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.
Filed under: Heartfelt
I dont understand the poem pls kinly expalian to me
This is a wonderfully written poem describing with great passion her love for her significant other.
Someone did an analysis on the poem which I find to be quite apt.
Here it goes :-
01. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
The number of ways she loves are numerous. She would need to count them.
02. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
Her love is three dimensional and therefore real, in the sense that all real physical things in the universe are three dimensional. Breadth is width, a measurement of how far across her love is. Height and depth represent how far down (deep) and how far up (high) her love is, in relation to her position in the universe.
03. My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
These measurements, though physical are also spiritual, as they pertain to her soul, which is body and spirit infused.
04. For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
This physical and spiritual measurement is of her soul and the very essence of her being to the ends of her existence.. Ideal Grace is capitalized and probably refers to God, and His most perfect gift–Salvation, and the opportunity to experience eternal love and bliss in His presence. She likens her love for her husband to that love of God.
05. I love thee to the level of every day’s
06. Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
Her love is on the same level as our most basic needs–air, water, food, shelter, kinship and love–that need our attention day and night.
07. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
She loves him of her own free will, and not out of obligation. This is the kind of love that is freely given without any coercion by guilt or force or the threat of force. Men strive for Right freely, for it is necessary to their happiness.
08. I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
Modesty turns from praise because it needs it not. She loves him for the sake of love itself, and not to receive any praise.
09. I love with a passion put to use
10. In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
Passion put to use in her old griefs, is passion that hurts, that reminds one through pain that she is still alive. The same passion exists in the faith of a child, who believes without doubt because of a lack of life experience that would go contrary to it.
11. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
12. With my lost saints,
She loves him with the intensity one feels love during their innocence of youth, which she lost with her innocence, and feels it again for him.
– I love thee with the breath,
13. Smiles, tears, of all my life!
She loves him with the breath of her life, with the happiness and sadness of her life.
– and, if God choose,
14. I shall but love thee better after death.
Her love for him will not end at the grave, but, God willing, will continue on eternally.
Cheers
thanks…this is really a great help for my research…
i really like the poem..^-^
You’re most welcome and I love this poem….
weeeeeeee… thx 2 d info…. i understand it very much and it helps me a lot with my project in english hahaha
Welcome mate!
the analysis really is a great help…. tnx!
You’re most welcome though I cannot claim credit for it as I found this gem while doing research on it.
cheers
Is the division organized in a particular way? or is there a sence of progression or movement in the ways in which Barret loves? Pleeease help!!
No one can truly answer this question but Barret herself.
However for the love of poetry and exploring the hidden beauty in the language and meaning one can derive that the Author a great one I might add has done both.
It is organized in perfect form with progression and movement!
And yet not constricted in any way by which to suffocate the essence of it’s beauty.
You will have to expand on this on your own for your paper but I hope my personal understanding of this poem has helped you.
cheers
why is everyone thanking “juleslife?” all he did was copy and paste someone elses analysis of the poem.
the poem is absolute crap. the main basic idea is – “love never ends” << skeen.
Well they are thanking me is because I’ve made a great analysis easy to find, secondly if you cannot enjoy the beauty of this poem then you never will. Shallow remarks are tell tale signs of an inferiority complex.
thaaaaaaanks sooooooo mch
YOUR A LIFE SAVER
Are they still using this poem in schools? Anyhow you’re most welcome…cheers!
thanks !! this really helped to make my understanding of the poem better.
You’re most welcome….cheers
Thanks man, i have loved this poem for 12 years and now thanks to you i understand the interpretation, again thank you very much.
You’re most welcome!