"Sonnet 43" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

• Browning's sonnet doesn't follow the rules of sonnets. Though it seems to be expressing a perfect love, the poet's form does not try to achieve perfection.
• Browning recounts the ways she loves her partner. She tries to convey the intensity of her feelings. She ends the poem hoping that her love will live on after death.
• The poem also expresses female desire and longing in a very open and unashamed way, which was uncommon for the Victorian era.
• Barrett Browning was an important Victorian poet. She wrote "Sonnet 43" to her husband Robert Browning.

  She was unusual for her time; it wasn't acceptable for young middle class women to be poets.
• "Sonnet 43" was written in 1850.
• • The poem begins with the narrator trying to measure the size of her love, but by trying to do this she reveals that it is impossible.
  • She then goes on to compare her love to her vast love of God.
  • She then says her love is present in normal day-to-day activities. The narrator goes through all the ways she loves her partner- comparing her love to philosophy, religion, and politics.
  • The poem concludes with the narrator hoping that she will continue to love her partner, even after death.
• RELIGION

  • Barrett Browning uses religious imagery throughout the poem to show she is entirely devoted to her lover.
  • She does not present her love as perfect. She still serves God- the line "if God choose" shows that this love is not the same as her love of God.
  • But the narrator uses the religious language throughout to suggest her love for her husband is almost incomparable.
  • Example quotes: "Ideal Grace" ,"Saints", "childhood faith".
• DEVOTION

  • The anaphora ( repetition over consecutive lines) of "I love thee" sounds almost like a prayer to her lover, and also shows that she is entirely devoted to her partner.
  • She also asks nothing in return- the poem focusses entirely on how much she loves her partner, rather than what she gets from the relationship.
• PRAISE SIMILE

  • Barrett Browning uses a simile in the line "I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise"
  • She is comparing her love to religious devotion.
  • This also emphasises how selflessly devoted she is to her lover- like a person of faith is to God.
• Barrett Browning's sonnet deals openly with female desire, a topic that would have been taboo in the Victorian era.
• OPENNESS

  • The narrator is unashamed and open about her feelings. This is shown by her exclamation in the beginning- "Let me count the ways".
  • The form of the poem- using iambic pentameter and disruptive punctuation to mimic natural speech- creates a sense that the poem is a passionate speech rather than a controlled love poem.
• LANGUAGE

  • The first person language of the poem gives it a sense of intimacy.
  • The narrator talks about deeply personal feelings- she says she has a "quiet need" for her lover. She loves him with "passion" and her "childhood's faith".
  • This is a multifaceted (with many layers) presentation of love. It is both sexual and innocent. Barrett Browning presents female desire as being just as complex as male desire.
• SUBVERTING FORMS AND NORMS

  • Barrett Browning uses a traditional form of love poetry- the sonnet. But she doesn't follow most of its rules.
  • Sonnets were originally written by lovers to their unreachable mistresses. The women in these sonnets would often be silent.
  • Barrett Browning's poem gives the female perspective a voice. It is also simply a celebration of her love, rather than a complaint about her partner's lack of feeling.
• AFTER DEATH

  • Barrett Browning was very religious, like most people in the 19th century.
  • She believes her love is make up of "Smiles, tears, of all her life". The use of asyndeton (lack of conjunctions) presents her feelings as overwhelming.
  • Her faith in God allows her to believe that her love can live on after death- this demonstrates that her love is so strong that she believes it will outlive her body.
• A LIFETIME OF LOVE

  • The poem tracks the narrator's love over the course of her life.
  • The octave (first 8 lines) explores her love in general, describing it as an "everyday... need". This presents her love as important to every part of her life.
  • In the sestet (last 6 lines), Barrett Browning becomes more personal in her focus. She says how her love is made up of her childhood innocence, her "old griefs" and her crises of faith in God ("lost faiths"). This shows that her love is complex and a key part of her experience- both good and bad.
• KEY QUOTATIONS:

  "If God choose/ I shall but love thee better after death"

  • The narrator believes that her love is so strong it will outlive her.
• KEY QUOTATIONS:

  
  

  "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!"

  • Barrett Browning asks an impossible question- how do you measure love? The narrator tries to count the ways, but proves it's an impossible task.
• KEY QUOTATIONS:

  
  

  "I love thee to the level of everyday's/Most quiet need".

  • Sonnet 43 offers many grand comparisons for love. But Barrett Browning also highlights the presence of her love in her everyday actions.