SONNET 43

• At what age did Elizabeth become ill with an undiagnosed condition?

  15
• What was the only treatment Elizabeth could take for her condition?

  Painkillers
• What did Elizabeth state about her religious feelings?

  She had 'the wild visions of an enthusiast'
• What is the title of the collection of poems Elizabeth wrote for Robert Browning?

  Sonnets of the Portuguese
• How many sonnets did Elizabeth write in her collection?

  44 sonnets
• What nickname did Robert Browning give to Elizabeth?

  My little Portuguese
• What was Elizabeth's father's reaction to her marriage to Robert?

  He disowned her
• In what year was the poem "Sonnet 43" written?

  1844
• Why were Elizabeth's poems disguised as translations from Portuguese?

  Because Victorian society did not accept female writers
• What is the main theme of "Sonnet 43"?

  • The speaker expresses her love for her beloved
  • She lists different ways she loves him
  • Her love is portrayed as eternal and omnipresent
• What literary device is used in the phrase 'depth and breadth' in the poem?

  Internal rhyme
• What does the endstop in 'sun and candlelight' signify in the poem?

  It emphasizes that these are all they need
• What effect does the exclamative 'Smiles, tears, of all my life!' have in the poem?

  It emphasizes the speaker's enduring love
• What religious language is used in the poem to convey the idea of eternal love?

  'If God choose'
• How does the phrase 'Smiles, tears, of all my life!' relate to the theme of love?


  It shows that she loves him through all experiences
• What imagery is used to represent warmth and love in the poem?

  'By sun and candlelight'
• What does the quote 'I love thee to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach' signify about love?

  It signifies that love transcends mortality
• What does the capitalized phrase 'For the ends of Being and ideal Grace' emphasize in the poem?

  It emphasizes unconditional love
• What does the line 'I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise' convey about the nature of the speaker's love?

  It conveys selfless love, expecting nothing in return
• What does the phrase 'In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith' suggest about the speaker's love?

  It suggests an obsessed and intense love
• How is love compared to worship in the quote 'With my lost saints'?

  It suggests that love is reverent and sacred
• What does the line 'I shall but love thee better after death' imply about the speaker's love?


  It implies that their love continues in Heaven