I Think of Thee Flashcards
“as wild vines, about a tree”
L: extended metaphor and natural imagery
Emphasises how all her thoughts are revolved around her loved one
“Wild” - the adjective suggests that her love for him is uncontrollable and passionate
“Hide the wood”
I: - she doesn’t want to keep thinking about him, she wants his presence
- her thoughts obscure the reality of him
“my palm-tree”
L: metaphor
C: in the bible, palm trees symbolise moral goodness and wisdom
I: palm trees are tall which could suggest she looks up to him
L: possessive pronoun “my”
Suggest they feel as if they belong to each other
“dearer, better!”
L: comparative adjectives
Her thoughts are inadequate - the physical reality of him is far superior
L: exclamatory sentence
This emphasises her desire for his physical presence
“Strong”
L: adjective
C: from a Victorian perspective, a man should be strong and supportive (not just physically strong, but emotionally strong)
“rustle” “set” “drop”
L: imperative verbs
I: - she wants him to be proactive, the sexual connotations of setting himself ‘bare’, (physically & emotionally)
- gives the poem and speaker an assertive tone
C: untypical of submissive ideal of femininity in Victorian society
“bands of greenery” that “encircle” her loved one
She wants him to break them down so she can cast off her thoughts of him and be physically present
C: Barrett-Browning’s father objected to her courtship so they communicated via letters
“within thy shadow”
I: - his shadow is protective of her
- reflects the way women were overshadowed by men in Victorian society
C: this is ironic because Barrett-Browning was a more successful poet than her husband AT THE TIME
“ new air”
L: metaphor
The new air could represent freedom
I: - she will have a new life with him
C: - Barrett-Browning is trying to escape the claustrophobic confines of life with her father
“I am too near thee”
This implies that she wants to be physically with him so she won’t need to obsessively think of him if he is present
What is the poem?
A Petrarchan sonnet
What does the octet and sestet represent?
Octet - a problem
Sestet - problem resolved
Does the poem have a volta (change in tone/focus) ?
The Volta comes early on the word “rather” where she commands her love to be physically present
- reflects her impatience and desire to see him
Why does Barrett-Browning use enjambment in the first four lines?
To reflect how her thoughts revolve around him
What does the caesura on the 7th and 8th line emphasise?
Emphasises her command to him and her desire for him to be physically present
