How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Analysis, Summary

Introduction: This study guide provides a comprehensive analysis of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)." The guide explores the poem's meaning and significance, delving into the expression of love and the various ways it is experienced. It offers an explanation of each line of the poem, identifies major themes, presents key facts about the poet, and provides a critical analysis of the poem's structure, language, sound devices, and other literary elements. Additionally, the guide examines the attitudes and feelings conveyed in the poem and suggests similar poems that share thematic connections with "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)." Through this study guide, readers can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of Browning's exploration of love and its enduring power.

Poem text

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I 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.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Summary

The poem does not have stanzas; it is composed of a single continuous flow of thought.

The speaker begins by asking a rhetorical question: "How do I love thee?" They express their desire to enumerate the various ways in which they love the subject of the poem.

The subsequent lines depict the speaker's love as boundless and all-encompassing. It transcends physical limitations, reaching the depths and heights of the soul, even when hidden from view. The love extends to everyday needs and persists in its pure and selfless nature.

The speaker further reveals that their love is intensified by past experiences and personal faith. It has withstood hardships and is strengthened by the memory of lost loved ones. The love encompasses every aspect of the speaker's life, including their breath, smiles, and tears. The final lines express the speaker's conviction that their love will endure even beyond death, growing stronger in the afterlife.

Major Themes

Unconditional Love: "How Do I Love Thee?" explores the theme of love in its purest and most selfless form. The speaker's love is all-encompassing, enduring, and unwavering.

Eternal Love: The poem suggests that true love transcends mortality and continues to grow even after death. It highlights the eternal nature of deep and genuine affection.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

1. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) was an influential Victorian-era poet.
2. She was born in England and began writing poetry from an early age.
3. Browning was a prolific writer and published several collections of poetry during her lifetime.
4. She married fellow poet Robert Browning, and their love story is renowned.
5. Browning's poetry often explored themes of love, spirituality, and social justice.
6. She is considered one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era and a leading figure in English literature.

Critical Analysis

"How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)" is a 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 poem's structure, devoid of stanzas, creates a continuous and uninterrupted flow of the speaker's thoughts and emotions. Browning's language is both elo quent and accessible, allowing readers to resonate with the depth of feeling conveyed. The use of imagery, such as the speaker's soul reaching for the beloved's presence, adds a sensory dimension to the poem. The repetition of the phrase "I love thee" emphasizes the unwavering nature of the speaker's affection. Overall, "How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)" is a masterful exploration of love's transcendence and its eternal power.

Symbols:

• Depth, breadth, and height: Symbolize the boundless and all-encompassing nature of the speaker's love.
• Lost saints: Represents the memory of loved ones who have passed away, enriching and strengthening the speaker's love.

Language:

• Rhetorical question: Adds emphasis and invites reflection on the extent of the speaker's love.
• Metaphorical expressions: Browning employs metaphorical language to depict the intensity and breadth of the speaker's love.

Structure:

• Sonnet form: The poem follows the structure of a sonnet, consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter.

Sound devices:

• Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds, such as in "level of every day's," creates a musical quality in the poem.
• Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds, as in "I love thee freely," adds a lyrical and melodic element.

Other Literary Devices:

• Rhetorical devices: Browning employs rhetorical devices, including repetition and parallelism, to emphasize the speaker's unwavering and encompassing love.
• Enjambment: The use of enjambment, or the continuation of a sentence without a pause, contributes to the poem's flowing and uninterrupted structure.

Attitudes/Feelings in Detail:

• Unconditional love: The speaker's love is depicted as selfless, encompassing all aspects of their life and being.
• Devotion and reverence: The poem conveys a profound sense of admiration and respect for the beloved, elevating their significance to idealized heights.
• Eternal love: The speaker's conviction that their love will endure even after death reflects a belief in the eternal nature of true affection.

Similar Poems & How They Match

• "How Do I Love Thee?" by William Shakespeare: Both poems explore the theme of love's depth and endurance. While Browning's sonnet expresses a personal and unwavering love, Shakespeare's poem presents a philosophical contemplation of the nature of love itself.
• "Love's Philosophy" by Percy Bysshe Shelley: This poem shares a thematic connection with Browning's sonnet as it explores the idea of love's universality and the interconnectedness of all things.