“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Introduction

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Summary

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Themes

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  Romantic vs. Spiritual Love

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• 

  Love vs. Reason

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• 

  Love as Choice and Freedom

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)”

• Line 1

  How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 2-4

  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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-6

  I love thee to the level of every day’s
  Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 7-8

  I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
  I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 12-14

  I love thee with the breath,
  Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
  I shall but love thee better after death.

  

  

  

  

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Symbols

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  Sun and Candle-light

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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• Consonance

  

  

  

  

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• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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• Aporia

  

  

  

  

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• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Simile

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Thee
• Breadth
• Grace
• Strive
• Lost Saints

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Speaker

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)”

More “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)” Resources

• External Resources

  • Another Take on "How Do I Love Thee?" — A solid, line-by-line analysis of the poem from Owlcation. 

  • The Original Manuscript — Read the poem in Barrett Browning's handwriting, courtesy of the British Library.

  • The Scandal of 1846 — An informative article about the marriage and scandalous elopement of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning.

  • The Peanuts Version — Listen to a charming version of the poem read aloud on "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown."

  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning 's Life Story — A great introduction to the poem and biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

  • If thou must love me, let it be for nought (Sonnets from the Portuguese 14)

  • I think of thee (Sonnet 29)

  • The Cry of the Children