Read the Selection 'How do I love Thee' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
II. What is the message of the poem to you? Create a 3-5 constructive response.
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 everyday'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 a 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.
Answers
Explanation:
Popularity of “How Do I Love Thee”: Also known as ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese 43: How do I love thee?’ was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a great poet of the Victorian era. ‘How Do I Love Thee’ is a famous love poem and was first published in a collection, Sonnets from the Portuguese in 1850. The poem deals with the speaker’s passionate adoration of her beloved with vivid pictures of her eternal bond that will keep her connected to her beloved even after death.
“How Do I Love Thee” As a Representative of Love: As this poem is about love, the speaker counts how she adores her beloved. To her, love is a powerful force that can conquer everything in the universe. As an epitome of her expression of love, she details the ways how her love will get stronger with every passing phase of life. At the outset, she attempts to discuss the depth of her passion by drawing analogies between her love and religious and political ideals. Later, she expresses the unique quality of her enduring love when she says that her love will get better after death.
Major Themes in “How Do I Love Thee”: Love and faith are the major themes filling this poem. The poem is primarily concerned with the love of the speaker with her significant other. She expresses her deep and innocent love in captivating ways. Also, to show the intensity of love she feels, she details how her love will eventually get stronger with time