“The act of reading is a partnership. The author builds a house, but the reader makes it a home.” (Jodi Picoult) Elizabeth Browning has built a house that attracts readers of all kinds. Diversity flows throughout her metaphorical home, which disproves a numerous amount of scholars’ claims about her. Browning’s “Sonnet 43” has been criticized for overly personal emotion and dated language. Browning’s immense fan base has actually resulted from the same aspect that she is criticized for. Her diction creates a sympathetic view for her readers. Elizabeth Browning’s criticism is unjust as she creates a relatable feeling for her readers, the diction in which she uses sparks immense thought, and her creativity is captivating. Elizabeth Browning’s …show more content…
Although language has become more modernized, “Sonnet 43” conjures cavernous thought. In “Sonnet 43,” Elizabeth Browning states, “My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight/ For the ends of Being and ideal Grace” (3-4). Her statement has meaning much deeper than that of appearance. She is stating that she has the capacity to reach much farther than most humans. Her soul can wander into the realm of spiritual healing, and it is within that realm where she finds the meaning of living justly. Not only does her writing force the reader to find a hidden meaning, it also is filled with an abundance of literary elements. Internal rhyme, the use of metaphorical comparisons, and personification are major contributors for captivating the audience’s …show more content…
Through creating a relatable feeling for readers, sparking immense thought from her diction, and displaying inventive creativity, Elizabeth captivates her audience. Elizabeth Browning impacted the literary world in such a powerful way. The presence of “Sonnet 43” in today’s education system demonstrates how valuable piece is. Although society has become more advanced and human preferences have changed, “Sonnet 43” interests individuals of all backgrounds, thus disproving criticism from
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
The figurative language in both sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barret Browning and Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, can be compared and contrasted based on what different types of figurative language is used in both poems. In Shakespeare's sonnet 116 the first sign of figurative language is introduced in lines five through eight, "O no! It is an ever-fixed mark that looks on ...
Browning’s “Sonnet 43” vividly depicts the human dependency of love. She uses irony to emphasize that love overpowers everything. Browning starts the poem with “How do I love thee” (Browning). Ironically, she answers the very question she presents the reader by describing her love and the extent to which she loves (Kelly 244). The ironic question proposes a challenge to the reader. Browning insinuates how love overpowers so that one may overcome the challenge. People must find the path of love in life to become successful and complete. Also, the diction in “Sonnet 43” supports the idea that love is an all-encompassing force. The line, “if God choose, I shall love thee better after death” means that love is so powerful that even after someone passes away lov...
...e speaker admits she is worried and confused when she says, “The sonnet is the story of a woman’s struggle to make choices regarding love.” (14) Her mind is disturbed from the trials of love.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning 's "Sonnet XLIII" speaks of her love for her husband, Richard Browning, with rich and deeply insightful comparisons to many different intangible forms. These forms—from the soul to the afterlife—intensify the extent of her love, and because of this, upon first reading the sonnet, it is easy to be impressed and utterly overwhelmed by the descriptors of her love. However, when looking past this first reading, the sonnet is in fact quite ungraspable for readers, such as myself, who have not experienced what Browning has for her husband. As a result, the visual imagery, although descriptive, is difficult to visualize, because
Known as one of her more recognizable work, “Sonnets from the Portuguese is composed of forty-four interlocking poems which Elizabeth had secretly written for her husband, Robert Browning” (Browning).
A flame of passion is contained within the heart, yet is love contained in a mere flame of passion? This timeless saying embodies the ultimate declaration of love written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. “How Do I Love Thee? Let me Count the Ways” is a poem bathed in rhyme and inundated in sentimental avowals. This sonnet shows the perpetual love that Browning shares with her husband and how that love can never be destroyed by any power of human or spiritual nature (Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s: Sonnet 45). Based on answering one, seemingly simple yet complex, question, “how do I love thee?” (Browning Line 1) is what this poem is based on. Using literary tools and techniques, Browning unleashes the powerful emotions that hide behind the ink that each word is devotedly written in.
Although Browning had many health problems she managed to write her sonnets that are what keep her remembered till today, such as “ How do i love thee”, and “Aurora Leigh”. Browning had an spiritual influence due to the fact that the majority of her sonnets have a religious
In Elizabeth Browning’s poem ‘Sonnet 43’, Browning explores the concept of love through her sonnet in a first person narrative, revealing the intense love she feels for her beloved, a love which she does not posses in a materialistic manner, rather she takes it as a eternal feeling, which she values dearly, through listing the different ways she loves her beloved.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the braver literary pioneers. Choosing to utilize the vocabulary she favored rather than submit to the harsh criticisms of those who held the power to make or break her is an applaudable novelty about her. Many writers, having been successful in their literary exploits, are susceptible to accusations that their work was catered to critics. Surely, this cannot and should not be said of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
In “Sonnet 43,” Browning wrote a deeply committed poem describing her love for her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning. Here, she writes in a Petrarchan sonnet, traditionally about an unattainable love following the styles of Francesco Petrarca. This may be partly true in Browning’s case; at the time she wrote Sonnets from the Portuguese, Browning was in courtship with Robert and the love had not yet been consummated into marriage. But nevertheless, the sonnet serves as an excellent ...
Kelly, David. “Sonnet 43.” Poetry for Students. Ed. Napiekowski, Marie Rose. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 242-244. Print.
She says “writing can be an expression of one 's innermost feelings. It can allow the reader to tap into the deepest recesses of one 's heart and soul. It is indeed the gifted author that can cause the reader to cry at her words and feel hope within the same poem. Many authors as well, as ordinary people use writing as a way to release emotions.” She makes plenty points in her review that I completely agree with. After reading the poem I think that Elizabeth Barret Browning is not only the author of her famous poem, but also the speaker as well. She is a woman simply expressing her love for her husband in a passionate way through poetry. In the 1st Line it reads “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” A woman drunk in love she is, and next she begins to count the numerous ways she can love her significant
Shakespeare's sonnets are a romantic and charming series of poems. His use of rhyme and passionate, eloquent language serve to illuminate his strong feelings. These techniques were probably the most fluent way for such a writer as him to express the immeasurable love that he obviously felt for his mysterious lady. Examining the numerous ways Shakespeare found to describe it, the reader believes that this love was undoubtedly lasting and authentic. He often made heart-felt comments about his emotions that could also suit lovers in the present day. Because of this, and the fact that people read them yet, Shakespeare's sonnets are timeless and universal, just like the concept of love itself.
Poetry has been used for centuries as a medium for expressions of love. From romantic to familial love, there is a poem for it, describing its nature. These poems typically also convey clear or implicit ideologies relating to gender and gender construction. Sonnet 43 or “How do I Love Thee?” is arguably one of the greatest love poems of all time. Written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1850, it can only be described, as an outright expression of romantic love, of which is unusual for females in Victorian England.