Sonnet 43 Flashcards
introduction
- The poem is a traditional sonnet about an intense and passionate relationship.
- Using a rhetorical question, Barrett Browning conveys the numerous ways the speaker (thought to be a persona Barrett Browning adopts for herself) loves the addressee (assumed to be her husband, the poet Robert Browning).
- the poem uses a passionate tone to convey the all-encompassing nature of love.
- through her sonnet, Barrett Browning suggests that love endures, beyond the constraints of time
form
- perfectly petrarchan sonnet
- iambic pentameter
rhyme scheme
a,b,b,a,c,d,d,c,e,f,f,e -> rhyming couplets in the middle of each quatrain - consistent - passionate love- compatible and congrous
- specific rhyme scheme - iambic pentameter - perfect meter is mimetic of the perfection of their love
what is the almost perfect sonnet reflective of?
- symbolic of perfection of her love for robert
- could also show her dedication
caesurae
- breaks up the rhythm/flow of the poem
finish the quote: ‘i love..
..thee’
‘i love thee’
- repetition
- devotion and intensity
- desperation and insecurity
- she had a difficult relationship with her father
- didn’t want to lose a man who truly loves her
finish the quote: ‘sun and…
..candlelight’
‘sun and candlelight’
- daytime and nightime
- love is all-encompassing
- with unwavering intensity
finish the quote: ‘with my..
..lost saints’
finish the quote: ‘if..
..God choose’
‘saints’
‘God’
- religious imagery
- love is unconditional like religious faith
- she idolises Robert and thinks of him like ‘God’
- ‘lost saints’ -> poet loves him with a passion that religion gave her in her childhood
- the love has replace her faith
finish the quote: ‘the ends of..
….Being and ideal Grace’
‘Being’
‘Grace’
- capitalisations
- spiritual sense
- deep, almost like desire to understand existence and get close to ‘God’ - divine
- 19th century - religious society
finish the quote: ‘by..
..sun and candlelight’
‘by sun and candlelight’
- ‘sun’ and ‘candlelight’ -> light imagery - genesis - human need for love is essential -> religious light
finish the quote: ‘how do i..
..love thee?’
‘how do i love thee?’
- question
- establishes poem’s topic
- the amount of love she has for robert browning is very, very large
title
- ‘sonnet 43’
- love poem -> 43/44 written from her to her husband Robert Browning
- intense love
semantic field of religion
- key part in 19th century
- her love is pure and right, almost as if she is defending it -> perhaps against her father
- elevate robert to a god-like status
- blasphemous - intensity of her feelings
pronouns
- personal pronouns - first person - make it more intimate
- ‘I’ ‘me’ ‘my’ -> loved writing from her own viewpoint
- ‘thee’ -> intended audience - robert browning
finish the quote: ‘old..
..griefs’
finish the quote: ‘childhood’s…
..faith’
finish the quote: ‘my lost…
…saints’
‘old griefs’
‘childhood’s faith’
‘my lost saints’
-autobiographical references
- childhood’s faith ->childhood religiousity - religious enthusiast - enthusiastic in her love for Robert
- ‘lost saints’ -> robert has replaced her faith
- ‘old griefs’ -> family deaths - her love for robert is with the same intensity she felt when her mother died
finish the quote: ‘depth..
..and breadth and height’
‘depth and breadth and height’
- syndetic listing - emphatic list
- browning loves robert in a complete and total way
finish the quote: ‘let me…
..count the ways’
finish the quote: ‘i love thee to the..
..level’
finish the quote: ‘soul…
…can reach’
‘let me count the ways’
‘i love thee to the level’
‘depth and breadth and height’
- hyperbolic language
- measurement imagery - convey the size of her love
- re-evaluates and describes her love as the same size and distance her ‘soul can reach’-
- stretches the hyperbole further
- creating an image of herself - love extends beyond her grasp/ability to describe in the dark -> presents love as extensive and never-ending
finish the quote: ‘i shall but..
..love thee better after death’
‘i shall but love thee better after death’
- subversion of traditional wedding vows
- “till death do us part”
- Barrett-Browning’s love for Robert will last longer than she does
- reminds reader that she was ill
exaggerated language
- her attempt to put her feelings into words - the extremity of her love
finish the quote: ‘smiles…
…tears’
‘smiles, tears’
- juxtaposition
- her love for robert is enduring
finish the quote: ‘i love thee freely..
..as men strive for right’
finish the quote: ‘i love thee purely..
..as they turn from praise’
‘i love thee freely as men strive for right’
‘i love thee purely as they turn from praise’
- semantic field of morality
- compares new love for robert to morally righteous behaviour - loving him is a good and right thing to do
- natural and pure
mood and tone
- loving
- passionate - semantic field of measurement - ‘count’, ‘breadth’, ‘depth’, ‘height’
- overwhelmed
- barrett-browning was ill
- she may be expressing gratitude for the love she feels
- devotional - ‘i love thee’ - obsessive
- virtuous - considers her love as worthy of God’s support
key quotations for love
“How do I love thee?
“Let me count the ways”
“In my old griefs, and with my childhood faith.”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR LOVE
“How do I love thee?
“Let me count the ways”
“In my old griefs, and with my childhood faith.”
The poem centres around a first-person speaker’s expressions of intense love. The speaker implies a listener with whom they are intimate, “thee” (you). The rhetorical question and answer may suggest that the poem is a reply
The opening lines immediately establishes the theme of an all-encompassing love. The act of “counting” suggests a love so immense it cannot be easily defined, but the speaker is determined to express it
By juxtaposing passionate love with past griefs and childhood faith, the speaker conveys the intensity and purity of her love. The comparison suggests her love is as powerful as her deepest sorrows and as pure as her childhood beliefs
key quotations for devotion
“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight”
“I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR DEVOTION
“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight”
“I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;”
The hyperbolic language “depth and breadth and height” conveys the ceaseless nature of the speaker’s devotion. The metaphor suggests that her love extends beyond physical limitations suggesting a spiritual level of devotion
The simile compares the speaker’s love to the pursuit of moral righteousness: the capitalisation of “Right” suggests her devotion is as pure and noble as the highest moral ideals
key quotations for the passing of time
“I shall but love thee better after death.”
“by sun and candle-light.”
ANALYSIS FOR KEY QUOTES FOR THE PASSING OF TIME
“I shall but love thee better after death.”
“by sun and candle-light.”
Barrett Browning concludes with a declaration that the speaker’s love will not only endure but will grow stronger after death. The paradox of loving “better after death” highlights the eternal nature of true love
The imagery of “sun and candle-light” symbolises the passage of time from day to night, suggesting the speaker’s love is constant and unwavering
