"I Think of Thee" is a sonnet written by the English Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Barrett Browning wrote the poem, along with the other sonnets published in her collection Sonnets from the Portuguese, during her courtship with the equally famous English Victorian poet Robert Barrett Browning from 1845-1846. The poem expresses the speaker's desire to see and be physically close to an absent lover. It argues that when it comes to love, reality is sweeter than fantasy, and suggests that true love requires deep vulnerability and passion—as well as a willingness to reject restrictive social conventions.
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The Full Text of “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)”
1I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud
2About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,
3Put out broad leaves, and soon there 's nought to see
4Except the straggling green which hides the wood.
5Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood
6I will not have my thoughts instead of thee
7Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly
8Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
9Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,
10And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
11Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!
12Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
13And breathe within thy shadow a new air,
14I do not think of thee—I am too near thee.
The Full Text of “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)”
1I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud
2About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,
3Put out broad leaves, and soon there 's nought to see
4Except the straggling green which hides the wood.
5Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood
6I will not have my thoughts instead of thee
7Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly
8Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
9Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,
10And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
11Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!
12Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
13And breathe within thy shadow a new air,
14I do not think of thee—I am too near thee.
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Summary
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Themes
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Fantasy Vs. Reality
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Love, Vulnerability, and Freedom
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)”
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Lines 1-2
I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud
About thee, as wild vines, about a tree, -
Lines 3-4
Put out broad leaves, and soon there 's nought to see
Except the straggling green which hides the wood. -
Lines 5-7
Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood
I will not have my thoughts instead of thee
Who art dearer, better! -
Lines 7-9
Rather, instantly
Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare, -
Lines 10-11
And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere! -
Lines 12-13
Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
And breathe within thy shadow a new air, -
Line 14
I do not think of thee—I am too near thee.
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Symbols
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The Palm-Tree
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Vines and Greenery
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Apostrophe
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Alliteration
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Imagery
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Simile
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Metaphor
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Enjambment
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End-Stopped Line
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Repetition
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Euphony
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Asyndeton
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Consonance
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” 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
- twine
- Bud
- Nought
- Straggling
- Palm-tree
- Art
- Thy
- Boughs
- Insphere
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Speaker
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“I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)”
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More “I think of thee (Sonnet 29)” Resources
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External Resources
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Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning — An article detailing the courtship and marriage of two of the most influential poets in English literature.
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The Role of Women — An article about the traditional role of middle-class white women in Victorian society, and the ways in which Barrett Browning's poetry confronted and challenged these expectations.
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A Reading of the Poem — Listen to "I Think of Thee" read aloud.
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The Victorian Era — An introduction to the important social and literary changes that were taking place during Browning's lifetime.
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Barrett Browning's Biography — Learn more about the poet's life and work courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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