Once you’ve done a bit of revision, it’s time to start writing a plan for your essay. Sonnet 43 and article on marriage – compare and contrast the two texts.You can also find loads of revision resources with plenty of tips on language, structure and context analysis online, but this one (from Central Lancaster High School) is one of the best I’ve come across. Identify and explain any other examples of alliteration you can find. The poem opens with a interrogative followed by an answer – analyse how this links to the speaker’s intentions.Īnalyse the use of anaphora in lines 2, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11.Īnalyse the repetition of the consonants in the line 2.Īnalyse the repeititon of the vowel sounds in line 3. Identify the key features of this type of sonnet and explain why Browning has chosen this structure.Īnalyse the use of the spatial metaphor at the start of the poem.Įxplore the significance of the adverbs “freely” and “purely” The absence of gender gives the poem a universal appeal, disguising the controversy behind the Brownings’ marriage… you will have to research this.ĬONTROVERSIAL UNDERTONE OF RELIGIOUS DOUBT,īrowning has chosen to write her dedication to her husband in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet. The repetition of the personal pronoun “I” throughout the poem highlights how this is a personal poem, written from one to another. Read this poem as a powerful declaration of a woman’s love for her husband. There seems to be the feeling of exaggeration in this line, like she is saying ‘I love you this much!” and opening her arms. The “depth and breadth and height” line suggests that her love is all encompassing. But in her poem, Browning is in control (so much so that her husband in conspicuous in his absence).īrowning follows this opening with some grand, and some gentle, metaphors exemplifying her love. This is especially important as at the time of writing woman were considered the subservient sex in society. Browning begins with a question: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” It is interesting to note here that Browning answers her own question, she is control of the narrative here. Her subject matter, love, is taken apart and explored in a lot of detail: she shows us how, and why, she loves her husband. It is interesting to note here that Browning wrote these sonnets as a way of explaining and verbalising the love she felt for her husband, not as an exercise in style or form. Her collection of 44 sonnets was entitled Sonnets from the Portuguese and they were all dedicated to her husband. Elizabeth Barrett Browning loved her husband, a lot.
0 kommentar(er)
