Love's Vocabulary By Diane Ackerman Summary

Love is a complicated concept in this world that people frequently experience in their lifetime. In her essay, “Love’s Vocabulary,” Diane Ackerman explores the beautiful idea of love and describes love in many creative ways with insightful words. Out of all the things she compares love to, her most excellent comparison is with an “intoxicant,” a substance that has the power to cause people to lose control of their behavior. This comparison expresses many truths about love because, like an intoxicant, love is an influential force that is comprised of numerous elements and comes in many different types. Ackerman’s choice of comparing love to a word with such negative connotation is wise, for it implies that love can be so strong to the extent

First of all, she shows that love has mighty power, like intoxicants, when providing examples of how love has affected people or things. Ackerman claims that love has done admirable things from “[altering] the flow of history” to “[making] mincemeat of kings.” Ackerman’s examples highlight that love is very influential since they show that love is capable of taking control and doing extraordinary deeds. Prior to that, Ackerman also conveys that love is intricate like an intoxicant as she speaks of what makes up love. She asserts that “love commands a vast army of moods,” meaning that a person feels a long range of emotions, rather than being in only one state, when experiencing love. This statement is accurate because love can bring people thrill and excitement, but can inflict pain as well. Lastly, Ackerman explains that there are many categories of love just as there are many kinds of intoxicants. She declares that love “isn’t monotone or uniform” and is not limited to the typical affection between man and woman. In fact, love includes the fondness between child and parent or the passion an athlete has for a certain