How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
A Petrarchan sonnet counting the many ways love fills a life, from everyday quiet need to a love that outlasts death.
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning · 1850 · Sonnets from the Portuguese, 1850 — public domain · easy difficulty
How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning · 1850
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 candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise. I love thee with the 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.
Click the box and start typing to begin.