The Loves of the Plants

Throughout this poem (and yes, holy footnotes) Darwin's use of personification is particularly strong. He obviously has some sort of love for the plants he is observing, but also I think he's relating the plants to mankind-especially the stereotypes of women. The sexual connotations are again another parallel between mankind and "plantkind" if you will. Darwin is pointing out that sexual behavior is a part of the natural world. The relationship between the natural world and the human world also emphasizes the theme of evolution, which is suggested in the poem (and is also a topic which Darwin is passionate about).