Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Sonnet XI and XXXIV Analysis Sonnets XIV and XXXIV by Elizabeth Barrett Browning are clear examples of Italian sonnets through their utilizing of Italian rhyme scheme and content breaks of octaves followed by sestets. Although heavy usage of enjambment blurs the distinctions in some cases, the shifts in subject focus assist in clarifying the octave - sestet separations.
For example, Sonnet XIV is broken into clear octave - sestet structure with the beginning octave speaking about the uselessness of shallow love and its eventual drawbacks, while the sestet following it displays the speaker’s dislike of love stemming from pity. The beginning octave starts by making the author’s focus for the entire sonnet clear: “If thou must love me, let it be for …show more content…
The octave begins the poem with the narrator reflecting upon her childhood and its liveliness and easygoing nature. She states that when she was called away from outdoor adventures or playing games, she would be filled with happiness and glee and look forward to her next tasks (Browning 5-8). After explaining this aspect of her life, she then begins to delve into the details of her adult life in a sestet. She says that when she is called away from her work, which she calls “grave” and “solitary”, her heart still leaps in childlike joy (Browning 8,9). At the conclusion of this sestet, the speaker states that the joy she feels upon being reunited with the one she loves is even better than childlike joy, stating “Allow that no child’s foot could run as fast as this blood” (Browning 13,14). The word “allow” here is used to in a similar way to the word “know” or “understand” is used in modern
For example, Sonnet XIV is broken into clear octave - sestet structure with the beginning octave speaking about the uselessness of shallow love and its eventual drawbacks, while the sestet following it displays the speaker’s dislike of love stemming from pity. The beginning octave starts by making the author’s focus for the entire sonnet clear: “If thou must love me, let it be for …show more content…
The octave begins the poem with the narrator reflecting upon her childhood and its liveliness and easygoing nature. She states that when she was called away from outdoor adventures or playing games, she would be filled with happiness and glee and look forward to her next tasks (Browning 5-8). After explaining this aspect of her life, she then begins to delve into the details of her adult life in a sestet. She says that when she is called away from her work, which she calls “grave” and “solitary”, her heart still leaps in childlike joy (Browning 8,9). At the conclusion of this sestet, the speaker states that the joy she feels upon being reunited with the one she loves is even better than childlike joy, stating “Allow that no child’s foot could run as fast as this blood” (Browning 13,14). The word “allow” here is used to in a similar way to the word “know” or “understand” is used in modern