sonnet 43 Flashcards
(5 cards)
1
Q
overview
A
In sonnet 43 the poet speaks to her husband-to-be, Robert Browning, directly and it sounds like she is trying to convince him how much she loves him as she lists all the ways. This makes the poem very specific and personal as it is not meant for anyone else. Elizabeth Barrett Browning has a romantic view as her images suggest her love is limitless. Sonnet 43 is a sonnet, which is traditionally about the love from man to woman, so Barrett Browning is being unconventional by expressing her love so passionately. She loved Robert so much that she was willing to be disowned by her father when she eloped and married Barrett in Italy.
2
Q
beginning
A
- At the start of the poem and throughout it, the phrase ‘I love thee’ is repeated. The poet shows how strong her love for her husband-to-be is through the use of repetition because it emphasises just how much she loves him and suggests that her love is strong. Not only this but the repetition throughout makes the poem sound like a prayer and almost holy.
- She describes how she loves him to the ‘depth and breadth and height my soul can reach.’ This suggests how her love for him is infinite because it’s in her soul and that her soul is so full of love for him that she’s not sure she can love him more than she already does. By listing depth, breadth and height it helps to show just how high the limit for her love is that she doesn’t feel like there is one. This helps to emphasise how strong and passionate her love for him is.
3
Q
middle
A
- Barrett Browning uses lots of religious imagery throughout the poem. She uses words such as ‘Grace’, ‘Being’, ‘Right’, ‘Praise’ and these are all capitalised to draw attention to them. The effect of these words being capitalised suggests that she loves him as much as she loves God as these words link to God. It could also suggest that her love for him is as pure as her love for her country and her religion which would be very significant at the time as these were core beliefs that people held.
4
Q
end
A
- She then describes how the thought of him makes her ‘old griefs’ less harsh. These ‘old griefs’ could relate to how her brother died when she was young and how she spent a lot of her life isolated. Therefore, when she’s thinking of him her terrible past it seems less horrifying and more positive. This emphasises how strong their love is because she doesn’t have to be physically near him to feel effected by his love.
- At the end of the poem, Barrett Browning saying how she will ‘love thee better after death.’ This suggests how she is very committed to him because she is willing to love him after they die. Therefore, she wants to go into the afterlife with him as she loves him that much.
5
Q
form & structure
A
- Throughout the poem iambic pentameter is used and this sounds like a beating heart. This could symbolise her heart beating for him and her love for him.
- At the start of the poem she makes reference to her love being limitless and at the end she reinforces this point by saying that she wants to be with him after death. Their love is eternal.
