Summary and Analysis of Wining and Dining by Amanda Lukas: 2022

About the Poet:

Amanda Lukas is an American poet who writes beautiful poems on the relationship, romance, heartbreaks etc. Her poems are the source of expressing her emotions to the readers. Her poems could represent for any woman across cultures, and any woman of any age could relate to her. Her other poems: Daddy, When He Sleeps, Mending a Broken Heart, etc. are about her expressions about her father, and rest is about her romantic expressions about her partner.

About Wining and Dining:

This poem, “Wining and Dining” is the poet’s articulation on what her demands are in life when it comes to a relationship with her partner, and which is quite different from what the other women might find romantic and heart-touching. She expresses that it is not necessary that she has to be taken out for expensive dinner and lunch dates to be loved; instead, she wants to spend time with her partner, and feel the magic between them.

The Setting of Wining and Dining:

Romantic:
Amanda Lukas is trying to set a romantic mood in the poem, which runs through the entire poem. The poet is trying to set a distinction between the other ways or norms of expressing love.
Magical Escapism:
The poet is trying to set a mood for a kind of magical escapism, where she is lost with her partner, and they are away from the hustle of the world. She is describing how she wants to get lost in smiles and escape from the world.

Annotations of Wining and Dining:

1st Stanza:
Dinner and a movie: Dinner and a movie is one of the oldest and the most popular way of going out on dates across cultures. It is normally practiced by the people who are looking to get into a romantic relationship or already are in one.
Wined and Dined: Wine and dine are another way of going out on romantic dates, which is still popular in today’s times.
2nd Stanza:
Being lost in the woods: These words especially emphasize upon the mood of magical escapism that the poet is trying to set in this poem. Being lost in the woods with her partner is one of the best ways to spend time with her partner according to the poet.

Stanza-Wise Summary of Wining and Dining:

“Dinner and a movie sounds divine, 
although I’m not the type that needs to be wined and dined, 
I’m happy hiking with you for miles.
Just being lost in the woods with you – being lost in your smile.”
In this stanza, the poet is saying that a classy idea or plan of dinner and a movie for a date sounds fantastic to her. But she is not a person who needs to be impressed by an organized plan of wine and dine. Although she is she is happy spending time with her partner in this way, but she will be much happy by escaping somewhere and hiking the miles with no destination in her mind. She is saying that she wants to get lost in the woods, where there is no one to watch them revel in their bond of love.
“Imagining a day in your arms is imagining perfection
and the end of the day leads my mind in one direction –
to find that comfortable niche, my head resting on your neck
and an arm draped across your chest.”
In this stanza, she wants to keep seeing him smile and get lost in that, as she admires how beautiful he is. She imagines a day where she is wrapping her arms around him and sitting in peace. She thinks such a day would be better and perfect than the normal and mundane things like wining and dining. She says that by the end of the day, her mind leads to just one direction, instead of running vast in all the different ways possible, and be peaceful by resting her head on his neck, and sit with her arms draped across his chest.
“Whatever it is you want to do
makes no difference to me because, when I am with you, 
I am exactly where I want to be.
You need not try to impress me.
Just hold me, have me, keep me.” 
In this stanza, she says that there is no need for him to go out his way and impress her, as she is deeply in love with him already. These things don’t make much difference to her, as she is already with him, and she knows that she wants to be with him, and she knows it for sure. She says that all he needs to do is hold her, and have her. She doesn’t want him to go away from her.

Critical Analysis of Wining and Dining:

In this poem, the poet is trying to tell her partner that it is not needed for him to always have up-class and well-organised evenings planned out for her. She might find them brilliant, but her heart will only find true contentment in getting lost in the woods with her partner, where she is away from the world, and can spend the entire day with him. She wants to keep looking at his smile, and get lost in it. And as the day comes close to it’s end, she wants to rest her head on his shoulders and sit in peace. She says that it is okay that he goes out of his way to impress her, but it is not entirely necessary, as she is already madly in love with him, and it does not matter to her anymore that what he does to impress her. All she wants him to do is hold her and keep her next to him.

Poetic Devices in Wining and Dining:

There are quite a few poetic devices that have been used in this poem. The poet has tried to keep the poem simple but filled with emotions and expressions.
Cliché:
The poetic device, cliché, is used in this poem by the poet, in order to show that the plans of dinner, movie, and wine sound perfect to her, and which is one of the appropriate ways of going out on a date, is fine with her, and she doesn’t mind going out on such dates with her partner.
Contrast:
The poet has tried to show the contrast between what generally constitutes dates traditionally, and what she actually wishes to do with her partner, which is completely different from the normal dates but a lot more idyllic in her opinion. She wants to get lost in the woods with him, without anyone watching them, and she wants to spend time alone with him in the lonesome forest, where they can be away from all the hustle and cacophony of the city.
Hyperbole:
The poetic device, hyperbole, is used in the poem by the poet to emphasize on how it is not needed for her partner to plan well-organized dates and outings for her, as she is okay with getting lost in the forest with him, and get lost in his beautiful smile. The poet says that she gets peace by laying her head on his shoulder and sit throughout the day. She is okay with the clichéd plans of movies and dinner, but her partner doesn’t have to go out of his way to impress her, as she is already deeply in love with him.

Rhyme Scheme and Strucutre of Wining and Dining:  

The rhyming scheme in the poem is abab, which has been consistent throughout the poem. The poem is written in quite simple words and is written in a very melodic style appropriate to the subject matter of love. The poet has tried to maintain simplicity as the predominant virtue of the poem which goes on to highlight the simplicity of the kind of love which she is recommending. For example:
Dinner and a movie sounds divine, –a
although I’m not the type that needs to be wined and dined, –b
I’m happy hiking with you for miles.-a
Just being lost in the woods with you – being lost in your smile.-b

Central Idea of Wining and Dining:

The central idea of the poem is that the poet, Amanda Lukas, is a content woman, who is happy with the life that she has with her partner. She is fine with the idea of movies and dinner, wine and dines, and the normal and clichéd ways of going out on a date with him. But she wants him to stop trying hard to impress her any further. She wants to just get lost in the forest with her. She wants to escape in a magical state of togetherness away from the hustle of the crowd and population. She wants to get lost in the smile of her partner, and wrap her arms around him, and lay her head on his shoulder. She wants to be happy with him by being alone and free with him. She says that it is okay if her partner tries to flatter her by planning beautiful dates and outings for her but she is already deeply in love with him so they are not entirely imperative for the survival of their relationship anymore. Whatever he does, she will always be with him, hence she wants him to hold her and keep her with him. She says she knows that she has to be with him, and she will always be with him.

The Theme of Wining and Dining:

The theme of the poem is escapism, romance, and love. The poet is trying to set a very beautiful and imagery, where the poet is happy and content with her life with her partner, and she wants to escape from the world with him. She is happy that her partner is taking efforts to please her by taking her out to dinner, movies, and wine. But she is happy escaping with him into the woods, where she can care less about the people and the world around, and get lost in his beautiful smile. She wants to wrap her arms around her lover and lay her head on his shoulder. She wants to get lost with him in the time, where she has not worry about anyone watching her having a beautiful time with her partner. She wants to spend all of her time with him like that. She says that though the plans of wine and dine seems divine and romantic to her, but she wants to spend time with him alone where she can do whatever she wants to do to him, and live however she wants to be with him. The poet says that she is smitten in love with the poet, and she appreciates that her lover is trying to surprise her and keep her happy by taking her out on beautifully planned and organized outings and dates, but she says that he really doesn’t have to do any such thing, she is already now his lover, and all he has to do is hold her hand, keep her with him, and stay with him.

The Tone of Wining and Dining:

The tone of the poem is enthused with loving and romance as it is the poet’s heartfelt expression of love to her beau. All through the poem, the honest love of the poet shines through making it a wonderful piece of love poetry.

Conclusion:

Wining and Dining, by Amanda Lukas, is a beautiful and romantic poem, where she expresses her love and satisfaction towards her lover in words. She is not much interested in going out for the beautiful dates, wine and dine kind of evenings, movies, etc. Instead, she wants to get lost with him into an unknown world, where they have no track of time. She creates a beautiful image of her being strongly in love with him, where she wants to get lost in his smile, and not have a worry in the world. She says that though the act of him planning beautiful evenings for her is nice and divine, she would like him to not try so hard, as she is already his for life. All she needs is for him to keep her and be with her by holding her hand.  The poem is a new outlook towards a young girl’s perspective of spending time with her lover, where she doesn’t want any expensive dates and outings, but a romantic time somewhere alone where the couple doesn’t have to care much but spend a lovely time together. She doesn’t want her lover to do much effort to please her, as she is already entwined with him through the bond of love.

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