Sonnet 43

Question 1

Poet

Answer 1

Elizabeth Barrett Browing

Question 2

Structure/Form

Answer 2

Sonnet 43 is a love poem in the form of a sonnet. A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter (usually iambic pentameter). Sonnet 43 is a love poem in the form of a sonnet.

Question 3

‘How do I love thee?’

Answer 3

Rhetorical question sets up reflective tone to the poem; the speaker uses hypophora (answers her own question) to try and define her love.

Question 4

‘if God choose, / I shall by love thee better after death’

Answer 4

The subordinating conjunction ‘if’ suggests possibility and dependency, highlighting that God has the final say in their relationship – God will choose when their relationship ends. The comparative adjective ‘better’ suggests that her love will strengthen even more, once they reunite in heaven. Eternal love is shown here.

Question 5

‘…of all my life! – and, if God choose…’

Answer 5

The use of punctuation is varied. The exclamatory sentences show the overpowering sides of love, yet the hyphens (-) highlight a break in her language. It is as though Browning cannot fluently articulate her feelings, without being overwhelmed with passion. Religious imagery portrays the love as a spiritual/higher concept

Question 6

Context

Answer 6

Elizabeth Barret Browning was a prominent Victorian poet. She suffered from lifelong illness, despite which she married the poet and playwright Robert Browning, who was a major influence on her work, and to whom Sonnet 43 is addressed.

Question 7

‘I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach’

Answer 7

Semantic field of measurement here illustrates how she is trying to measure her love. Is this possible? Personification of the soul almost sounds painful, like she is stretching to measure the love; it is too much.

Question 8

I love thee

Answer 8

Anaphora/repetition of ‘I love thee’ foregrounds the intensity of her love.

Question 9

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways’

Answer 9

Question and answer structure is established from the beginning of the poem. The rhetorical question is an example of hypophora, where the speaker continues to answer her own question. She is having to voice her thoughts; perhaps the love is too overwhelming to internally trace? The imperative ‘let me count the ways’ is forceful; she is strong in her views and wishes to answer herself.

Question 10

‘breath / Smiles, tears’

Answer 10

Asyndetic list reflects the ongoing ways she loves him