Sonnet 43( Love Poem) Flashcards
“How do i love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Q1. What does this show.
Q2. What does the first person pronoun “I love thee”?
Q1. Question establishes topic, and if it must be ‘counted’ the amount of love is very large.
Q2. The first person pronoun makes the poem seem more intimate.
“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height”
What does this show about Elizabeth Browning’s love for Robert?
Emphatic list (Depth, Breadth, and height) to show Elizabeth Barret Browning’s love for Robert is in a complete and total way, not a half hearted love.
“Most quiet need, by sun and candle- light”
What does “sun and candle-light” show about Elizabeth’s love?
Juxtaposition between ‘sun’ (daytime) and ‘candle-light’ (night) shows that Elizabeth’s love for Robert is all encompassing.
-all encompassing - she loves him every day and night (i think)
What does the repetition of “i love thee” show about Elizabeth’s love?
It can mean two things:
Repetition of “i love thee” can show her devotion and her intensity of love towards Robert.
Or
Possibly shows “Desperation, insecurity” afraid her dad will no approve of her love to Robert as he does not like marriage.
“I love thee purely, as they turn from the praise”
What does this show about Elizabeth’s love?
Compares her love to Robert as morally and righteous.
Suggesting that her loving him is a good and right thing to do.
“Smiles, tears, of all my life; and if god choose”
What does the use of “Smiles, Tears” show about Elizabeth’s love for Robert.
The Juxtaposition “Smiles, Tears” suggests that her love for Robert will last forever throughout the good and bad
“I shall love thee after death”
What does this show about Elizabeth’s love for Robert?
Suggests her love for Robert will last longer than death.
What does the semantic field of religion in the poem, for example:
“Soul”, “God”, “Saints”, “Childhood faith”
Show about Elizabeth’s Love
The semantic field of religion shows her love is pure and right almost as if she is defending it
(Perhaps against her father)
Give 3 important pieces of context from sonnet 43.
Father did not like marriage.
Elizabeth father disinherited her after her marriage with Robert
Elizabeth’s brother drowned at a young age as a result her father was over-protective.
She went against his wishes with Robert showing how important love was to her.
What is the structure of Sonnet 43?
Sonnet 43’ is classified as a sonnet because it contains fourteen lines of poetry and has a fixed rhyme scheme of abba abba cdcdcd.
Repetition of I love thee sounds similar to a prayer so therefore she could be praying/hoping that someday that they will be together.
