Elizabeth Barrett Browning
What can these lines tell us about the nature of love?
Cleopatra: If it be love indeed, tell me how much.
Antony: There’s beggary in the love that can be reckoned.
Cleopatra: I’ll set a bourn (limit) how far to be belov’d.
Antony: Then must thou needs find out new heaven, new earth.
1806 - 1861
Read and summarise part of her biography (as
allocated by teacher) in no more than 3-4 points.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
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; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Write each line of the poem in your own words.
How much do I love you? I'll count all the ways I do.
I love you to the edges of my soul, when it reaches out for the unseen goals of
eternity and oneness with God.
I love you as you need to be loved every day, whether during the day or the
evening.
I love you by my free choice, like those who choose to do the right thing.
I love you without self-regard, like those who don’t brag about their own
accomplishments.
I love you with the passion I used to feel for my old sufferings, and for the religion
of my childhood.
I love you with a love I thought I had lost when I lost faith in my saints.
I love you with my every breath, smile, and tear, and I will for the rest of my life.
And if God brings us to heaven, I’ll love you even more in the afterlife.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
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; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Choose three adjectives to describe your opinion of the poem,
from the list or on your own.
Beautiful
Romantic
Cliché
Exaggerated
Over-the-top
Sickly sweet
Touching
Moving
Understated
Tragic
Memorable
Boring
1. What type of poem is it? What is the
structure? What is the rhyme scheme?
2. Where is the volta?
3. What literary techniques can you find in this
poem?
4. What is the theme and purpose of this
poem?
5. What is your opinion of the poem?
Make a five-point plan how you would answer one of these
essay questions about Sonnet 43
1.Love can’t be measured. Do you agree? Refer to the poem in
your answer.
2.Poetry is the pursuit of the rich. Discuss with reference to the
life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
3.Romanticists like Elizabeth Barrett Browning write poetry that
touches the soul. Discuss with reference to Sonnet 43
4.In the poem Sonnet 43, in what ways does the poet love?
5.If Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote Sonnet 43 in 2021, how do
you think the poem would be different to the nineteenth century
version?
Named after 14-century Italian poet Francesco Petrarca,
the Petrarchan sonnet is a 14-line poem that uses iambic
pentameter and a somewhat flexible rhyme scheme.
Iambic pentameter means that each line contains
five iambs, or a weak syllable followed by a strong
syllable, such as the word 'aRISE' or the phrase 'the
NIGHT.‘
The rhyme scheme is somewhat flexible. The first eight
lines, or octave, of a Petrarchan sonnet almost always
follows the same rhyme scheme: abbaabba.
The rhyme scheme of the last six lines, or sestet, of a
Petrarchan sonnet varies from poem to poem. Some of
the most common rhyme schemes for the sestet are
cdecde, cdcdcd, cddcdd, and cddece.
