Love at First Sight

The central conceit of the poem is in its title: It zeroes in on the lovers’ belief that their romance was “Love at First Sight.” Throughout the poem, Szymborska disassembles the lovers’ notion that they connected at first glance—that is, that the first moment they were cognizant of each other kickstarted their relationship. In reality, Chance and Destiny had long before both arranged (and prevented) their coming together.

Emphasizing the power of Chance and Destiny over human life, “Love at First Sight” underlines mankind’s helplessness to assert absolute control and knowledge in the universe. It suggests that easy and popular ideas around human relationships might be misguided. Modern media often touts the concept of “love at first sight” as a beautiful way for two people to meet; many claim their own romance began this way. he speaker believes this notion to be beautiful, but unrealistic, as there were many possibilities for the lovers to meet before in “the streets, staircases, hallways” of life (Line 7). The lovers are incapable of remembering these past meetings, the speaker assumes. They would be “amazed” (Line 17) to learn that there were earlier opportunities for their love to blossom—if Chance had allowed it.