and impressive imagery taken from her own experiences of falling in love, giving birth, her political views, marriage and being a wife and mother- perhaps her own experiences add to the innovation of her poetry. Elizabeth’s early life was subjugated by her love for poetry and she was dedicated to writing from an exceptionally young age, during this time her poetry received great recognition. ‘For the first twenty years of adult life Elizabeth Barrett Browning was not married, and during that time she achieved recognition as a poet of note; then, at the age of forty, she married Robert Browning and, after at least one miscarriage, gave birth to a son when she was fourty-three.’[2]
The first poem I will discuss is titled ‘How Do I Love Thee?” this poem is taken from EBB’s most lastingly popular collection Sonnets from the Portuguese and is also recognized by the title Sonnet XLIII. Barrett wrote this collection of love poems while she was being courted by her future husband in 1846, however, the collection was not published until the year 1850. In total the collection contains 44 love poems which are all dedicated to her husband, each sonnet is filled with passion and sincerity. ‘How do I love Thee’ is perhaps one of her most popular sonnet and has been described as one of the greatest love poems of all time; her sonnet’s have even been compared to that of Shakespeare and Wordsworth. In this poem Barrett’s use of language is exquisite, heartfelt yet simple. The sonnet opens as the speaker who is obviously Barrett declares the joy and delight felt by this new love and relationship which she is experiencing. In the opening line the author presents the rhetoric question, "How do I love thee?" as the poem continues the tone does not change it is one of bliss and intensity, her love is described as strong and boundless:
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.(2-4)
It is clear that this piece of writing is an attempt for the poet to measure her love for her courtier and her intense love is un-containable.
This image also depicts the magnitude of love as the words "depth and breadth and height" show the immensity of Elizabeth Barrett’s love. In each stanza Barrett’s love is compared with many everyday things and ideas; as the poem progresses her love gains strength and reinforces her ideas. The repetition of, ‘I love thee,’ throughout the sonnet makes this proclamation of love even more convincing.
It is clear that Elizabeth Barrett’s love is genuine and sturdy the poem paints a picture for the reader of what true love really feels like. The sonnet is rich with alliteration and imagery which add to the intensity of the poems profound affect on the reader.
I love thee to the level of every
day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.(5-6)
The author describes in these two effective lines that her love for her husband is ranked as equal to her basic everyday needs which are needed both day ‘by sun’ and at night ‘by candlelight’. The poem is a successful outpour of the poet’s thoughts and emotions for her devotee and has gained much respect from her contemporaries and has continued to fascinate the modern-day audience. The poem ends beautifully by Barrett claiming that her love for him will not end at the death their love is strong enough to continue on eternally.
As we can see by Elizabeth Barrett’s sonnets taken from the collection Sonnets from the Portuguese this poetry is some of the most emotionally charged poetry written during this period. One characteristic of her poetry is how it is very easily understood, this also accounts for her popularity at the time, her poetry accessible by all. In her Famous Sonnet XXIX taken from the same collection we see a repeat of barrett’s farmiliar theme Barretts’s love for her husband. Barrett describes her love for him when he is absent in this sonnet, we can see this from her opening statement "I think of thee":
I think of thee !--my thoughts do twine and bud
About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,
Put out broad leaves, and soon there 's nought to see(1-3)
Barrett compares her love for Robert as that of ‘wild vines, about a tree’ this image suggests that her love is constant and the words ‘twine’ and ‘bud’ imply that her love is growing as time progresses. The nature images are powerful and memorable in these lines just as in all of Barrett’s love poems her love is never-ending and full of passion in this poem there is a sense of extreme yearning in this poem perhaps yearning for her lover:
Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare
Barrett’s agile mind is exposed in this sonnet as she explores the effect love has on her as a person. The imagery and rhyming scheme show effectively her thoughts about her husband.
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[1] Sonnets of the Portuguese: A Celebration of Love By Elizabeth Barrett Browning Edition:7,illustrated Published by Macmillan, 1986
[2] “Motherhood’s Advent in Power”: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Poems about Motherhood Author: Sandra Donaldson. Sources Victorian Poetry, Vol. 1, No. 1(Spring, 1980), pp.51-60. Published by: West Virginia University Press