Poetry Anthology
The Manhunt by Simon Armitage (2007)
Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barret Browning (1850)
London by William Blake (1794)
The Soldier by Rupert Brooke (1914)
She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron (1814)
Living Space by Imtiaz Dharker (1997)
As Imperceptibly as Grief by Emily Dickinson (~1865)
Cozy Apologia by Rita Dove (2004)
Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy (1993)
A Wife in London by Thomas Hardy (1899)
Death of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney (1966)
Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes (1960)
To Autumn by John Keats (1820)
Afternoons by Philip Larkin (1964)
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen (1917-18)
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1817)
Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers (2005)
The Prelude by William Wordsworth (1798 onwards)
, The Manhunt
By Simon Armitage
Subject:
The poem is about a soldier who has become seriously injured whilst fighting in a conflict-zone and has returned home
It is written in the first-person perspective from the perspective of the soldier's wife, who is attempting to come to terms with what has happened.
Opens referencing the immense amount of time it took for the soldiers wife to start exploring her husband both physically and emotionally again
Talks about his fragile body and mind, as a result of the injuries he has suffered in the combat zone, as well as how his life now lacks direction.
Explores the continued potential for damage the bullet in the chest has.
The poem is about the love and patience, as the wife carefully explores her husband's injured body.
Conflict and war are clearly presented in the poem. It explores the cost of war those serving in the armed forces.
The injured husband is unable to reconnect to his wife verbally about his experiences at war, affecting their whole relationship as a married couple
The poem is not about making judgements about the war or armed forces, but instead about the impact of war and the effects it can have on a relationship.
Tone: Tender/ Fearful/ Anxious/ Frustrated.
Context Armitage was born in West Yorkshire in 1963 where he still loves.
He graduated from Portsmouth with a degree in Geography.
He later completed an MA at Manchester University, where he wrote his dissertation about the effects of television violence on young offenders.
He had several jobs before becoming a freelance writer: shelf stacker, disc jockey, and lathe operator among other things.
Armitage has published several poetry collections and has also written for TV, stage and radio.
Armitage often focuses on relatable situations in order to resonate with and engage the reader.
Simon uses colloquial language to present his poetry.
His poetry demonstrates a strong concern for social issues, as well drawing from his Yorkshire roots.
The Manhunt is from a collection of poems called Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead which was written in 2007 for a TV documentary of the same name.
It is part of a collection of modern war poems based on the experience of soldiers in recent conflicts.
The film’s aim was to highlight the unfairness with which veterans are treated in the UK.
It sought to humanize the experiences of ex-service people and to show the devastating effect that war can have on mental health, especially if left untreated.
The Manhunt is a more recent entry into an extensive literary canon documenting the repercussions of warfare.
Armitage's work is indebted to early war poets highlight the effects of modern warfare on returning soldiers.
The Manhunt is allegedly based on the experiences of a real-life soldier who served in Bosnia during the 1990s.
Eddie Beddoes, the soldier at the center of "The Manhunt" served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia during the Croat-Bosniak conflict in the 1990s.
Many service-people who served in Bosnia suffered from severe mental health issues after returning home.
The symptoms described in “The Manhunt” are typical of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that often afflicts those who have served
in military conflict zones.
Armitage uses a first person voice, that of a soldier’s wife Laura, to describe the emotional distance between herself and her husband, following his physical
and mental injuries sustained through active military service.
Ed was shot three times, with the bullets entering through his face and ricocheting through his body, causing severe multiple injuries.
The poem however could relate to any injured soldier and his wife
The Manhunt was sometimes referred to as Laura's poem
War
Themes
Eddie was discharged from services due to both physical and mental injuries
Pain
Organisation The poem is made up of an equal amount of unrhymed couplets- creates a sense of fragmentation which
mirrors the feelings of the soldiers wife as she seeks to understand the man that her husband has become
The poem is made up of one stanza which is broken up continuously with lines of enjambment- represent
the chaotic life of the soldier and his experiences of war
Love
The poem has an equal amount of rhymed couplets- reflects how it takes two people working hard to complete a relationship and how love is a union of two
people- suggests the relationship explored is caring and gentle- may show that despite being physically apart; they are still emotionally close
The poem opens with the first three couplets displaying an AA BB CC rhyme scheme which could perhaps reflect how the soldier appears to be responding
well to treatment physically at the start before the extent of the mental damage is revealed to the reader and the soldiers wife. However the rhyme scheme
quickly dissolves which juxtaposes the that there was an improvement in the soldiers mental and physical health.
The theme of fragmentation is displayed both through the flattering rhyme schemes and employment of couplets
Title: "The Manhunt"- Double Meaning : Literal- A search for an escaped person. Childish connotations for the childhood game "manhunt". Suggests the
power struggle between two people. Conjures the image of capturing a man or criminal.
Presented as sensual and loving: "passionate nights and intimate days"- Creates an overall theme of love and romance. May reference the
Quotes & Analysis
significant amount of time it takes for someone to recover from the physical and mental injuries suffered through war. May reflect the wife
remembering back to happy memories at the beginning of the poem; reflecting the intimacy of husband and wife. Talks about the early
relationship between the narrator and their partner. It champions the time period using positive adjectives such as "passionate" and "intimate".
It reads like a traditional love poem, suggesting that both parties are enjoying spending time together after a long period of time apart. It echoes
the first stages of a new relationship and suggests the couple is reconnecting. The words juxtapose their relationship with the horrors of war.
Semantic field of searching: "trace" "explore" "search"- Creates an overall theme of incompletion. Reflecting the soldier's damaged identity following his role of war. Includes prominent verbs. Referring to the wife's
discovery into finding her lost husband. References to the careful treatment of her husband's injured body from the war. Could also be referring to his damaged state of mind and his mental health. Understand the
changes war has caused for her husband.
Sense of horror of wars: "blown hinge of his lower jaw"- Suggests that he is physically injured as well as being unable to express his emotions to her. Metaphorically compares broken jaw; creates a mechanical but
broken image. "Blown" connotations of war, bombs and destruction. "Hinge" relates to linking things together, highlighting that part of him is unable to function following his part in war. Imagery intensifies the idea
of the soldier shutting his wife out of his recovery process. "Hinge" links to door; may imply that the 'door' to the soldiers inner thoughts and feelings is firmly shut and inaccessible to his wife- reluctant to let her in.
Image creates the impression of a horrific facial injury where the jaw has been dislocated.
Fragility: "damaged, porcelain collar bone"- Almost oxymoronic; the delicate porcelain has been destroyed by the brutality of war. Metaphor brings to mind something fragile and delicate which has become broken
which may possibly reference the man's mental state and frame of mind. Describing her partner’s collar bone as porcelain has a two-fold meaning. Firstly, we tend to associate porcelain with things that are beautiful,
maybe even precious. However, it is a very fragile, easily-broken material. Is she talking about an actual injury to the collar of her partner or if it is a metaphor for his wider self?
Distance: "frozen river which ran through his face"- Metaphor could be referring to the fact that the man has been shot and the bullet ricocheted through his face into his body. The "frozen river" could represent his
scars on his face; however may also represent that the man is unable to move forward with his life. "Frozen" may represent that the man has become cold. "River" connotes imagery of a journey. May connote ideas of
reluctance or inability to express his emotions with his wife (he is shutting her out). Image creates the imagery that the once warm feelings felt by the couple have been replaced by frosty and negative emotions. The
soldier may have become cold and unemotional as a result of his traumatic experiences. "Frozen"- the idea that this may thaw after a certain amount of time and at some point his emotions and tears will be able to
flow freely. "Frozen" may also suggest that the tears he has shed are going to stay with him forever. "Through" highlights that the damage is not only physical and external but emotional and internal as well.
Damage: "parachute silk of punctured lung"- Metaphor creates an image of life-saving and could link to the soldier fighting for their life. It could also suggest he needs saving. The image created is of a deflated lung.
"Lung" is a vital and necessary organ which is damaged quite significantly. A damaged "parachute" is useless; the soldier is helpless and in emotional free fall, unable to ground himself successfully. "Silk" has
connotations of delicacy, luxury (people take lungs for advantage), elegance and opulence.
Broken: "grazed heart"- Metaphorically could suggest that his heart has been damaged through man-made objects such as bullets and weapons. However, it could also refer back to the fact that he is unable to
connect with his wife verbally about his experiences at war affecting their whole relationship. "Grazed"- the bullet came to rest in his chest almost killing him (intense imagery). The proximity of the bullet suggests not
only a brush with death but also shattered emotions and damaged relationships. Metaphor perhaps suggests that he is struggling to love or let people in again following his awful experience.
New: "foetus of metal beneath his chest"- Strange comparison creates the imagery of a baby, a life within the body. "Foetus"- something which has taken root and become part of his body which will change his life
permanently; takes nine months to grow and develop implying that it will also take the soldier some time to come to terms with his new body and new emotions. Suggests that the couples relationship will be forever
changed by the experience. "Metal"- even though he has left the warzone, the consequences of the conflict still have the potential to impact his current relationships, no matter how long lasting. Juxtaposition- foetus
connotes new life, birth and happiness but in reality what is growing in him is pain and trauma. Emphasis on how close he was to self destruction.
Careful: "only then"- Repetition suggests that it took a long time to get to this stage. Careful and slow steps had to be taken for her to indulge in her search to find her husband. Suggests it is a very slow progress of
getting returned soldier's to regain a sense of their past selves if they've been through PTSD. Using anaphora to recount small steps.
, Sonnet 43- How Do I Love Thee
Subject:
Poetry Anthology
By Elizabeth Barret Browning
Barret Browning explores the many ways the speaker (thought to be a persona of herself) loves the addressee of the poem (assumed to be her husband Robert.
To an extent, it conveys how love and relationships cab transcend earth and daily conventions of society.
However, the poem can also be interpreted as a warning on self indulgent relationships.
he speaker introduces the theme of love instantly and begins to list the emotions she feels when with her beloved, claiming that she loves him in any kind of place or
dimension or time or day.
Goes onto claim that she will love the addressee past death, seemingly referencing the after life.
Sonnet 43 is from the perspective of a woman, addressing her lover/ husband, expressing how much she loves him in so many different ways.
This makes the narrative in first/ second person because the poem is addressed to Elizabeth Barret Browning's husband, Robert, it is implied that the speakers emotions and feelings are, by
extension, Elizabeth's own.
Sonnet 43 presents the ideas of love as powerful and her love enables her to reach otherwise impossible extremes.
Expresses her intense love for her lover, counting all the different ways in which she loves him.
She loves him so deeply that she sees their love as spiritual and sacred.
Her love is so great that she believes that she will love him even after death.
The poem is said to be autobiographical.
Elizabeth presents her relationship within the field of various contradictions and paradoxical ideas portraying how relationships can exist in a realm when human laws don't apply.
The poem itself can be understood as self-fulfilling. It is very one-sided which shows how love can make individuals self-adorning and self-obsessive.
Context Elizabeth Barret Browning was a Victorian poet
She suffered from a lifelong illness which is why the sonnets explore the theme of transience and married the poet and playwright Robert Browning, who was a
major influence on her work and to whom Sonnet 43 is addressed to.
The poem is part of a longer Sonnet sequence of 44 sonnets, called Sonnets from the Portuguese.
Sonnet 43 was the next to last sonnet in the sequence.
ElizabethBarret Browning is equally remembered for her love affair and marriage with Robert Browning.
This sonnet is one of the most loved of the collections and features frequently as a reading at weddings
Elizabeth Barret Browning's sonnet sequence was written before she married Robert Browning in the years 1845-46, to express her love for him.
When Elizabeth felt the poems were too personal for publication, her husband Robert convinced her to publish them in 1850.
Elizabeth posed the series of sonnets as translations as translating was perceived as a female occupation and female writers were rejected in society.
Robert Browning convinced her to call them Portuguese since she admired the early Portuguese poets and his pet name for her was 'My little Portuguese'.
Robert Browning was convinced that the poems were the finest collection of sonnets in the English language since those of Shakespeare and they have proved to be immensely popular.
Robert Browning was six years younger than Elizabeth and they got married against her fathers will.
Themes
After eloping they settled down in Florence.
Their relationship broke social conventions and liberated Elizabeth, who as a woman had to live under her father's tyrannical rule.
Through her writing, she is able to construct a poetic self or persona that is not threatened by the inevitability of death and mortality.
Victorian literature was often neoclassical (a movement characterised by order and structure) and would typically portray man as inherently flawed.
The Victorians were preoccupied with antiquity (older traditions of poetry) and would often draw on religion and historical figures and Greek mythology. Love
Most female writers used pseudonyms in the 19th century so readers thought they were male writers
Faith & Worship
Some feminists criticise Elizabeth for conforming to a patriarchal form.
However other critics may argue that Elizabeth is subverting and reclaiming the Sonnet form to construct a female narrative.
Organisation The poem is made up of different ways of defining the speakers love.
The octave introduces the poems main theme- the idea that love is so intense, it is almost divine.
The sestet then develops this theme by showing that she loves him with the emotions of an entire lifetime- from childhood and through to, past
death.
Sonnet 43 is a love poem in the form of a sonnet (a 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter (usually iambic pentameter)).
Elizabeth's sonnet does not follow the rules of a regular petrachan sonnet; in the last few lines as Elizabeth concentrates on the deeper notion of her love lasting even beyond death.
Beyond the changes to the sonnet form, Elizabeth also chooses to use a varied rhyme scheme in her poem: she relies on assonance.
The poet's excitement is expressed through the extended lines of poetry- the list of ways she loves Robert is extensive and seems even longer with the extended phrasing- the effect us
one of breathless adoration on the part of the poet.
By using a traditional love format of the sonnet which are typically associated with men, Elizabeth is reclaiming the format as a woman.
After the volta, Elizabeth shifts from the present tense to past and finishes with the future giving the poem a temporal immortality.
11 stanza- 2 different rhyme schemes: implies inextricably linked to one another; suggests the idea of love joining people together, completing people; alludes to the belief that couples
become a single unit.
By using iambic pentameter, Elizabeth is allowing stress to fall on the important words of the poem to create a sense of romantic equilibrium.
The regular rhyme scheme establishes a sense of security and perfection- there is no underlying threat or apprehension.
Title: "Sonnet 43- How do I love thee"- 43/44 sonnet from the sequence. Sonnet is often used for love poetry. The poet is speaking directly to her lover in the poem and tries to explain
how strong her love truly is for him. First line of the poem- rhetorical question suggests the poem arises from an actual question posed by Browning or the poet herself.
Quotes & Analysis
Presented as intense: "How do I love thee?"- Title is the first line of the poem and uses a rhetorical question;
suggestion that the poem arises from an actual question posed by Browning or the poet herself. Question makes
the poem theme clear from the start. Addresses the object as "thee" which is direct and personal. The lack of
name and gender makes the poem seem universal. The rhetorical question sets up a reflective tone for the
poem: the speaker uses hypophora (answers to her own question) to try and define her love.
Presented as deep and lasting: "depth and breadth and height"- Shows the scale of her love; it goes deep within her. Repetition of "and" reflects her excitement
and passion. Expressed using hyperbole and exaggeration. Semantic field of measurement illustrates how she is trying to measure her love. "Depth" "breadth"
"height" feels like she is stretching to measure her love; it is too much. Tricolon of half rhymes draws attention to units of measurement- irony, highlights how
love cannot be qualified. "Breadth" suggests a more naturalistic real love. Language is rhythmic and free-flowing.
Presented as religious: "ends of Being and ideal Grace"- Capitals suggests these words are being used in a spiritual sense. The speaker's love is so deep its like the
desire to understand existence and get close to God. This would have resonated strongly with readers in the 19th century when society was more religious.
Capitalism gives the words added importance. She is treating them as proper nouns for specific and special things. Abstract nouns "Being" and "Grace" makes
her love sound spiritual and powerful. The love does belong every day existence.
Presented through desires: "my soul can reach when feeling out of sight"- Personification. "Soul" reflects her inner love and desires; it loves him as far as it can
possibly stretch to.
Presented as a mixture of emotions: "old grief" "childhood faiths"- "Old grief" are perhaps referring to the arguments with her family over her choice of fiance. She
also seems to allude to a certain loss of faith. "Childhood faith" may simply be referring to the way that perceptions and interests change with time. "Childhood"
may imply that she loves Browning in a similar way to the way one loves something when young with absolute passion and obsession. Juxtaposition defines the
love as equal to the love experienced in mourning and also as equal to childhood naivety. Alludes to antithetical periods of a person's life however they are
placed within the same line. Connotes a level of transcendalism- the narrators relationship transcends temporal limits.
Presented as lasting: "I love thee"- Anaphora is used to foreground the different levels of her love and the different ways in which she loves him. Emphasises
intensity of love. Works to enhance the power of that simple phrase. Language is rhythmic and flowing. As if words can't convey the depth of her feelings so she
just keeps repeating the same ones to express the depth of her love. Helps to emphasise the different types of love that follow the repeated phrase. The syntactic
pattern makes the poem sound like a speech or a declaration. "I" indicates a level of agency within the speaker- an active engagement with love.
Presented as eternal: "I shall but love thee better after death"- Their love is presented as eternal as it will outlive their time on earth. The speaker's hope that God
supports their love suggests that she believes in its purity. Suggests love is everlasting. "I shall" expresses a definite affirmation of love- means that the speakers
relationship overcomes death and is immortal. Declarative sentence shows the certainty. "Better" suggests that her love will strengthen even more, once they
reunite in heaven.
The Manhunt by Simon Armitage (2007)
Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barret Browning (1850)
London by William Blake (1794)
The Soldier by Rupert Brooke (1914)
She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron (1814)
Living Space by Imtiaz Dharker (1997)
As Imperceptibly as Grief by Emily Dickinson (~1865)
Cozy Apologia by Rita Dove (2004)
Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy (1993)
A Wife in London by Thomas Hardy (1899)
Death of A Naturalist by Seamus Heaney (1966)
Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes (1960)
To Autumn by John Keats (1820)
Afternoons by Philip Larkin (1964)
Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen (1917-18)
Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1817)
Mametz Wood by Owen Sheers (2005)
The Prelude by William Wordsworth (1798 onwards)
, The Manhunt
By Simon Armitage
Subject:
The poem is about a soldier who has become seriously injured whilst fighting in a conflict-zone and has returned home
It is written in the first-person perspective from the perspective of the soldier's wife, who is attempting to come to terms with what has happened.
Opens referencing the immense amount of time it took for the soldiers wife to start exploring her husband both physically and emotionally again
Talks about his fragile body and mind, as a result of the injuries he has suffered in the combat zone, as well as how his life now lacks direction.
Explores the continued potential for damage the bullet in the chest has.
The poem is about the love and patience, as the wife carefully explores her husband's injured body.
Conflict and war are clearly presented in the poem. It explores the cost of war those serving in the armed forces.
The injured husband is unable to reconnect to his wife verbally about his experiences at war, affecting their whole relationship as a married couple
The poem is not about making judgements about the war or armed forces, but instead about the impact of war and the effects it can have on a relationship.
Tone: Tender/ Fearful/ Anxious/ Frustrated.
Context Armitage was born in West Yorkshire in 1963 where he still loves.
He graduated from Portsmouth with a degree in Geography.
He later completed an MA at Manchester University, where he wrote his dissertation about the effects of television violence on young offenders.
He had several jobs before becoming a freelance writer: shelf stacker, disc jockey, and lathe operator among other things.
Armitage has published several poetry collections and has also written for TV, stage and radio.
Armitage often focuses on relatable situations in order to resonate with and engage the reader.
Simon uses colloquial language to present his poetry.
His poetry demonstrates a strong concern for social issues, as well drawing from his Yorkshire roots.
The Manhunt is from a collection of poems called Forgotten Heroes: The Not Dead which was written in 2007 for a TV documentary of the same name.
It is part of a collection of modern war poems based on the experience of soldiers in recent conflicts.
The film’s aim was to highlight the unfairness with which veterans are treated in the UK.
It sought to humanize the experiences of ex-service people and to show the devastating effect that war can have on mental health, especially if left untreated.
The Manhunt is a more recent entry into an extensive literary canon documenting the repercussions of warfare.
Armitage's work is indebted to early war poets highlight the effects of modern warfare on returning soldiers.
The Manhunt is allegedly based on the experiences of a real-life soldier who served in Bosnia during the 1990s.
Eddie Beddoes, the soldier at the center of "The Manhunt" served as a peacekeeper in Bosnia during the Croat-Bosniak conflict in the 1990s.
Many service-people who served in Bosnia suffered from severe mental health issues after returning home.
The symptoms described in “The Manhunt” are typical of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), an anxiety disorder that often afflicts those who have served
in military conflict zones.
Armitage uses a first person voice, that of a soldier’s wife Laura, to describe the emotional distance between herself and her husband, following his physical
and mental injuries sustained through active military service.
Ed was shot three times, with the bullets entering through his face and ricocheting through his body, causing severe multiple injuries.
The poem however could relate to any injured soldier and his wife
The Manhunt was sometimes referred to as Laura's poem
War
Themes
Eddie was discharged from services due to both physical and mental injuries
Pain
Organisation The poem is made up of an equal amount of unrhymed couplets- creates a sense of fragmentation which
mirrors the feelings of the soldiers wife as she seeks to understand the man that her husband has become
The poem is made up of one stanza which is broken up continuously with lines of enjambment- represent
the chaotic life of the soldier and his experiences of war
Love
The poem has an equal amount of rhymed couplets- reflects how it takes two people working hard to complete a relationship and how love is a union of two
people- suggests the relationship explored is caring and gentle- may show that despite being physically apart; they are still emotionally close
The poem opens with the first three couplets displaying an AA BB CC rhyme scheme which could perhaps reflect how the soldier appears to be responding
well to treatment physically at the start before the extent of the mental damage is revealed to the reader and the soldiers wife. However the rhyme scheme
quickly dissolves which juxtaposes the that there was an improvement in the soldiers mental and physical health.
The theme of fragmentation is displayed both through the flattering rhyme schemes and employment of couplets
Title: "The Manhunt"- Double Meaning : Literal- A search for an escaped person. Childish connotations for the childhood game "manhunt". Suggests the
power struggle between two people. Conjures the image of capturing a man or criminal.
Presented as sensual and loving: "passionate nights and intimate days"- Creates an overall theme of love and romance. May reference the
Quotes & Analysis
significant amount of time it takes for someone to recover from the physical and mental injuries suffered through war. May reflect the wife
remembering back to happy memories at the beginning of the poem; reflecting the intimacy of husband and wife. Talks about the early
relationship between the narrator and their partner. It champions the time period using positive adjectives such as "passionate" and "intimate".
It reads like a traditional love poem, suggesting that both parties are enjoying spending time together after a long period of time apart. It echoes
the first stages of a new relationship and suggests the couple is reconnecting. The words juxtapose their relationship with the horrors of war.
Semantic field of searching: "trace" "explore" "search"- Creates an overall theme of incompletion. Reflecting the soldier's damaged identity following his role of war. Includes prominent verbs. Referring to the wife's
discovery into finding her lost husband. References to the careful treatment of her husband's injured body from the war. Could also be referring to his damaged state of mind and his mental health. Understand the
changes war has caused for her husband.
Sense of horror of wars: "blown hinge of his lower jaw"- Suggests that he is physically injured as well as being unable to express his emotions to her. Metaphorically compares broken jaw; creates a mechanical but
broken image. "Blown" connotations of war, bombs and destruction. "Hinge" relates to linking things together, highlighting that part of him is unable to function following his part in war. Imagery intensifies the idea
of the soldier shutting his wife out of his recovery process. "Hinge" links to door; may imply that the 'door' to the soldiers inner thoughts and feelings is firmly shut and inaccessible to his wife- reluctant to let her in.
Image creates the impression of a horrific facial injury where the jaw has been dislocated.
Fragility: "damaged, porcelain collar bone"- Almost oxymoronic; the delicate porcelain has been destroyed by the brutality of war. Metaphor brings to mind something fragile and delicate which has become broken
which may possibly reference the man's mental state and frame of mind. Describing her partner’s collar bone as porcelain has a two-fold meaning. Firstly, we tend to associate porcelain with things that are beautiful,
maybe even precious. However, it is a very fragile, easily-broken material. Is she talking about an actual injury to the collar of her partner or if it is a metaphor for his wider self?
Distance: "frozen river which ran through his face"- Metaphor could be referring to the fact that the man has been shot and the bullet ricocheted through his face into his body. The "frozen river" could represent his
scars on his face; however may also represent that the man is unable to move forward with his life. "Frozen" may represent that the man has become cold. "River" connotes imagery of a journey. May connote ideas of
reluctance or inability to express his emotions with his wife (he is shutting her out). Image creates the imagery that the once warm feelings felt by the couple have been replaced by frosty and negative emotions. The
soldier may have become cold and unemotional as a result of his traumatic experiences. "Frozen"- the idea that this may thaw after a certain amount of time and at some point his emotions and tears will be able to
flow freely. "Frozen" may also suggest that the tears he has shed are going to stay with him forever. "Through" highlights that the damage is not only physical and external but emotional and internal as well.
Damage: "parachute silk of punctured lung"- Metaphor creates an image of life-saving and could link to the soldier fighting for their life. It could also suggest he needs saving. The image created is of a deflated lung.
"Lung" is a vital and necessary organ which is damaged quite significantly. A damaged "parachute" is useless; the soldier is helpless and in emotional free fall, unable to ground himself successfully. "Silk" has
connotations of delicacy, luxury (people take lungs for advantage), elegance and opulence.
Broken: "grazed heart"- Metaphorically could suggest that his heart has been damaged through man-made objects such as bullets and weapons. However, it could also refer back to the fact that he is unable to
connect with his wife verbally about his experiences at war affecting their whole relationship. "Grazed"- the bullet came to rest in his chest almost killing him (intense imagery). The proximity of the bullet suggests not
only a brush with death but also shattered emotions and damaged relationships. Metaphor perhaps suggests that he is struggling to love or let people in again following his awful experience.
New: "foetus of metal beneath his chest"- Strange comparison creates the imagery of a baby, a life within the body. "Foetus"- something which has taken root and become part of his body which will change his life
permanently; takes nine months to grow and develop implying that it will also take the soldier some time to come to terms with his new body and new emotions. Suggests that the couples relationship will be forever
changed by the experience. "Metal"- even though he has left the warzone, the consequences of the conflict still have the potential to impact his current relationships, no matter how long lasting. Juxtaposition- foetus
connotes new life, birth and happiness but in reality what is growing in him is pain and trauma. Emphasis on how close he was to self destruction.
Careful: "only then"- Repetition suggests that it took a long time to get to this stage. Careful and slow steps had to be taken for her to indulge in her search to find her husband. Suggests it is a very slow progress of
getting returned soldier's to regain a sense of their past selves if they've been through PTSD. Using anaphora to recount small steps.
, Sonnet 43- How Do I Love Thee
Subject:
Poetry Anthology
By Elizabeth Barret Browning
Barret Browning explores the many ways the speaker (thought to be a persona of herself) loves the addressee of the poem (assumed to be her husband Robert.
To an extent, it conveys how love and relationships cab transcend earth and daily conventions of society.
However, the poem can also be interpreted as a warning on self indulgent relationships.
he speaker introduces the theme of love instantly and begins to list the emotions she feels when with her beloved, claiming that she loves him in any kind of place or
dimension or time or day.
Goes onto claim that she will love the addressee past death, seemingly referencing the after life.
Sonnet 43 is from the perspective of a woman, addressing her lover/ husband, expressing how much she loves him in so many different ways.
This makes the narrative in first/ second person because the poem is addressed to Elizabeth Barret Browning's husband, Robert, it is implied that the speakers emotions and feelings are, by
extension, Elizabeth's own.
Sonnet 43 presents the ideas of love as powerful and her love enables her to reach otherwise impossible extremes.
Expresses her intense love for her lover, counting all the different ways in which she loves him.
She loves him so deeply that she sees their love as spiritual and sacred.
Her love is so great that she believes that she will love him even after death.
The poem is said to be autobiographical.
Elizabeth presents her relationship within the field of various contradictions and paradoxical ideas portraying how relationships can exist in a realm when human laws don't apply.
The poem itself can be understood as self-fulfilling. It is very one-sided which shows how love can make individuals self-adorning and self-obsessive.
Context Elizabeth Barret Browning was a Victorian poet
She suffered from a lifelong illness which is why the sonnets explore the theme of transience and married the poet and playwright Robert Browning, who was a
major influence on her work and to whom Sonnet 43 is addressed to.
The poem is part of a longer Sonnet sequence of 44 sonnets, called Sonnets from the Portuguese.
Sonnet 43 was the next to last sonnet in the sequence.
ElizabethBarret Browning is equally remembered for her love affair and marriage with Robert Browning.
This sonnet is one of the most loved of the collections and features frequently as a reading at weddings
Elizabeth Barret Browning's sonnet sequence was written before she married Robert Browning in the years 1845-46, to express her love for him.
When Elizabeth felt the poems were too personal for publication, her husband Robert convinced her to publish them in 1850.
Elizabeth posed the series of sonnets as translations as translating was perceived as a female occupation and female writers were rejected in society.
Robert Browning convinced her to call them Portuguese since she admired the early Portuguese poets and his pet name for her was 'My little Portuguese'.
Robert Browning was convinced that the poems were the finest collection of sonnets in the English language since those of Shakespeare and they have proved to be immensely popular.
Robert Browning was six years younger than Elizabeth and they got married against her fathers will.
Themes
After eloping they settled down in Florence.
Their relationship broke social conventions and liberated Elizabeth, who as a woman had to live under her father's tyrannical rule.
Through her writing, she is able to construct a poetic self or persona that is not threatened by the inevitability of death and mortality.
Victorian literature was often neoclassical (a movement characterised by order and structure) and would typically portray man as inherently flawed.
The Victorians were preoccupied with antiquity (older traditions of poetry) and would often draw on religion and historical figures and Greek mythology. Love
Most female writers used pseudonyms in the 19th century so readers thought they were male writers
Faith & Worship
Some feminists criticise Elizabeth for conforming to a patriarchal form.
However other critics may argue that Elizabeth is subverting and reclaiming the Sonnet form to construct a female narrative.
Organisation The poem is made up of different ways of defining the speakers love.
The octave introduces the poems main theme- the idea that love is so intense, it is almost divine.
The sestet then develops this theme by showing that she loves him with the emotions of an entire lifetime- from childhood and through to, past
death.
Sonnet 43 is a love poem in the form of a sonnet (a 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter (usually iambic pentameter)).
Elizabeth's sonnet does not follow the rules of a regular petrachan sonnet; in the last few lines as Elizabeth concentrates on the deeper notion of her love lasting even beyond death.
Beyond the changes to the sonnet form, Elizabeth also chooses to use a varied rhyme scheme in her poem: she relies on assonance.
The poet's excitement is expressed through the extended lines of poetry- the list of ways she loves Robert is extensive and seems even longer with the extended phrasing- the effect us
one of breathless adoration on the part of the poet.
By using a traditional love format of the sonnet which are typically associated with men, Elizabeth is reclaiming the format as a woman.
After the volta, Elizabeth shifts from the present tense to past and finishes with the future giving the poem a temporal immortality.
11 stanza- 2 different rhyme schemes: implies inextricably linked to one another; suggests the idea of love joining people together, completing people; alludes to the belief that couples
become a single unit.
By using iambic pentameter, Elizabeth is allowing stress to fall on the important words of the poem to create a sense of romantic equilibrium.
The regular rhyme scheme establishes a sense of security and perfection- there is no underlying threat or apprehension.
Title: "Sonnet 43- How do I love thee"- 43/44 sonnet from the sequence. Sonnet is often used for love poetry. The poet is speaking directly to her lover in the poem and tries to explain
how strong her love truly is for him. First line of the poem- rhetorical question suggests the poem arises from an actual question posed by Browning or the poet herself.
Quotes & Analysis
Presented as intense: "How do I love thee?"- Title is the first line of the poem and uses a rhetorical question;
suggestion that the poem arises from an actual question posed by Browning or the poet herself. Question makes
the poem theme clear from the start. Addresses the object as "thee" which is direct and personal. The lack of
name and gender makes the poem seem universal. The rhetorical question sets up a reflective tone for the
poem: the speaker uses hypophora (answers to her own question) to try and define her love.
Presented as deep and lasting: "depth and breadth and height"- Shows the scale of her love; it goes deep within her. Repetition of "and" reflects her excitement
and passion. Expressed using hyperbole and exaggeration. Semantic field of measurement illustrates how she is trying to measure her love. "Depth" "breadth"
"height" feels like she is stretching to measure her love; it is too much. Tricolon of half rhymes draws attention to units of measurement- irony, highlights how
love cannot be qualified. "Breadth" suggests a more naturalistic real love. Language is rhythmic and free-flowing.
Presented as religious: "ends of Being and ideal Grace"- Capitals suggests these words are being used in a spiritual sense. The speaker's love is so deep its like the
desire to understand existence and get close to God. This would have resonated strongly with readers in the 19th century when society was more religious.
Capitalism gives the words added importance. She is treating them as proper nouns for specific and special things. Abstract nouns "Being" and "Grace" makes
her love sound spiritual and powerful. The love does belong every day existence.
Presented through desires: "my soul can reach when feeling out of sight"- Personification. "Soul" reflects her inner love and desires; it loves him as far as it can
possibly stretch to.
Presented as a mixture of emotions: "old grief" "childhood faiths"- "Old grief" are perhaps referring to the arguments with her family over her choice of fiance. She
also seems to allude to a certain loss of faith. "Childhood faith" may simply be referring to the way that perceptions and interests change with time. "Childhood"
may imply that she loves Browning in a similar way to the way one loves something when young with absolute passion and obsession. Juxtaposition defines the
love as equal to the love experienced in mourning and also as equal to childhood naivety. Alludes to antithetical periods of a person's life however they are
placed within the same line. Connotes a level of transcendalism- the narrators relationship transcends temporal limits.
Presented as lasting: "I love thee"- Anaphora is used to foreground the different levels of her love and the different ways in which she loves him. Emphasises
intensity of love. Works to enhance the power of that simple phrase. Language is rhythmic and flowing. As if words can't convey the depth of her feelings so she
just keeps repeating the same ones to express the depth of her love. Helps to emphasise the different types of love that follow the repeated phrase. The syntactic
pattern makes the poem sound like a speech or a declaration. "I" indicates a level of agency within the speaker- an active engagement with love.
Presented as eternal: "I shall but love thee better after death"- Their love is presented as eternal as it will outlive their time on earth. The speaker's hope that God
supports their love suggests that she believes in its purity. Suggests love is everlasting. "I shall" expresses a definite affirmation of love- means that the speakers
relationship overcomes death and is immortal. Declarative sentence shows the certainty. "Better" suggests that her love will strengthen even more, once they
reunite in heaven.
