Analysis of Sonnet XLIII: How Do I Love Thee?
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
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.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
| Scheme | ABBCABBADEFGFG |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 1111111101 1111010101 1111110111 1011100011 111101011001 1101110101 1111011111 1111011111 1111010111 011101111 1111011111 1111111101 1111110111 1111110101 |
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 615 |
| Words | 129 |
| Sentences | 10 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 14 |
| Lines Amount | 14 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 34 |
| Words per line (avg) | 9 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 471 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 127 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 39 sec read
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"Sonnet XLIII: How Do I Love Thee?" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/10330/sonnet-xliii%3A-how-do-i-love-thee%3F>.
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