Elizabeth Barret Browning
Biography:
Elizabeth Barrett was born on March 6, 1806 in Durham county, England. Elizabeth
was the eldest child of Edward Barrett Moulton. Most of her girlhood was spent at a
country house within sight of the Malvern Hills, in Worcestershire, where she was
extraordinarily happy. At the age of 15, however, she fell seriously ill and her health
was permanently affected.
In January 1845 she received from the poet Robert Browning a letter that begins with
“I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,” and culminates with “I do, as
I say, love these books with all my heart—and I love you too.” In early summer the
two met. Their courtship was kept a close secret from Elizabeth’s despotic father, of
whom she stood in some fear. Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) records her
reluctance to marry, but their wedding had taken place on September 12, 1846. Her
father knew nothing of it, and Elizabeth continued to live at home for a week.
The Brownings then left for Pisa. The couple then settled in Florence, where their
only child, Robert Wiedemann Barrett, was born in 1849. In the summer of 1861
Browning died.
Poem
Sonnets from the Portuguese 14: If thou must love me, let it be for nought
, Analysis
● The poem is about love. In this sonnet, the speaker/author asks her beloved
to love her for no particular reason but to love her purely for love’s sake. Only
in that way, their love will last forever. Otherwise, if he loves her for some
superficial reason such as her aspect, that can change and so their love will
not last.
● The poem’s voice: The speaker of the poem is Elizabeth Barret herself.
The tone can be characterized as sincere and reflective since she expresses
her desire for genuine love.
● Diction:
thou: pron. Old use a word meaning "you", as the subject of a sentence.
nought: old use or literary (nothing)
certes: old use, in truth:certainly
Wrought: changed
Thine: old use, pronoun, the possessive pronoun form of thou used when
speaking to one person.
Mayst: archaic or dialect (used with the pronoun thou or its relative equivalent) a
singular form of the present tense of may1
As regards the diction of the poem, the words we looked up in the dictionary
were words that were used in the past but are no longer used. We think
reading old poems are difficult to read and understand because of these old
words and maybe how the words were linked together. However, when we
listened to the poem it sounds beautiful and so we think the word choice and
word order contribute to the rhythm of the poem. Once we looked for the
unfamiliar words and listened again to the poem it really helped us to
understand the meaning of the poem and to appreciate the beauty of it.
● Imagery: The main imagery in the poem talks a lot about how love based on
things that can change, like looks or actions, isn't as important as love that
lasts forever.
Biography:
Elizabeth Barrett was born on March 6, 1806 in Durham county, England. Elizabeth
was the eldest child of Edward Barrett Moulton. Most of her girlhood was spent at a
country house within sight of the Malvern Hills, in Worcestershire, where she was
extraordinarily happy. At the age of 15, however, she fell seriously ill and her health
was permanently affected.
In January 1845 she received from the poet Robert Browning a letter that begins with
“I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,” and culminates with “I do, as
I say, love these books with all my heart—and I love you too.” In early summer the
two met. Their courtship was kept a close secret from Elizabeth’s despotic father, of
whom she stood in some fear. Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) records her
reluctance to marry, but their wedding had taken place on September 12, 1846. Her
father knew nothing of it, and Elizabeth continued to live at home for a week.
The Brownings then left for Pisa. The couple then settled in Florence, where their
only child, Robert Wiedemann Barrett, was born in 1849. In the summer of 1861
Browning died.
Poem
Sonnets from the Portuguese 14: If thou must love me, let it be for nought
, Analysis
● The poem is about love. In this sonnet, the speaker/author asks her beloved
to love her for no particular reason but to love her purely for love’s sake. Only
in that way, their love will last forever. Otherwise, if he loves her for some
superficial reason such as her aspect, that can change and so their love will
not last.
● The poem’s voice: The speaker of the poem is Elizabeth Barret herself.
The tone can be characterized as sincere and reflective since she expresses
her desire for genuine love.
● Diction:
thou: pron. Old use a word meaning "you", as the subject of a sentence.
nought: old use or literary (nothing)
certes: old use, in truth:certainly
Wrought: changed
Thine: old use, pronoun, the possessive pronoun form of thou used when
speaking to one person.
Mayst: archaic or dialect (used with the pronoun thou or its relative equivalent) a
singular form of the present tense of may1
As regards the diction of the poem, the words we looked up in the dictionary
were words that were used in the past but are no longer used. We think
reading old poems are difficult to read and understand because of these old
words and maybe how the words were linked together. However, when we
listened to the poem it sounds beautiful and so we think the word choice and
word order contribute to the rhythm of the poem. Once we looked for the
unfamiliar words and listened again to the poem it really helped us to
understand the meaning of the poem and to appreciate the beauty of it.
● Imagery: The main imagery in the poem talks a lot about how love based on
things that can change, like looks or actions, isn't as important as love that
lasts forever.
