Love & Relationship Poems Flashcards
What context describes “Sonnet 43”?
Written by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning
Addressed to her then-future husband Robert Browning
Barrett-Browning escaped and eloped with Robert Browning in her 40s
Spent most time at home with her father due to extended illness
Popular woman poet in the Victorian era
Robert Browning was an atheist
Part of a collection named “Sonnets of the Portuguese”
What themes are present in “Sonnet 43”?
Transformation of love
Religious and spiritual love vs. Romantic love
Freedom of love
Love grounded in reason
“[…] count the ways.”
Barrett-Browning attempts to quantify love instead of comparing it or offering a synonym
She justifies love in rational terms instead of being too metaphorical
“I love thee […]”
Anaphora of this phrase emphasises her deep love for the addressee.
It is the repetition of her confession that builds a pattern
This suggests that despite the rest of the poem being different, true love is unchanging.
Repeated 7 times. Has the freedom to love him
Marked with &
& “[…] depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, […]”
Souls are a spiritual construct, which have no limits.
Her love cannot be measured, despite her attempting to quantify it, because there are no boundaries
& “[…] level of everyday’s most quiet need, […]”
Passionate love reduces to constant, pure and stable love, even if it’s less intense.
“[…] as they turn from Praise.”
“They”: men, who were originally mentioned. Impersonal “he”.
“Turn from Praise”: do not brag about their achievements.
Capitalisation of Praise draws attention to its significance.
& “[…] my old griefs, […]”
Other failed relationships?
Potentially has lost family members she had deep love for
Passion = love.
Old griefs may additionally reference her inability to leave the house, generating an appreciation for life when given freedom.
“[…] with my childhood’s faith.”
She was a Catholic in childhood.
Disconnected from the church in her upbringing and lost touch with her religion, though rediscovered Christianity at an older age with this love.
& “[…] with a love I seemed to lose / With my lost saints”
“[…] all my life!”
Huge excitement at her emotions for the addressee. Can relate to context. Love is connoted as a fresh, exhilarating experience.
“[…] if God choose, […]”
She wants God to grant her the ability to love her then-future husband.
Asking for permission: in touch with Christianity
Mentioning God and her love in conjunction to demonstrate a link between them could signify that this is a religious experience for Barrett-Browning.
“[…] love thee better after death.”
Believes afterlife is the best experience for loving her then-future husband. A spiritual experience and joining, where he can no longer see her.
True love is eternal
“How do I love thee?”
Rhetorical question breaks the meter. Signifies that even the questioning of her love is so outlandish. Trochee.
How do form, structure and metre affect “Sonnet 43”?
The poem is an Italian/Petrarchan sonnet. May relate to the idea of the poem being translated from a Portuguese poet.
ABBA ABBA CDC DCD
Iambic pentameter used. Highly metered.
The octave develops her love and emotions
The sestet represents a transformation of her love from childhood to the time of writing
Some slant rhyme (“use” and “lose”) is used to match the rhyme scheme; however, a distance between the lovers is constructed, which could potentially be appropriate because of “lose” connoting demise.
