How do I love thee?
(POEM ANALYSIS)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning designated this title to produce the impression that she had
translated the work from the Portuguese and would therefore avoid any distinction and to point
out the ways in which she could love her beloved the word thee means you in this poem, this
poem answers the question “how do I love thee?” throughout the rest of the poem repetition
occurs. In this poem, the title how do I love thee emphasizes the feeling of her true love. In the
first line of the poem, then, the speaker shows her close and intimate connections with the
person she is addressing. We assume that the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning dedicates the
poem to her husband as the speaker's gender is not specified in the poem ,she shows up
assertive, declarative positions by frequently using I and me throughout . The style of
expressing her love towards her beloved is almost in an argument or a defensive manner rather
than in a spontaneous expression of love feeling.
There is no distinct setting in the poem the speaker is lost in her thoughts
Love and Faith are the major themes in this poem it mainly talks about true love which has no
end and can give the person not only pleasure but also faith towards God.she considers love as
an epitome and she reveals the depth of her passion by drawing analogies between her love
and religious ideals.
She expresses her deep love in captivating ways to show the intensity of love . She
metaphorically compares her love to her soul, which can go beyond the horizon even when she
feels out of sight. Her love is so pure as she takes no pride in her love for him or having him but
only to take care of him and give him an everlasting love. She loves him with an intense passion
as if to restore her past pain and sufferings. His love can bring back her lost love again for the
saints and God. She tells that she loves him with all her breath, smiles and tears of her whole
life and also wishes that, if God permits her, she would love him even better after the death.
The tone is romantic and confident in the beginning. However, the tone turns somber and
humble when she mentions the grievances of her past. The speaker has suffered many
disappointments in her life Despite of these setbacks, however, her faith has been restored by
her love for her husband.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right just as men strive for their rights. (simile) – Using the
word “as” to establish the simile, the speaker compares the way in which she loves her husband
and expresses her freedom to love him as there is no one to interfere in her decisions just as
men who strive to accomplish their rights.
By sun and candle-light” (metaphor) – The mention of sun and candle-light serves as a
metaphor for the passage of time and the course of one’s life and the important of light in ones
life.
This poem is a Petrarchan sonnet consisting of 14 lines with one idea flow throughout the text ,
it consists of an octave and sestet along with Iambic pentameter , the poem follows a rhyme
scheme of a b b a a b b a ( Octet) and
c d c d c d (Sestet) It contains end rhymes and also follows the iambic pentameter.
Alliteration- I love thee is technically repeated throughout the poem
Alliteration- the repetition of" I" consonant in the line" I love the with a love I seemed to lose"
Alliteration-" I love thee to the depth and breadth" the repetition of the short "e" sound in" depth"
and "breadth" produces a rhyme .
I love thee to the breadth and height/My soul can reach".Here the immensity of the poet's love
to her beloved is metaphorically compared to the depth, breadth and height.
"I love thee with a love I seemed to lose".
Here the consonant sound 'l' is repeated, so it can be taken as alliteration.
" I love thee to the depth and breadth "
Here the vowel sound 'e' in the words 'death and 'breadth' are repeated. So, it can be taken as
assonance.
"I love thee freely, as men strive for right"
In this line both the vowel sound 'e' and long consonant sound 'l' are repeated. So, it can be
taken as both assonance and alliteration.
"Depth and breadth and height".In this line the poet tries to give the physical form and presence
to the abstract feeling 'love'.so, it is an example of metonymy.
"My soul can reach".This line is personified because reaching a place or destination is a human
attribute. Soul is an abstract idea.
" Depth and breadth and height".This is a perfect example for hyperbole, because the poet is
exaggerating that her love is beyond the depth, breadth and height.
"I shall but love thee better after death".This line is also an exaggeration because loving
someone after death is literally impossible. So this is a hyperbole.
Some other examples of hyperbole are
" I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints"
"I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears of all my life".
How do I love thee? A poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning which is sonnet 43 follows the
pattern of Italian form established by petrarch.
The entire poem is a contemplation of her life’s experiences and the ways in which they have
shaped her understanding of her love.
