The first poem that I’m going to examine is by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It is called “How do I love thee”. The rhyming pattern is what is known as Petrarchan i.e. ABBA ABBA CDCDCD. It’s made up of two quatrains and a sextet. Every single line has ten syllables. The whole poem is based around the opening rhetorical question:
“How much do I love thee?”
It then proceeds to answer the question using extreme language while continuing to make it seem like a conversation. We are not told whom it is exactly about but we can only assume that it is about her lover. The poem is about how great her love is for her lover, it is more of a spiritual love then a physical one.
She constantly links back to idea of God;
“If God chooses”
This shows love is eternal, pure and spiritual. It is also handing control over to god; acknowledging his omnipotence. Elizabeth Barrett-Browning uses a lot of beautiful imagery in this poem. She lays emphasis on the words, “Being”, “Grace”, “Right”, and “Praise”. It is clear that all of these words are positive, religious and moral which again help to set the overall picture. She uses the word “love” ten times as well. This is clearly not a coincidence at again adds to accentuate just how much love she has for this person. We can tell from the line
“ I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need…”
That Browning loves him/her in a modest and humble way and feels no need to boast about it.
We also see that her love is all consuming from the quote:
“I love the with the breath,
Smiles, tears of all my life”
This shows that this love is taking over her life, almost in an obsessive way, and plays an essential role in her life.
The whole poem has very spiritual consuming tone
The next poem which I’m going to observe is sonnet LVII by William Shakespeare .The rhyming pattern is ABABCDCDEFEFGG .The poem is linking time with his lover.
He is saying that he is a slave of his lover:
“Being you slave what I shall do….”
“Nor services to do”
“…. whilst I my sovereign watch the clock…”
These are just some of the words to do with servants and royalty, this emphasises that he is a slave of her/his lover. He is weak, emasculated and inferior compared to his lover. In contrast the lover is strong and is seen as a queen figure. The speaker is also saying that love will make him a fool:
“So true a fool is love”
In fact, although this poem seems to illustrate the poet's disturbing dependence on his lover, we cannot overlook the possibility that the sonnet is ironic and filled with sarcasm rather than self-depreciation.
This different from the Browning one because in this one he is handing over control to his lover however Browning is handing. This may possibly show the difference in individuality.
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