "under someone's influence or control", suggesting she wishes love could hold and captivate her completely, as she currently feels under jazz's spell.
Stanza 6: "If love was a trumpet"
This stanza introduces a formal change by switching to a two-line rhyming couplet (trumpet/blow it), reflecting how jazz can suddenly change rhythm. The line "I'd blow it ... make out of that whatever you want" implies intimate physical connection while maintaining the musical metaphor. This structural shift mirrors jazz music's unpredictable nature.
Stanza 7: "If love was jazz, I'd sing its praises"
The idiom "sing someone's praises" means to celebrate or honour them. France references Philip Larkin, who loved jazz and wrote a weekly jazz column - she wants to celebrate love the same way Larkin celebrated jazz music. This shows her desire to find love worthy of such passionate appreciation.
Stanza 8: "But love isn't jazz..."
The tone shifts dramatically to become sadder and more realistic. Love is described as "an organ recital" - the metaphor suggests church music that is respectable and "eminently worthy" but not exciting or "nearly as vital". Her past relationships have been nice and respectable but lacking energy. This stanza provides the crucial contrast that gives the poem its emotional weight.
Stanza 9: "If love was jazz" (conclusion)
The poem ends on a positive, hopeful note. The final line "I'd always want more" shows her continued optimism and desire. She imagines being "a regular ... on that smoky dancefloor" - someone who keeps coming back because the experience never becomes boring. This suggests her hope for finding love that maintains its excitement and vitality over time.
Language techniques and poetic devices
Extended metaphor
The entire poem develops the comparison between love and jazz music, exploring different instruments and musical concepts as representations of various aspects of romantic relationships. This sustained metaphor gives the poem its structural unity and thematic coherence.
Repetition and structure
The conditional frame "If love was..." creates a rhythmic repetition that mirrors jazz's repetitive yet varied nature. The poem's structure also mirrors jazz's rhythm changes through varying stanza lengths: three lines each (stanzas 1-5), two lines (stanza 6), three lines (stanza 7), then four lines each (stanzas 8-9).
Rhyme scheme variations
France employs different rhyme patterns that reflect jazz's flexibility:
- Stanzas 1-5: ABA pattern
- Stanza 6: Rhyming couplet
- Stanza 7: Returns to ABA
- Stanzas 8-9: CED CED pattern
This irregular overall pattern with no fixed structure mimics how jazz music operates with flexible rhythms and unexpected changes.
Sound devices
- Assonance: Long 'o' sounds in "love, trombone, slow, backbone" create a smooth, sensual mood
- Alliteration: "slow slide" with soft 's' sounds enhances the sensuous atmosphere
Idioms and double meanings
France cleverly uses phrases with multiple interpretations:
- "Sing its praises" = praise/celebrate
- "Under its thumb" = under someone's control
- "Snare" = both drum type and trap
- "Cut the wing" = dance (jazz slang)
Tone variations
The poem's mood shifts between playful, humourous, regretful, and optimistic, reflecting the complex emotions surrounding love and desire.
Key themes
Desire for vitality in love
The speaker longs for love that feels like music, rhythm, and physical sensation. She wants relationships that energise and excite rather than simply provide comfort or social acceptability.
Contrast between exciting and respectable love
The poem explores the tension between relationships that are "worthy" versus those that are "vital". Past love has been respectable but lacking passion and energy.
This central contrast appears most clearly in stanza 8, where the speaker describes her current experience of love as "an organ recital" - respectable church music that is "eminently worthy ... not nearly as vital" compared to the exciting, passionate jazz she craves.
Sensuality and physical intimacy
Throughout the poem, musical instruments and terms hint at physical touch and intimate connection. The imagery consistently suggests the speaker's desire for physical closeness and sensual experience.
Hope and optimism
Despite acknowledging disappointment with past relationships, the poem maintains a hopeful tone. The speaker still believes in finding love that would make her want to "always want more" - love that remains consistently engaging and exciting.
Important quotations for exam use
These key quotes demonstrate the poem's central themes and techniques:
- "I'd be dazzled by the razzmatazz" - shows desire for excitement
- "I melt in its brassy flame like wax" - metaphor for passionate response
- "eight to the bar" - musical term expressing need for rhythm
- "I'd feel its slow slide / right down my backbone" - sensual imagery
- "I'd be caught in its snare" - double meaning of drum and trap
- "kept under its thumb" - idiom for being controlled/captivated
- "If love was a trumpet / I'd blow it" - intimate suggestion
- "I'd sing its praises" - celebrating love like Larkin celebrated jazz
- "But love isn't jazz... it's an organ recital / eminently worthy ... not nearly as vital" - central contrast
- "I'd always want more ... I'd be a regular ... on that smoky dancefloor" - hopeful conclusion
Exam preparation points
When analysing this poem, focus on these essential elements:
- Extended metaphor: How does France sustain the love = jazz comparison throughout?
- Structural changes: Where does the form change and why? (particularly the couplet in stanza 6)
- Sound devices: Identify examples of assonance and alliteration and explain their effect
- Double meanings: Explain terms like "snare" and "under its thumb"
- Tone changes: How does the mood shift in stanza 8, and what does this achieve?
- Ending interpretation: What feeling does the conclusion leave you with?
The poem works as both a celebration of jazz music and an exploration of romantic desire, using the energy and spontaneity of jazz to represent the kind of passionate love the speaker seeks.
Remember!
Key Points to Remember:
- Linda France uses jazz as an extended metaphor for the passionate, vital love she desires rather than merely respectable relationships
- Each stanza explores different jazz instruments (saxophone, guitar, trombone, drum, trumpet) as metaphors for various aspects of romantic connection
- The poem's structure mirrors jazz music through irregular rhyme schemes, varying stanza lengths, and rhythmic changes
- Key themes include sensuality, desire for vitality, and hope for finding love that remains consistently exciting
- The contrast between "worthy" and "vital" love appears in stanza 8, providing the poem's emotional turning point before the optimistic conclusion