“How do I love thee?” By Elizabeth, Barrett Browning
How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways
I
love thee to the depth and breadth and height [deep]
My
soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For
the ends of Being and ideal Grace [religious]
I
love thee to the level of every day’s [simple]
I
love thee freely as men strive for Right [political]
I
love thee purely, as they turn from Praise; [praise]
I
love thee with the passion put to use [passion]
In
my old griefs and with my childhood’s faith [modesty]
I
love thee with a love I seem 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.
Tone:
Passionate, Loving and calm
Subject:
Loved one
Theme
Strength of love
Poet:
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Speaker:
The female lover
The
different ways she loved the guy:
Deep, Always, Praise, Religious, Political, Simple, Modesty, and Passion.
A
little Description of the poem:
It is direct but fairly abstract. Generally explains the natural feeling
of love, but without using details and not showing how the couple acts on an
everyday basis. It does not show anything special, or unique about the lovers.
Style of poem: It is a sonnet. It rhymes, 14 lines. It’s from the Victorian age.