Analysis of How Do I Love Thee?

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806 (Kelloe) – 1861 (Florence)



How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.


Scheme ABBCABBADEDFDF
Poetic Form
Metre 1111111101 1111010101 1111110111 1011100011 111101011001 110111010 1111011111 1111011111 111010111 011101111 1111011111 1111111101 1111110111 1111110101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 626
Words 130
Sentences 9
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 9
Letters per stanza (avg) 465
Words per stanza (avg) 128
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

39 sec read
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Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era. more…

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    How many lines does a sonnet have?
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    B 16
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