Sonnet 43 Flashcards
What is needed in order for a poem to be a sonnet
10 beats per line
Love
14 lines
Author
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Born 1806 died 1861
Started of rich and lost all her money
“I love thee with the love I seemed to lose/ with my lost saints”
This means that she loves her lover more than god which would be very controversial
“Life!”
Powerful emphasis of emotions pouring out
“I love thee to the death and breadth and height”
This is a spatial metaphor that suggests her love is beyond measurement
Where was the poem from and who was is dedicated to?
Poem from sonnets from the Portuguese (44 sonnets)
Poem dedicated to her husband Robert browning
Structure
Italian Petrarchan sonnet-usually masculine (pretend they weren’t her words)
Whole poem is hyperbole
Epitome lyrical poem like a song
‘Depth’ ‘breadth’ suggestions
Melodic assonant phrase
Like her soul is bigger than the earth
Bursting passion
Enjambment
“By sun and candlelight”
Loves him all day and all night
Further expressing her love for him
“I love thee”
Repetition
Anaphora
Emphatic of her love
“In my old griefs and with my child hood faith”
Her father was horrible to her
Carol rumens quote-whole life in poem
He is a god to her and restored her faith
“I love thee with a love I seemed to lose”
Though her father- venerates him worship
What quote implied eternal love?
‘Love thee better after death’
Key themes
Love
