Sonnet 43

Question 1

Who is the author of Sonnet 43?

Answer 1

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Question 2

What is the context of the poem?

Answer 2

-Her brother drowned at a young and as a result
-She eloped against her fathers wishes, showing how important love was to her
-She was disinherited by her father

Question 3

What poems to link to?

Answer 3

Cozy Apologia, Valentine and She walks in beauty (Links with relationship and love)

Question 4

What does the structure relate to?

Answer 4

-Repetition of ‘I love thee’ sounds similar to a prayer, and so she might be hoping for them to be together.
-Rhyming couplets but not a perfect rhyme scheme may reflect their relationship, unconventional but with close unity.

Question 5

‘How do I love thee’

Answer 5

Suggests a conversation between lovers

Question 6

‘Depth’, ‘Breadth’ and ‘Height’

Answer 6

Weighty concepts suggests that her love is comprehensive and allow her to reach impossible extremes

Question 7

‘Most quiet need’ and “Men strive for right’

Answer 7

Two different ideas, one simple and one complex showing the intensity of her feelings

Question 8

‘Lost saints’

Answer 8

Replaced her faith in god with her love for her husband

Question 9

‘I love thee better after death’

Answer 9

Even death will not part them and their love is eternal.