Subscribe: by Email | in Reader

Sonnet XIV -- Elizabeth Barrett Browning

       
(Poem #591) Sonnet XIV
 If thou must love me, let it be for nought
 Except for love's sake only. Do not say
 I love her for her smile--her look--her way
 Of speaking gently,--for a trick of thought
 That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
 A sense of ease on such a day--
 For these things in themselves, Belovèd, may
 Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
 May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
 Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheek dry,--
 A creature might forget to weep, who bore
 Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
 But love me for love's sake, that evermore
 Thou may'st love on, through love's eternity.
-- Elizabeth Barrett Browning
At first glance this seems to be a most curious love sonnet - one that
consciously revokes the usual conventions of the genre, offering instead an
abstract, almost philosophical vision of the emotion. It seems especially
surprising when taken in the context of Elizabeth Barrett's love for Robert
Browning, a love that gave rise to some of the most emotionally charged
poetry ever written [1]... surely a passion that deep should be expressed in
words more specific than these?

To answer this question, it might be useful to look a bit more closely at
the poem's compositional background. At the time of writing this poem,
"[Elizabeth Barrett was unsure] what sort of a gift her heart would make to
[Robert] Browning since she was not young (thirty-eight), six years an
invalid, broken-spirited in guilt and sorrow... So for a long time Browning
had to accede to her formula, urged in the Sonnets, that he loved her for
nothing at all, just because he loved her" [3].

Now the poem begins to make more sense - indeed, it takes on an almost
heroic quality, in the way the poet denies her own feelings for the sake of
the happiness of her beloved [4]. Seen in this light, it's obvious why there
are no elaborate conceits, no professions of undying love and eternal
devotion; instead, Barrett and Browning are, in Donne's marvellous words,
"by a love so much refined / That [their] selves know not what it is" [5].

thomas.

[1] Specifically, Barrett's masterpiece, the sequence of 'Sonnets from the
Portuguese' [2], of which today's poem is the 14th.
[2] Robert's nickname for Elizabeth was 'my little Portuguese', because she
was dark.
[3] http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/ebb/ebbio1.html
[4] It might be argued that this is a misguided heroism or (even worse) a
tawdry self-dramatization. In any case, that's more a personal judgement
than a critical one.
[5] poem #330

[Links]

The most well-known of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's 'Sonnets from the
Portuguese', and possibly the most anthologized love poem ever, is her
famous 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways', which you can read at
poem #269. This link also has a biography and some critical analysis.

The complete 'Sonnets' can be found at
[broken link] http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/ebb01.html

The Victorian Web has a wealth of resources on EBB:
http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/ebb/browningov.html

For another sonnet which seems to go against every rule in the book, read
the Bard's glorious 'My Mistress' Eyes', Sonnet CXXX, archived at
poem #44.

36 comments: ( or Leave a comment )

suresh said...

well what do i say about this poem but way to go woman... elizabeth barret browning... well she is just a woman much ahead of her times as cliche as it sounds... she ids the woman who dared to venture into the patriarchal area of the elizabethan/petrarchan sonnets and did put in her terms of being loved and did she put them well! she is truly an epitome of the victorian woman... welll this woman has said it and said it in such a way that lyric writers even today talk about loving women is these terms...

Karutha Penne said...

she asks her lover to go beyond the smile, and the other physical objects of infatuation, to make their love more real and at the same time more simple. Its makes their love almost a third character in the poem.

posh posh said...

she a straning lady who knew what LOVE is. she explained how the man should do if he loves a lady and what he should avoid to keep their love real. she also belives in the afterlife love were if the man love the lady for love's sake both could love each other after death' so this will be the evidence of that the two couple are truly in love.

Ideas de negocios said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, but I am firmly convinced of this and love to learn more about the subject. If possible, acquire knowledge, would you update your blog with more information? It is very helpful to me

Advertising agencies in Pakistan said...

All posts have something to learn. Your work is very good and i appreciate you and hopping for some more informative posts.
Thank you…….. Great blog.

southend to w2 said...

Thank you, I have recently been searching for information about this topic for ages and yours is the best I have discovered so far.

paket said...

site is very cool, and very easy to understand her friendship too much really. my friends love it when I spoke to them this site.
Hi there, I found your blog via Google while looking for a related topic, your web site came up, it looks good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.

Unknown said...

This site is excellent and so is how the subject matter was explained. I also like some of the comments too. Waiting for the next post.
urdu newspaper | english newspaper | news from pakistan

devindennis said...

That was an interesting piece of information on handwriting analysis. Please post more about this interesting topic. Thank you!
Office furniture catalogue
Buy furniture onlineBest advertising agency in Pakistan

Bromo Tour said...

really nice post..

Unknown said...

great collection, thanks for sharing.taxis in w2 | stansted to w2 | w2 minicabs

Unknown said...

Whoa! The designs are excellent! You have a great collection. Thanks for sharing. Keep it up..minicabs in w2 | cab w2 | mirza maqbool

Anonymous said...

Hi there, every time i used to check web site posts
here in the early hours in the dawn, as i enjoy to gain knowledge of more and
more.

Feel free to surf to my homepage: funny pic About love

Anonymous said...

Hello, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this blog post.
It was funny. Keep on posting!

Here is my web page: HowTo Password Hack Twitter Account

Anonymous said...

It's going to be end of mine day, however before end I am reading this impressive piece of writing to increase my experience.

Feel free to visit my page Angry Birds For Pc

Anonymous said...

If you want a Premium Minecraft Account check out this generator.
With it you can generate a unique Minecraft Premium Account which no one else has!
You can Download the Free Premium Minecraft Account Generator http://www.
free-minecraft-download.tk

You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and extremely broad for me. I'm looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!

China tours said...

I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it, I have you bookmarked to check out all the new stuff you post.I am a china tour lover,You can learn more: China travel packages | Asia tour packages | China city tour packages

Unknown said...

I was very pleased to find this site.I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post. http://simple-cash-code-reviews.com

unsgu said...

memang website yang keren memang harus begini,selalu mengedepankan price Honda CBR1000 , Modern Minimalist House design , price Kawasaki Ninja H2 , minimalist home interior design kepuasan dan banyak memberi manfaat bagi pengunjungnya.

unsgu said...

terimkasih infonya, sangat bagus sekali, mudah di mengerti dan cara memperbesar penis tetap selalu menjadi web yang bagus .. sukses yaaa :)

Furniture Rumah Terbaru said...

This article was written by a real thinking writer. I agree many of the with the solid points made by the writer. I’ll be

back
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja tv mewah
meja rias lampu
meja tv mewah

123bet said...

I think this is a really good article. You make this information interesting and engaging. You give readers a lot to think about. สมัครสมาชิก 123bet

Post a Comment