Love, laugh, throuple…
Ahead of Valentines Day next week, a new study suggests over half (51 percent) of young Brits polled, aged between 18 and 44, have been in an unconventional relationship. A third (36 percent) are (or have been) in an open relationship, while one in six (15 percent) have been in a throuple, in which three people are involved romantically.
And the study, by wine brand 19 Crimes, found 77 percent of young Brits, believe classic love poetry, such as the writings of Shakespeare, Keates and Byron is old fashioned, while 44 percent think words like ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ are irrelevant in the modern age.
One in five (20 percent) believe traditional poetry focuses solely on hetero-romantic love (20 percent), while two thirds (60 percent) claim the lack of representation frustrates them – so much so, that 16 percent believe the romantic works of yesteryear are sexist.
A further ten percent believe love poetry should contain neutral pronouns (11 percent). As a result, four in ten (45 percent) have never read anything by 20th Century poet and author, Sylvia Plath (44 percent) or her husband Ted Hughes (41 percent).
19th Century poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning is also irrelevant to 41 percent, as are texts by 17th Century poet, John Milton (41 percent) – while one in six (14 percent) say they have never read anything by William Shakespeare.
To celebrate modern love and people in unconventional relationships, ahead of Valentine’s Day, rebellious wine brand 19 Crimes, who commissioned the poll, has teamed up with modern poet, DJ and rapper James Massiah, to re-imagine a handful of classic love poems – and bring them up to date with the modern age.
James Massiah:
“I’ve worked with 19 Crimes to reimagine these classics for the modern age. I tried to stay as true to the form of each poem as possible so that they can be recognisable. I wanted to try and resemble the rhyme scheme at least, if not the metre in the lines. It was tricky to maintain the integrity of these poems artistically because, of course, these are all great works of poetry, but I’d tried to let the sentiment follow through in some way.
“I think there’s a lot of fun to be had with these poems. I hope people can see this project as a chance to look at their love lives and realise that where they’re at, wherever they’re at, is good. Who you love and how you love is something that can flex and change over time. I think it’s about celebrating love in all its forms – with the main thing being respecting yourself and the people you’re dealing with – having clear communication —which I really tried to factor into the poems”.
James has taken a collection of the best known love poems from classic literature including: ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ by William Shakespeare, ‘A Red, Red Rose’ by Robert Burns, ‘How do I love thee’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and ‘She Walks in Beauty’ by Lord Byron, re-imagining them to appeal to a younger audience.
84 percent believe that young Brits are redefining what a modern relationship looks like, with 82 percent agreeing that love is love no matter what – and 88 percent acknowledging that it doesn’t matter what type of relationship you are in as long as you are happy.
