How Do I Love Thee? Analysis

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 candlelight.

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love with a 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.

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They are in many ways typically Victorian with their tone of gloom and sorrow, their almost morbid sensitivity to illness and death, their great outpouring of feeling as love develops, and the force and intensity of their passion. Elizabeth had been in frail health since childhood, and she fully expected to live alone until an early death. The lover in the poems, as Robert did in her life, brings about her resurrection from a living death, giving her faith in herself and the courage to live fully in the wide world beyond her father’s house.

| Posted on 2009-11-12 | by a guest

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Hei people, i thInk its all about her tRue love, God and maybe the other is her husband.That's all.thnx.

| Posted on 2009-11-11 | by a guest

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I think that the capitalized words toward the ends of the lines 4, 7, & 8 may be a way of Browning to realate her feelings to a higher power (God)

| Posted on 2009-11-05 | by a guest

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I believe because the poem is so simplicity, barrett browning is clever in disguising a deeper, perhaps radical political views behind a simple love poem. After all, sonnet 43 is from her collection of poetry called "sonnets from the Portuguese" the title itself is a disguise, because these poems were created as love poems to Robert Browning. When she compose this poem, she was not married to Robert.

| Posted on 2009-11-01 | by a guest

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umm. okay. yal are not verrry helpful in my research!!! i need stuff like the protagonist antagonist not what the lines mean.. so she was in love or whatev... there aint no meaning for the words she says... DUH!!!!

| Posted on 2009-10-30 | by a guest

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wow, I'm pretty sure ALL of you are wrong about this. she wrote this as a love poem to mr. Robert browning. she was an unknown woman that was ONLY known or her possible skill as a writer. a man named Robert browning came to town, to have her be his mentor, as he loved her writing. well, she soon fell in love with him, and out of this love wrote this poem to him. when she gave it to him, she said it was a poem that she found in an archive of long lost spanish sonnets. however, he saw right through it and said he loved her back. as a result, the two ran away together and "lived happily ever after."
everyones trying to figure out what the poems about, you shouldbe REALLY be discussing what each line means. but there's the real analysis behind this poem. :)

| Posted on 2009-10-29 | by a guest

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In the poem entitled “How do I love Thee” by E.B. browning she uses the figurative Language such as Anaphora. Anaphora is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginnings of neighboring clauses, thereby lending them emphasis.
…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 grief’s, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose…
At the end of the Clause

| Posted on 2009-10-14 | by a guest

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_+itS mE nAdaH..
...i love those people who loves logicsss....

| Posted on 2009-09-29 | by a guest

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E.B.Browning here uses an intimate, passionate tone to describe the extension of her love for her husband.
It is a sentiment that springs from the very bottom of her soul: it is deep, wide, but also free and pure.
Moreover, there’s a mystic, religious reference which in the last lines becomes an invocation to God to make her love last even after her death.

| Posted on 2009-09-21 | by a guest

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Hmmm... its dedicated to her husband o.O Haha , hoy guest mas baliw ka !!!

| Posted on 2009-09-12 | by a guest

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how on earth people can put to shame such a wonderful piece of poetry is beyond me. Poetry is not a worthless art. It is huge.

| Posted on 2009-09-08 | by a guest

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haha!! mga baliw kau!! yun lng masasabi ko! hahaha!!

| Posted on 2009-08-21 | by a guest

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I think that this poem is about woemen staying at home and being a slave top their husbands. it describes her love for being a house wife in lines 2 and 7

| Posted on 2009-07-29 | by a guest

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i loved this poem very much,,. this is my report in english class and when i understand the true meaning of this through your analysis, i understand how she gave her endless love to her x

| Posted on 2009-06-15 | by a guest

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Okay, so here writting this are two students trying to figure out the REAL meaning of the poem, and some of you dumb people say there is a husband?
what the hell are you guys talking about?
The poem does not indicate that she is talking about her dead husband.
get your stories straight people!!!! >:)

| Posted on 2009-06-03 | by a guest

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she has endless love for someone and is expressing this endless love just as anyone would... i love it, its a personal favorite of mine

| Posted on 2009-06-02 | by a guest

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i love the last two lines. those two lines are crazily romantic. the poet love her husband in such a way that she wants to continue her love even after death.

| Posted on 2009-06-01 | by a guest

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This right here is the reason why poetry is a worthless art.

| Posted on 2009-05-27 | by a guest

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What I love the most about this poem is that we can't tell anything about her lover. While in a poem written my a man we find his lady in every line, in here it is all about love.

| Posted on 2009-05-25 | by a guest

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You are all the biggest losers ever!!! Why in gods name did u waste your time on this crap!????

| Posted on 2009-05-17 | by a guest

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This poem is about a love so intense that is rises to spritual level (lines 3 and 4)

| Posted on 2009-05-02 | by a guest

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I understand this poem somewhat but whoever or whatever the love is for it has a deep meaning and i think it was vary sweet and.emotional.

| Posted on 2009-02-26 | by a guest

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this poem is about her love for her husband (i think its robert) yeah. i think she talks about how she cant, as a human, provide endless love. when she says "my soul can reach" i think she is saying her soul can only reach so far. but shes also saying she is reaching to the heights and debths and something else of her soul. so although she cant provide endless love, she loves him as much as humanly(spelling) possible. and when she says "and if God choose, i shall but love thee better after death", i think shes hinting on her religion, and God's power. that God is gonna give her the ability to love him more when she is with the alfa and omega. but seriously, you have to read this poem a buncha times before you can really understand it even a little bit. if you understood it the first time you read it, you need to be on tv or something

| Posted on 2009-02-18 | by a guest

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Im doing a research about this poem for my university English class
After studying and rereading it for the millionth time I came to the conclusion that this poem is not addressed to her husband...Theory number one: its addressed to her gift of poetry. She is "thanking" her gift, in a sense for making her life a lot better than it was, and for helping her find her live, Robert, because he was interested in her poetry. Her love for poetry is free and she is not looking for enyone to admire it, she simply wants people to enjoy it...after her death she only hopes that her poetry will be remembered and loved.
Another thoery, her poem is addressed to God. religion was a big part of her life. It almost seems like a prayer. First of all she starts off by giving her love a three dimensional form...after that there are 7 ways she loves that individual...7 ways...too long to explain every line...but after her death, if God Hiself chooses that path for her, she will be closer to him...in heaven...
Tell me what you think, and if you think I will get an F on this paper, be honest...

| Posted on 2009-02-05 | by a guest

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Im doing a research about this poem for my university English class
After studying and rereading it for the millionth time I came to the conclusion that this poem is not addressed to her husband...Theory number one: its addressed to her gift of poetry. She is "thanking" her gift, in a sense for making her life a lot better than it was, and for helping her find her live, Robert, because he was interested in her poetry. Her love for poetry is free and she is not looking for enyone to admire it, she simply wants people to enjoy it...after her death she only hopes that her poetry will be remembered and loved.
Another thoery, her poem is addressed to God. religion was a big part of her life. It almost seems like a prayer. First of all she starts off by giving her love a three dimensional form...after that there are 7 ways she loves that individual...7 ways...too long to explain every line...but after her death, if God Hiself chooses that path for her, she will be closer to him...in heaven...
Tell me what you think, and if you think I will get an F on this paper, be honest...

| Posted on 2009-02-05 | by a guest

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well that was an ignorant thing to say
to gain an understanding of the poem that may/will change your views of the poem try the analysis posted on 2007-09-18 :)
that analysis might also benefit the person asking for a line to line explanation :)

| Posted on 2009-02-03 | by a guest

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love can never be measured, this poem is pathetic!

| Posted on 2009-01-20 | by a guest

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nice one!!!
hahaha,..
add me on your x want 2 meet more friends,..
tnx!!
mwah!!!!

| Posted on 2009-01-18 | by a guest

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This is a powerful love sonnet that not only flows with exclamatory passion it also creates a picture of what true love is. Unlike “One Hundred and sixteenth sonnet,” written by Shakespeare, he defines what true love is. However, Elizabeth on the other hand, shows how it truly feels to love someone. Throughout this sonnet Elizabeth expresses her deepest love for her husband (his parents are against there love).∗ She uses such profound alliterations and metaphors that emphasize her intense love for Robert (her husband). I adore the fact that this sonnet shows how love can be so powerful and how it can make one feel.∗ I quickly identified how she genuinely expresses her sincere feelings, which show great emotional confidence. Also adding a little touch of her religious views completed the poem with a noble finish.

| Posted on 2009-01-16 | by a guest

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What I find interesting about the sonnet is the triple syndetic listing on line two, with 'I love thee to the depth and breadth and heigh', here Elizabeth is really measuring her love for her Husband, saying it's expanse is of the deepest, widest, highest. I also like the exlamatory tone followed by an additional thought in the line before last, this really does show her passion for the love she holds, as she seems to burst with all the emotions and feelings she wants to express. It's almost as if the restrictions of the sonnet are too much for her.

| Posted on 2009-01-11 | by a guest

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hmm. can you please give me a line by line explanation? PLEASE. thanks.

| Posted on 2008-11-17 | by a guest

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:.
". this is one of my favorite poems. this genre composed of opening octet and closing sestet which falls on Italian Petrachan Sonnet. it has many poetic devices present in the sonnet such alliteration, metaphor and the like. it talks about someone she loves. therefore, the person she is offering her love is her husband - Robert. she expressed her intense love to him knowing that Robert's family is against their relationship",....

| Posted on 2008-09-30 | by a guest

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This is a brillant petrarchan sonnet, written by Barrett Browning to the love of her life, Robert Browning. Interestingly enough she did not show Robert this poem upon completion and it wasn't until much later that he read it. Suggesting that as much as she wrote the poem about him, she may have not written directly for him. I would suggest instead that she wrote this poem as a way of dealing with her intense love for this man. As an outlet to for her passion.
This poem is rich with alliteration and imagery. The metaphors describing her love for him and comparing it to her religious views are profound. I only hope that one day I to can look into my own lover's eyes and with such conviction convey what Elizabeth did here. Love is powerful.

| Posted on 2008-09-24 | by a guest

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enge nga po ng magandang symbol about this poem and pls gave an brief explanation.tnx ill w8 this nyt
.

| Posted on 2008-09-03 | by a guest

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The poem would seem to be about someone other than God, but perhaps you people have undergone some enlightenment beyond my reach. I believe the poem is partially about the development of love - it progresses from a love experienced in every living moment, like in newly-weds, to a deeper more 'philosophical' love, brought about by mutual respect that finds its provenience from knowing the other for a long duration. The poet then says that her love was so deep that it would transcend the boundaries of death, and persist, the fire of love burning even stronger.

| Posted on 2008-08-03 | by a guest

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hello people...
i need help on understanding the tone and summary of this poem.. what it really means

| Posted on 2008-06-27 | by a guest

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this poem confuses me kinna. . .it has no specific rhyme scheme which bugs me alot. . .and alot of it contradicts itself. . .its really good but there are things that make it tick and some that flatten it out

| Posted on 2008-05-27 | by a guest

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thank you very much for explaining this to me. I am a student and i could NOT figure out this poem but i understand it now! thank you!

| Posted on 2008-05-09 | by a guest

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I haven't found any symbols in here. I was about to say that "thee" symbolizes her husband but when I look at it again I think it's more like metaphor. Anyway, this poem is very powerful. It uses many poetic elements such as alliteration, imagery as well as metaphor.

| Posted on 2008-02-02 | by a guest

.: Addendum to 2007-09-18 :.

Wellscripted; worth much rereading to catch all nuances of both poet and analyst. Based on timing prior to marriage to her Robert when obstacles to their union might have seemed insurmountable to her I beg to add an additional thought to Lines 09. and 10. commentary: "Passion put to use in her old griefs is passion that hurts that reminds one through pain that she is stil alive..." (I would add) "and that her love for him endures in the core of her pain." She is saying that no matter th

| Posted on 2008-01-06 | by a guest