Essay Type Questions
Write the critical appreciation of the poem.
Introduction: “How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)” is one of the most famous and recognizable poems in the English language. It was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a renowned Victorian poet. The poem is part of her collection “Sonnets from the Portuguese,” which was published in 1850. This collection is a series of love poems that Browning wrote to memorialize her love for her husband, the fellow poet Robert Browning.
Central Idea: The central idea of the poem is the speaker’s deep, abiding, and all-encompassing love for her beloved. The speaker enumerates the various ways in which she loves her beloved, expressing her love in terms of spatial dimensions, daily needs, and various emotional states. The speaker’s love is not influenced by external validation or praise but is instead a sincere and genuine emotion.
Structure & Rhyme Scheme: The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, also known as the Italian sonnet. This form of sonnet is divided into an octave (the first eight lines) and a sestet (the last six lines). The octave typically presents a problem or poses a question, while the sestet provides a resolution or answer. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABBAABBA CDCDCD. This structured form allows the poet to explore complex ideas and emotions in a concise manner.
Theme:
1. Unconditional Love: One of the primary themes of the poem is unconditional love. The speaker’s love for her beloved is all-encompassing, enduring, and unwavering. She loves him freely, purely, and with a passion that is put to use in her old griefs and with her childhood’s faith. Her love is not influenced by external validation or praise but is instead a sincere and genuine emotion.
2. Eternal Love: The poem suggests that true love transcends mortality and continues to grow even after death. The speaker’s love for her beloved is presented as boundless and all-encompassing. The final phrase “and, if God choose, / I shall but love thee better after death” underscores the eternal nature of her love.
3. Love as an Expression of Freedom: At the end of the sonnet’s octave, the speaker makes the point that the adoration they feel for their beloved is a matter of choice, and therefore of freedom. The speaker articulates this idea somewhat explicitly in line 7: “I love thee freely, as men strive for right.” To love freely is to love for reasons of the heart rather than for reasons related to social, economic, or political obligation.
4. Love as a Spiritual Passion: There exists a long tradition of love poetry that attributes a spiritual power to love. Ideas about the spirituality of love take different forms. However, the basic idea is that one person’s love for another person can serve as a reflection or expression of a yet greater and purer form of love. The speaker of Browning’s sonnet powerfully references this tradition in the sestet (lines 9–14).
5. The All-Encompassing Reach of Love: The octave of Browning’s sonnet broadly emphasizes the all-encompassing reach of love. Love affects every aspect of the speaker’s life. For instance, they assert that their love is closely linked to the “level of every day’s / Most quiet need” (lines 5–6). Yet even as the speaker’s love permeates the most banal aspects of their daily life, it also transcends everyday experience.
Style: The style of the poem is characterized by its use of the Petrarchan sonnet form, iambic pentameter, and anaphora. The speaker uses specific word choice and figurative language to express the depth and intensity of her love. The poem is also characterized by its hypnotic repetition.
Poetic Devices: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Sonnet 43,” part of her “Sonnets from the Portuguese” collection, employs a range of poetic devices to explore the depth, intensity, and purity of love.
1. Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines.The repeated phrase “I love thee” at the beginning of several lines creates a rhythmic pattern and emphasizes the constancy and multiplicity of the speaker’s love. This device underscores the various dimensions of her affection by providing a structured form that mirrors the layered expressions of love.
2. Imagery: Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates vivid mental pictures. Browning uses spatial imagery in “depth and breadth and height” to depict the boundlessness of her love. The imagery of “sun and candle-light” contrasts the time of day, suggesting the constancy of her love from morning to night. The sensory details of “breath, smiles, tears” evoke the physical and emotional totality of her affection.
3. Simile: A comparison using “like” or “as.” Browning uses similes to draw parallels between her love and noble actions. For example, “I love thee freely, as men strive for right” and “I love thee purely, as they turn from praise” compare her love to the pursuit of justice and selfless virtue, enhancing the moral and ethical dimensions of her affection.
4. Hyperbole: Exaggerated statements not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis. The sonnet employs hyperbole to stress the magnitude of the speaker’s love. Phrases like “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach” and “I shall but love thee better after death” exaggerate the extent and eternal nature of her love, highlighting its intensity and boundlessness.
5. Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Alliteration is used to create a musical quality and emphasize certain phrases. Examples include “depth and breadth and height” and “purely, as they turn from praise.” The repetition of initial consonant sounds adds to the poem’s rhythmic flow and draws attention to key concepts.
6. Personification: Assigning human characteristics to non-human entities. The speaker’s soul is personified as having the ability to reach “depth and breadth and height,” suggesting that her love has an active, almost physical presence. This device helps convey the intensity and dynamic nature of her emotions.
7. Metaphor: A direct comparison between two unlike things without using “like” or “as.” Metaphors in the poem deepen the understanding of the speaker’s love. For instance, “I love thee with a love I seemed to lose / With my lost saints” compares her enduring love to the reverence she once held for saints, suggesting a sacred and profound quality.
8. Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.Enjambment is used throughout the sonnet to maintain the flow of thought and emotion from one line to the next. This creates a sense of continuity and reflects the unbroken and persistent nature of her love. Examples include “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach” and “I love thee with the passion put to use / In my old griefs.”
9. Juxtaposition: Placing two elements close together to highlight their contrast or interaction. Browning juxtaposes various aspects of love and life to highlight its complexity. For example, “old griefs” are contrasted with “childhood’s faith,” and “smiles, tears” juxtapose different emotional states, illustrating that her love encompasses a wide range of experiences.
Message: The message of the poem is the profound expression of unconditional and eternal love. Through her carefully chosen words, Browning captures the essence of a love that surpasses boundaries and endures beyond mortality. The speaker’s love for her beloved is presented as boundless and all-encompassing.
Conclusion: “How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)” is a powerful exploration of love that is deep, enduring, and transcendent. Through her use of the Petrarchan sonnet form, iambic pentameter, and anaphora, Browning creates a rich and layered exploration of love that resonates with readers. The speaker’s love for her beloved is presented as boundless and all-encompassing, permeating every aspect of her life and extending beyond the physical world into the spiritual realm.
