Sonnet 43 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Question 1

“How”

Answer 1

Question makes the poem’s theme clear from the start.

Question 2

“I love thee?”

Answer 2

Addresses the object of her love as “thee” - it’s direct and personal. However, the lack of a name or gender makes the poem seem universal.

Question 3

“Let me count the ways.”

Answer 3

The poem ‘counts’ each of these ways as it progresses. Makes the speaker sound methodical and intense.

Question 4

“deep and breadth and height”

Answer 4

Shows the scale or her love. Repetition of “and” reflects her excitement and passion.

Question 5

“sight”
“For”

Answer 5

Enjambment emphasises the speaker’s passion - it suggests she is overflowing with love.

Question 6

“ends of Being and ideal Grace.”

Answer 6

Capitals suggest these words are being used in a spiritual sense. The speaker’s love is so deep it’s like a desire to understand the existence and get close to God. This would have resonated strongly with readers in the 19th century, when society was more religious.

Question 7

“the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight”

Answer 7

This is a different side to her love - it’s a calm, constant part of everyday life too.

Question 8

“freely”

Answer 8

She loves him effortlessly - it’s very natural to her.

Question 9

“I love thee”
“I love thee”
“I love thee”

Answer 9

Anaphora shows the strength of her feelings. It also emphasises the different words that follow (“freely”,”purely”) which describe her love.

Question 10

“Right;”
“Praise”

Answer 10

She loves him as willingly as people who always try to do the right thing, and as purely as modest people who turn away from being praised. The link to virtuous conduct suggests her love is morally right.

Question 11

“old griefs”

“Smiles, tears”

Answer 11

Mixture of positive and negative emotions shows that she loves him with everything she has - it all links back to her love for him.

Question 12

“childhood’s faith”

“saints”

Answer 12

She loves him with the passion that religion gave her as a child. This could suggest that her lover has replaced her faith - she almost idolises him.

Question 13

“-“
“-“

Answer 13

Caesurae break up the rhythm and make her sound breathless with excitement.

Question 14

“if God choose,”
“better after death”

Answer 14

Their love is presented as eternal as it will outlive their time on earth. The speaker’s hope that God supports their love suggests that she believes in its purity.

Question 15

What is the poem about?

Answer 15

1) The narrator expresses her intense love for her lover, counting all the different ways in which she loves him.

2) She loves him so deeply that she sees thier love as spiritual and sacred.

3) Her love is so great that she believes she will love him even after death.

Question 16

Form

Answer 16

FORM - Barrett Browning follows tradition by writing her love poem in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet. This means it conforms to a specific rhyme scheme. It is written in iambic pentameter, and therefore mirrors the rhythm of normal speech, but the metre is disrupted by pauses and repetition, making the speaker sound passionate. The use of the first person also gives the poem a personal feel.

Question 17

Structure

Answer 17

STRUCTURE - The poem is made up of a series of different ways of defining the speaker’s love. The octave (the first eight lines) introduces the poem’s main theme - the idea that her love is so intense, it is almost divine. The sestet (the remaining six lines) them developed this theme by showing that she loves him with the emotions of an entire lifetime - from childhood through to, and past, death.

Question 18

Exaggerated Language

Answer 18

EXAGGERATED LANGUAGE - The poem uses hyperbole to show the strength of the speaker’s feelings. She uses exaggeration as she attempts to put her feelings into words - she is keen to emphasise both the scale of her love and the fact that the experiences of her whole life contribute to its strength.

Question 19

Religious Language

Answer 19

RELIGIOUS LANGUAGE - The speaker’s love is like a religion to her - it touches all aspects of her life and gives meaning to her existence. Her love is unconditional, like religious faith.

Question 20

Repetition

Answer 20

REPETITION - Using the same words repeatedly at the start of consecutive lines is called anaphora. It emphasises the strength of her feelings - it’s as if words can’t convey the intensity of her emotions, so she just has to keep repeating the same ones to express the depth of her love.

Question 21

Deep and lasting love

Answer 21

DEEP AND LASTING LOVE - The speaker uses descriptions of spiritual love to emphasise the strength of her own feelings. The final line also implies that her love is everlasting.

Question 22

Unselfish love

Answer 22

UNSELFISH LOVE - The speaker asked for nothing in return. She compares herself to people who try to do the right thing without expecting a reward.

Question 23

Virtue

Answer 23

VIRTUE - She considers her love to be morally and spiritually right and worthy of God’s support.