{"id":395,"date":"2023-04-01T06:21:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-01T06:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/?p=395"},"modified":"2023-04-01T06:21:24","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T06:21:24","slug":"how-do-i-love-thee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/2023\/04\/01\/how-do-i-love-thee\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do I Love Thee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning\u2019s widely beloved \u201cSonnet XLIII,\u201d though\u00a0highly romantic, also explores themes of religion and rationality in relation to love.\u00a0<\/span>The narrator uses religious allusions to illustrate her love. The first example she gives demonstrates how she loves her partner with the whole expanse of her soul: \u201cI love thee to the depth and breadth and height \/ My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight \/ For the ends of Being and ideal Grace\u201d (lines 3-4).\u00a0The two uses of enjambment in this sentence emphasize the breadth of the narrator\u2019s love, which is illustrated through God\u2019s expansive power. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The narrator also states that she loves her partner with the same passion she had\u00a0for \u201cold griefs,\u201d her \u201cchildhood\u2019s faith,\u201d and her \u201clost saints\u201d (lines 10, 11-12). Each of these \u2013 sorrow, innocence, religion \u2013 are all-encompassing experiences. They also suggest that the narrator has had a troubled life. Though she lost the passion she felt in each of these scenarios, these lines indicate\u00a0that she now loves her partner with the same intensity; she views her partner idolatrously, as she would a saint. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the narrator describes her love in dramatically romantic terms, she also provides a rationale that justifies her affection. Browning structures the poem as a list with her introductory line \u201cHow do I love thee? Let me count the ways\u201d (line 1). She then proceeds to list seven of them,\u00a0repeating the phrase \u201cI love thee\u201d to reinforce the extent of her affection (line 1). This repetition creates a list format that adds a sense of rationality to the poem. The narrator also states that \u201cI love thee freely, as men strive for right; \/ I love thee purely, as they turn from praise\u201d (line 7-8). The narrator\u2019s assertion that she freely and humbly loves her partner is especially<\/span> significant when considered\u00a0alongside details of Browning\u2019s life. Her choice to elope with her partner and escape from her father\u2019s control adds an additional layer of meaning\u00a0to the sonnet\u2019s focus on\u00a0long-lasting, freely chosen love. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The theme of this sonnet calls back to one of Browning\u2019s earlier works, \u201cSonnet XIV.\u201d In this sonnet Browning writes, \u201cBut love me for love\u2019s sake, that evermore \/ Thou mayst love on, through love\u2019s eternity\u201d (lines 14-15). This sentiment of long-lasting love, which remains consistent throughout Browning\u2019s sonnets, is especially present in \u201cSonnet XLIII.\u201d While Browning writes of a dramatic and passionate romance, it is a love that will last \u201cafter death\u201d (line 14). <\/span>In this sonnet, love is literally everything, from the minutest aspect of life to absolute religious devotion.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning\u2019s widely beloved \u201cSonnet XLIII,\u201d though\u00a0highly romantic, also explores themes of religion and rationality in relation to love.\u00a0The narrator uses religious allusions to illustrate her love. The first example she gives demonstrates how she loves her partner with the whole expanse of her soul: \u201cI love thee to the depth and breadth and … Continue reading How Do I Love Thee<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4998,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spring-2023"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4998"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}