Sonnet 29

Question 1

Themes?

Answer 1

Obsession, Passionate Love, Longing

Question 2

Tone?

Answer 2

Intense, Intimate, Joyful

Question 3

Meaning and purpose?

Answer 3

This sonnet is a declaration of passionate love by the narrator to her lover.
She tells how she obsessively thinks of him, so much that her thoughts have begun to obscure the reality of him.
She then reassures him that these thoughts cannot replace him, before urging him ‘renew’ his presence with her and remind her that he is ‘dearer, better!’.
Browning conveys how longing for a lover can consume you, make you impatient and even distort reality.

Question 4

Context?

Answer 4

There is a joyous religious undertone to the poem. She compares him to palm tree: in Christianity, the palm tree represents faith.

Question 5

Form and structure?

Answer 5

The traditional form of a sonnet is eight lines (octave) presenting a problem, followed by six lines (sestet) presenting a solution.
Repetition of ‘thee’ conveys her obsession with him.

Question 6

Obsessive?

Answer 6

‘my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee’
‘And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee / drop down heavily’
‘Burst, shattered, everywhere!’

Question 7

Longing?

Answer 7

‘Renew thy presence’ ‘Rustle thy boughs’ - imperatives - commanding
‘My palm tree’

Question 8

Passionate?

Answer 8

‘As wild vines, about a tree,’
‘I think of thee!’