The title ‘The unequal fetters’, is very unusual and striking. It sounds as if she’s writing about imprisonment and it shows the poem is going to be downbeat.The rhyme schemes for both the poems are very complex. The poem ‘Unequal fetters’ is being addressed to the audience, it may be an appeal to other women or just trying to show her feelings. In ‘How I love thee’ the poem may be being addressed to her partner showing how she loves her partner and showing affection.
In The Unequal Fetters Anne Finch describes love as a bad thing. ‘At the full length of all their chain.’ This shows she sees marriage for women as slavery and the word full emphasises that men have more freedom than women.
She feels marriage is not worth it unless you don’t lose your youth. Or make youth for ever last, ‘To love would then be worth our cost.’
‘Fetters’ is a really strong word that highlights how she feels as if marriage is like being locked up. She says women are meant to be free, ‘Free as Natures first intention, was to make us.’ The whole of the verse is summed up in the first word of the verse, ‘free.’ This word shows how she feels and her views about women.
‘The loss of attractiveness’ this shows how marriage is ruined in time and as a married couple get older they drift apart. She shows marriage like it’s a punishment or as if you are sold into slavery. ‘Whilst close prisoners we remain’
She may be trying to make a complaint to the audience or an appeal or just simply show women how they get treated unfairly when they are married.
In how I love thee Elizabeth Barret Browning is totally the opposite to Anne Finch. She sees love as more of devotion than an imprisonment, ‘I love thee freely.’
Elizabeth Barret Browning sees love as a spiritual and religious thing she uses words like being, grave, praise, lost, saints and if god chooses. She may feel it is out of her hands who she falls in love with but in gods hands and that it is something that will last forever.
She uses words like life, long, and love in several lines to emphasise how much she is devoted and how her love will last forever. Love is seen as something that is three dimensional ‘I love thee to the depth and breath and height my soul can reach.’ This really stresses how she feels about love.
She feels her love will go on forever. ‘and, if god choose , I shall but love thee better after death.’
Elizabeth Barret Browning’s poem is a romantic theme whilst Anne Kingsmill Finch is showing the opposite feelings about love and marriage.
‘How do I love thee’ is a very personal poem whilst ‘The unequal fetters is a general declaration. The poems are both written at about the same time sotime is not a concept. Elizabeth Barret Browning feels her love will last forever and she is completely devoted to her partner. Anne Kingsmill Finch feels love and marriage is an unfair affair for women. She feels women do not have much of a choice and are very restricted. They both write will equal amounts of passion and have very strong but very different views.
