Questions and Answers
What is the main theme of the poem 'Sonnet 43' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning?
Who is the likely addressee of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
What literary device is used in the poem 'Sonnet 43' to describe the speaker's love?
What is the tone of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the speaker's hope in the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the structure of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the author's intention in the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the significance of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the main idea expressed in the first two lines of Sonnet 43?
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What does the phrase 'old griefs' refer to in the poem?
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What is the significance of the 'lost saints' in the poem?
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What does the speaker say will happen to her love for her husband after death?
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How did Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning meet?
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What is the title of the collection in which Sonnet 43 appears?
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What is the term used by Robert Browning to refer to his wife?
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What is the tone of the poem Sonnet 43?
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What does the speaker's comparison of her love to her 'childhood's faith' suggest?
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What is the central theme of Sonnet 43?
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What is the structure of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the last line of the poem 'Sonnet 43' about?
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Who is the speaker of the poem 'Sonnet 43' assumed to be?
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What literary device is used in the line 'I love thee freely, as men strive for right'?
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What is the purpose of the first line of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the effect of the repetition of the 'th' sound in line 2?
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What is the tone of the lines 'I love thee to the level of every day's / Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light'?
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What is the poem 'Sonnet 43' classified as?
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What is the metrical pattern of the poem 'Sonnet 43'?
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What is the meaning of the line 'I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight'?
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What is the profession of Jamie Jenson?
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What degree does Jamie Jenson hold in English Literature?
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How many poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning are listed on the website?
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Study Notes
Introduction to Sonnet 43
- Sonnet 43 is one of the most famous and recognizable poems in the English language.
- It is a love poem written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, proclaiming her unending passion for her beloved, likely her husband Robert Browning.
Themes
- The poem engages with themes of love, devotion, and relationships.
- The speaker addresses her lover, listing reasons why she loves him and making use of nature-based comparisons to depict her love.
Structure and Form
- Sonnet 43 is classified as a sonnet because it contains 14 lines of poetry with a fixed rhyme scheme of abba abba cdcdcd.
- The poem follows the traditional pattern of a Petrarchan sonnet, one of the two major sonnet forms.
- The poem also uses iambic pentameter, meaning each line contains five sets of two beats, with the first unstressed and the second stressed.
Literary Devices
- The poem makes use of literary devices such as imagery, simile, and alliteration.
- Imagery is used to create vivid images in the reader's mind, for example, "I love thee to the level of every day's / Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light".
- Simile is used to compare the speaker's love to the strength with which men "strive" for what is right, for example, "I love thee freely, as men strive for right".
- Alliteration is used to increase the rhythm and rhyme of the poem, for example, "purely" and "praise" in line eight.
Speaker of Sonnet 43
- The speaker is likely Elizabeth Barrett Browning, talking directly to her beloved in the sonnet and using personal pronouns such as "I" and "you".
Detailed Analysis
- The poem starts with the line "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" and then lists the ways in which the speaker loves her beloved.
- The speaker's love is described as infinite, as deep and wide and tall as it can possibly be.
- The poem also touches on the theme of death, with the speaker hoping that God will allow her to love her partner even in death.
Historical Background
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning fell in love with Robert Browning after he reached out to her about her writing.
- The couple wrote letters to each other before marrying, knowing their marriage would not be accepted by Barrett Browning's father.
- The two were each other's biggest supporters, and Barrett Browning included Sonnet 43 in her collection titled Sonnets From the Portuguese.
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Description
Explore the themes of love and devotion in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's famous sonnet, where the speaker expresses her profound passion for her beloved and hopes for eternal love.
