Analysis of You Have Loved Enough

Leonard Cohen 1934 (Westmount) – 2016 (Los Angeles, California)



I came to You with sorrow –
You said,"Come to me with bread”.
I could not make a living –
You employed me with the dead.

I chose the marble chambers –
But You sent me down below.
You kept me from believing
Until You let me know:

That I am not the one who loves –
It's Love that seizes me!
When hatred with his package comes,
You forbid delivery.

And when the hunger for Your touch
rises from the hunger,
You whisper, "Child ,you've loved enough,
now let Me be the Lover".

*   *   *   *   *

The song 'You Have Loved Enough' on
Ten New Songs is based on this poem.


Scheme ABCB XACA XDXD XEXE XX
Poetic Form
Metre 1111110 111111 1111010 1011101 1101010 1111101 1111010 011111 11110111 111101 11011101 1010100 01010111 101010 11011101 1111010 1 01111011 111111110
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 569
Words 117
Sentences 7
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 2
Lines Amount 19
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 70
Words per stanza (avg) 20
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on August 01, 2020

Modified on May 01, 2023

35 sec read
289

Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen was a highly gifted and varied writer — novelist, playright, songwriter and poet. He was already quite famous as a poet before embarking on a music career as a singer-songwriter. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and his songs have been recorded by countless other performers. Born in Montreal, Canada, in 1934, Cohen had a long and productive career. He was working right up to his death, in 2016 at the age of 82. more…

All Leonard Cohen poems | Leonard Cohen Books

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