Love at First Sight

Szymborska’s poetic style shifted from the beginning of her career to when “Love at First Sight” was published in The End and the Beginning (1993). The socialist philosophies of Lenin and Stalin influenced her earlier, more politically oriented writings, which she later renounced. These early works, like the pro-Stalinist “For the Youth Who Are Building Nowa Huta” (1952), can be categorized as Socialist Realism. After 1952 when Szymborska became disillusioned with the socialist cause in Poland and abroad, her works became more personal, reflective, and philosophical. She was particularly interested in exploring life’s unanswered questions and reconceptualizing the routines of daily living. She published “Love at First Sight” toward the end of this transformative period in her career. It follows the formula Szymborska developed in Call to Yeti (1957) in its use of simplistic language and precise irony.

“Love at First Sight” features some of Szymborska’s running themes: love, chance, fate, and the power of little moments to reveal cosmic truths. Szymborska’s famous irony fosters a sympathetic atmosphere of humor and questioning. She gently breaks down a system of culturally accepted beliefs, asking her readers to reevaluate the concept of “love at first sight” and the possibilities to be found in their daily lives.