Compare the presentation of love within the three sonnets studied.

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Kayleigh White 11R January 2004

Compare the presentation of love within the three sonnets studied.

The three sonnets that I studied were, "How do I love thee?" by Elizabeth Barret-Browning, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds" by William Shakespeare and "Since there's no help let us kiss and part" by Michael Drayton. Of these three there are numerous differences and similarities. It is known that at the time of writing her sonnet, Elizabeth Barret-Browning was happily married to Robert Browning, but without the consent of her father. They moved to Italy where she began to use the Petrachan form of sonnet. At the time when William Shakespeare wrote he was known to have already established himself as an actor and playwright and was working for the leading company, the Lord's Chamberlain's Men. In Drayton's sonnet we see that he was a contemporary of Shakespeare, this poem comes from a long sequence of sonnets called 'Idea's Mirror'. These sonnets were all inspired by his unrequited love for Anne Goodere, although he himself never married. As with Shakespeare his use of personification is extremely effective. Although their styles differ all three poets are speaking of their love for another person. Elizabeth Barret-Browning writes to her husband and as a women writing, it is written in a tender and soft tone. Her language and style used is incredibly dramatic.

To begin with Browning presents her love to her husband in a very private and loving way. She uses language and expressions like;

"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach,"

Browning writes from a female point of view and wants to make a commitment to her husband. The ideas of love in the three sonnets differ, as Drayton's love is unrequited and he is not writing in a reality, he has no one to write to. With Browning we know that she is writing to her husband and making a dedication to him. She writes in a serious yet, immensely loving form, we can tell from reading her sonnet that her husband is her life and the love she feels for him is described as endless. We see that Shakespeare writes in an incredibly confident manner, he is not writing to a person, as such, so his style differs from that of Browning or Drayton. Shakespeare's sonnet is an explanation of love, he writes in his opinion and of how love can conquer all. As we know that Browning is a woman, her style and tenderness differs terribly from that of Drayton and Shakespeare.
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Drayton's intention in his sonnet is to try and win over his idol of love, Anne Goodere. His efforts are useless and in his sonnet he says he wished to make himself free, so we can see that he does not enjoy the love he feels for Anne and wishes to be free of it. The name of his sonnet being, "Since there's no help, come let us kiss and part." Meaning since they can no longer resist each other, let us have one kiss and part each other's company. He does achieve what he's trying to do, ...

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