The two poems by Uhland and the one by Freiligrath depict three different forms of Love. Uhland's Hohe Liebe (Exalted Love) is saintly, or religious, love: the "martyr" renounces worldly love and "heaven has opened its gates". The second song evokes erotic love: "Gestorben war ich". "Dead" is a metaphor here; Uhland refers to what is known as "la petite mort" in French ("I was dead from love’s bliss; I lay buried in her arms; I was wakened by her kisses; I saw heaven in her eyes"). Freiligrath's poem for the famous third "notturno" is about unconditional mature love: "Love as long as you can! The hour will come when you will stand at the grave and mourn" ("O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst").
Liebestraum No. 3 is the last of the three that Liszt wrote and can be considered as split into three sections, each divided by a fast cadenza requiring dextrous fingerwork and high degree of technical ability.
The same melody is used throughout the entire piece, each time varied, especially near the middle of the work, where the climax is reached.
At the end, the piece dies down into a final chorded section, and has a broken chord for an ending, usually played slowly as if they were individual notes, rather than rippled.
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