'sonnet 43' - elizabeth barrett browning

Question 1

what is the context of ‘sonnet 43’?

Answer 1

• her father opposed the idea of his children marrying, and threatened to disown her if she did.
• got married to Robert Browning, a reputable Victorian writer. he’d sent letters to her, and communicated in secret, knowing her father wouldn’t approve. in this correspondence, she wrote a series of sonnets (e.g. Sonnet 43). these are personal poems, and she hadn’t intended to publish them, but was eventually persuaded to by Robert.
• they married in secret. their marriage broke social conventions, and she felt liberated, after having had to live under her father’s tyrannical rule for so long.
• she begins to express her love using general terms, then expresses herself in a more personal way, by relating her love to her past.

Question 2

describe the use of structure in ‘sonnet 43’:

Answer 2

• iambic pentameter (characteristic of sonnets) stresses important words of the poem: ‘depth and breadth and height’.
  the emphatic list also shows the writer loves the addressee in a complete, total way - ALL-ENCOMPASSING LOVE (‘sun and candlelight’, juxtaposing images, sun = daytime, candlelight = night-time).
• enjambment used, creates a sense of breathlessness, emphasising the writer’s love for the addressee.

Question 3

what does the repetition of ‘i love thee’ represent?

Answer 3

ANAPHORA

• could show devotion and intensity
• or, especially after having been repeated for so many times, could show desperation and insecurity. worried her husband doesn’t know or understand how she truly feels? could link to her difficult relationship with her father.
• ‘thee’ is archaic language that conveys informality and gives the idea that they’re equal.

Question 4

describe the use of language in ‘sonnet 43’:

Answer 4

• compares her love to the ‘sun’, her ‘childhood’s faith’ and to ‘saints’. these things are all pure, innocent, good, so this comparison suggests her love is as well. suggests her loving him is the good and right thing to do. ‘smile, tears’ - her love for her husband is enduring, through the good and the bad. recalls traditional wedding vows.
• autobiographic references, suggests robert will be as important as these key moments in her life. ‘old grief’ suggests her emotions when her mothers/brothers died. she will feel love for robert with a similar intensity to this grief. her faith is wavering ‘lost saints’, and her husband has filled this void.

Question 5

how is the sense created that the speaker’s love transcends temporal limits?

Answer 5

• volta on line 10. switches from present tense (‘i love thee’) to other tenses (‘i shall but love thee better after death’), finishing the poem with the idea of love’s temporal immortality.
• ‘in my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith’ - these moments are antithetical, however are placed in the same line. speaker’s love transcends temporal limits.

Question 6

describe the semantic field of religion in ‘sonnet 43’:

Answer 6

• ‘soul’ (metaphysical, love is beyond Earthly), , ‘Praise’ (capitalised, used in a spiritual sense?), ‘God’.
• semantic field elevates husband to a God-like status, somewhat blasphemous, but shows the intensity of her feelings for him.
• her love is pure and right and proper, and maybe she’s defending her love against her disapproving father.
• religion was a very key part of people’s lives back in the 19th century.

Question 7

is the poem a ‘perfect’ sonnet? how does this symbolise her love?

Answer 7

• at a glance, perfect. could symbolise her perfect love for her husband, and her dedication to him.
• not perfect, at a closer glance. ‘grace’ doesn’t fully rhyme with ‘day’s’ and ‘ways’.
• represents her being not used to such a perfect love - she didn’t get a perfect love from her father - unable to comprehend/express the perfection of the love she’s receiving.

Question 8

describe the mood of the poem:

Answer 8

overwhelmingly loving and devotional. repetition of ‘i love thee’ helps to establish this, whilst also hinting at a more fragile or obsessive aspect of love.

Question 9

what are the themes of ‘sonnet 43’?

Answer 9

• power (the power of love over someone).
• love.
• time (demonstrates that love transcends the limits of time and death).
• religion (idolises and worships Robert browning).