Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!

• Structure:

  • Love song in form of Petrarchan sonnet -->Octave presents the situation/problem
  • Extended Metaphor of trees and vines
• "instantly/ Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,"


  Volta (turning point) - calls on speaker to appear
• "as wild vines, about a tree [...] straggling green which hides the wood"


  Husband=tree , her thought = vines twined around it

  --> her thoughts are overwhelming
• "O my palm tree"


  Religious symbolism --> worships him, king-like

  Metaphor --> he's tall and strong
• "I do not think of thee - I am too near thee"


  Sestet presents resolution

  Antithesis (ending contradicts beginning) --> speaker and lover united
• Context: Sonnet 29

  Barret Browning named it this to make it seem like it's from a large collection, she claimed that she translated it from Portuguese to English. She did this to hide the fact that she (a woman) wrote it, secretly directing it to her husband, Robert Browning.