How Do I Love Thee...?

[jennakearns]

This week we were looking at Victorian poetry. This period was lasted from 1832-1901 approximately. This poetry was influenced by the romantics. Many of the poems have great feelings and emotions

Comments

To Love!

[shali1]

Hey Jenna,
I was wondering what do you think she meant by that line? What were her intentions when she wrote that line? I think Elizabeth was saying that even though she loves Robert unconditionally while on earth, there may still be faults in her love for him, because no human is perfect even though she wished her love could be. Therefore, in death were eternity is achieved she will be able to express that true love for Robert because God’s kingdom is the place where perfection is attained. All emotions are true and not tainted by any outside forces that exist on earth.
Shali

Re: To Love!

[beth_may]

Hey Shali and Jenna. My interpretation of the last line of this poem is not that there are faults with their love, but rather that their love is so stong and will only become stronger when they die. It can only get better as we will meet perfection in heaven! Who knows what she really meant! Perhaps Robert Browning did...

[noellemorris]

I had to memorize this poem, word for word and capital letter for capital letter and punctuation for punctuation, for an exam last year (it was worth 50% of the exam mark). And yet I still mull over Elizabeth's sonnet.
Why, for example, does she capitalize Being, Grace, Right, and Praise? What is the significance of these particular words?
It reminds me of a mantra when she repeats "I love thee..." in the middle of the poem for several lines.

[beth_may]

I think that the reason this poem is so popular is because it captures those "I'm in love" emotions. She comes so close to depicting the feeling of unending, expansive love that we feel in words. But this poem is beyond just immediate emotional response because it is carefully crafted and thought out. Her analogies and references are complex…as Noelle mentioned, why are these allegorical words capitalized? We have a hard time understanding these complex lines. And perhaps this is the point because, after all, love is very confusing and hard to understand!
Beth

Denying Love

[amymc1986]

"I shall but love thee after death" is such a unique line. She's almost saying that she will do everything but love him when he's dead. But why? I keep thinking of a reason, but nothing is coming to mind...except...hmmm. Maybe she wants to move on and love others after his death? Who knows? Maybe she's scared that she couldn't love him after death.