Analysis of "How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barret Browning

very strong love. Another example of Browning's strong word choice is in

line two of the poem, "I love thee to the depth and breadth and height..." (2).

Browning doesn't just say "I love thee a lot", she paints a picture in the mind

of the reader of an almost never-ending vastness of love. The adjectives put

to use in line two, incorporate all aspects of the physical realm; up, down,

and around, to truly impact the reader. The word choice put to use by

Browning unlocks knew doors in the path readers take in the development of

the poem.

Another literary element Browning uses in "How do I Love Thee?" is

structure. Structure is the arrangement of elements to form a whole piece of

literature (Kirszner 1986). The fourteen-lines of this poem along with the use

of the rhyme pattern of abba-abba clearly meet the criteria for a sonnet. With

the structure of a sonnet, Browning was able to develop a lyric in iambic

pentameter as noted in the rhyme scheme of "ways" and "grace" (1-4).

"Height" and "sight" as well as "light" and "right" are used to really capture

the mood of the poem and keep it in strict sonnet form (2-7). With the

structure of a sonnet, Browning ended the poem in a cd/cd rhyme pattern

using the words "lose" and "choose" for the C portion. With the D segment

ending in "Breath" and "Death" (10-14). The last word in the poem, "Death"

is also symbolic in regard to Spatio-temporal aspects of the poem, as

"Death" is also what ends our lives (14). The solid structure put to use by

Browning helps clarify her feelings of love and desire to the reader, greatly

increasing the effectiveness of this poem.

Style is another important element of the poem "How Do I love

Thee?". Style is defined as the way an author selects and arranges words to

express ideas and, ultimately, theme (Kirszner 1986). In Browning's unique

style she begins by asking the question, How do I love you and answers by

saying, let me count the ways (1). This sets the reader up for the different

ways Browning has found to love. She then begins to explain all the

unobvious ways to love another human being, including the level of every

day's use (5). She uses the fact that "men strive for right" to illustrate how

freely she can love, which is an exceptional use of parallelism. Browning's

style seems to follow a chronological order of how she can love, as evident

in "I love thee with a love I seemed to lose..." (11). Browning must have

loved before, if now she loves with a love she thought she had lost. Also, the

fact that Browning writes that she loves with all her life and plans to love even

more after she dies is a huge statement in support of her undying love (12-

4). Browning's creative style is a necessity and definitely adds to the

creation of her strong purpose of love in this sonnet.

Browning's spectacular "How Do I Love Thee?", may at first seem

vague, but with a more thorough approach the reader can gain new insight

into Browning's purpose. Browning uses her unique style and word choice to

spice the poem and give it flavor, while the sonnet format keeps the poem

simple. Browning proved her excellence and innovativeness as an author, in

the multi dimensions of "How Do I love Thee?".

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