Shakespeare and Browning Beg The Question In Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43 and William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, both authors describe the immense love they have for another person. Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of her most popular authors during the Victorian Era of English literature. William Shakespeare was the most popular author during the Elizabethan Era. The first line of the Elizabeth’s poem asks the question, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways!” (595). After that question is established, the author goes on to compare her love to various religious ideas. William Shakespeare also starts his poem with a question by saying, “Shall I compare thee, to a summer’s day?” (466). Shakespeare then goes onto say how he has captured the beauty of a woman in his
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The definition of the word “theme” in the Everyday Writer is as follows, “a major and often recurring subject or topic. The predominant theme often reveals the larger meaning of the work, including any thoughts or insights about life or people in general”(Lunsford). In Sonnet 43 repetition of the phrase “I love thee” reinforces the theme of unwavering love every time the reader hears it. In Sonnet 18 the reinforcement of how beautiful the summer time is shows Shakespeare’s love for this woman.
The diction that Barrett uses makes it easier to see the imagery in the poem. The diction that Shakespeare uses by speaking in Old English makes it harder to see what he is alluding to. Elizabeth’s poem has a more natural or informal diction, which I appreciate as a reader.
Even though both poems are Sonnets, both poems have differing views on love. Barrett Browning says that she loves her husband to be so much she will love him even after death. Shakespeare loves the woman so much in his poem; he says he will immortalize her beauty forever. Both authors navigate the themes of life, death, and love in their own memorable
The definition of the word “theme” in the Everyday Writer is as follows, “a major and often recurring subject or topic. The predominant theme often reveals the larger meaning of the work, including any thoughts or insights about life or people in general”(Lunsford). In Sonnet 43 repetition of the phrase “I love thee” reinforces the theme of unwavering love every time the reader hears it. In Sonnet 18 the reinforcement of how beautiful the summer time is shows Shakespeare’s love for this woman.
The diction that Barrett uses makes it easier to see the imagery in the poem. The diction that Shakespeare uses by speaking in Old English makes it harder to see what he is alluding to. Elizabeth’s poem has a more natural or informal diction, which I appreciate as a reader.
Even though both poems are Sonnets, both poems have differing views on love. Barrett Browning says that she loves her husband to be so much she will love him even after death. Shakespeare loves the woman so much in his poem; he says he will immortalize her beauty forever. Both authors navigate the themes of life, death, and love in their own memorable