How Do I Love Thee? Examining Word Choice, Tone, and Meaning in Poetry 1.1 Welcome Welcome to How Do I Love Thee? Examining Word Choice, Tone, and Meaning in Poetry.
1.2 Objectives By the end of this tutorial, you will understand how the choice of words and phrases in a poem impacts the overall meaning and tone. We will examine Sonnet 43, How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Then, you will engage in a critical analysis of the language, reflect on your own interpretations, and write about what you have learned. After this tutorial, you should be able to approach the next poem you encounter with the confidence and knowledge that you can unlock the mystery of powerful words in poetry!
1.3 Before We Get Started Let s talk about the poem we will be studying in this tutorial. It s referred to as How Do I Love Thee? which is Sonnet number 43 from a collection of 44 poems called Sonnets from the Portuguese. The title of the poem is actually Sonnet 43, but it is often called How Do I Love Thee? which is in the first line of the poem. This is Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a famous Victorian poet. She wrote this sonnet for her husband Robert Browning (who was also a famous poet). He called her his little Portuguese which explains the title of her collection! This sonnet was first published in 1850 and is one of the most famous poems ever written. Have you ever been in love? If you have, you may have written a note or sent a text to express your love to that person. You may have even wished you never sent it! Well, Elizabeth s love note has been read by people all over the world for over a hundred years!
1.4 The Poem: Sonnet 43 How Do I Love Thee? Please take a moment to read and listen to the sonnet. Reading out loud or hearing a poem read aloud increases your understanding of the author s meaning. You may notice it sounds like song lyrics! In fact, the word sonnet means little song in Italian! Click on the red heart to hear the sonnet read by actress Judi Dench.
1.5 Practice 1 After your first time reading and hearing this poem, how would you sum up this sonnet if you were explaining it to a friend? Write two to three sentences to describe your initial thoughts and ideas. Feedback: A possible answer may sound something like this: I think this was maybe written as a response to either a conversation she was having with her true love or maybe she is writing in her diary. In either case, she is listing all of the different ways that she loves him. So, this poem is about love.
1.6 Practice 2 Now, write down a few sentences to describe one of the images or ideas the author uses to express her love. Use specific words or sounds that may have caught your attention. Feedback: A possible answer to this question may sound something like this: I like the lines about sun and candlelight because they show that she loves him in a down to earth kind of way as well as during their romantic nights together. She loves him day and night.
1.7 Important Poetry Terms Before we look closely at the words in the poem, let s take just a minute to learn about the structure and clarify a few important terms. Remember, a sonnet is a lyrical love poem with fourteen lines. Sonnets have various rhyme schemes (or the way its rhymes are arranged). This sonnet represents a rhyme scheme known as the Petrarchan [Peh-trar-kun], after the Italian poet Petrarch [Pettrark]. This sonnet consists of a group of eight lines (known as the octave) with an abba, ab-ba rhyme scheme, followed by a group of six lines (or sestet) with different rhymes. Often, at the beginning of the sestet, there is a volta, which means turn in Italian. This is a shift in the poem's subject or tone. So, as you read the sonnet, just keep in mind that the poem is divided into two main parts with a twist in the middle. We will learn more about how this structure effects the meaning later in this tutorial. Now, let s review what you have learned so far in the next slide.
1.8 Practice 3 Click on ALL of the TRUE statements about Sonnet 43, How Do I Love Thee? from Sonnets from the Portuguese. Correct Yes Yes Yes No No Choice A. Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote Sonnet 43 within a collection of 44 Sonnets. B. How Do I Love Thee? is often mistakenly referred to as the title, but it is only the first line. C. A sonnet is a lyrical (song-like) poem about love. This sonnet is divided into two main parts with a twist in the middle. D. Browning, a famous Victorian poet, wrote this sonnet for Petrarch, an Italian poet. The rhyme scheme Petrarchan, seen in this sonnet, is named after him. E. Browning translated this sonnet from a collection of poetry from Portugal since Victorian women were not respected as poets in 1850. Feedback when correct: Correct! Great Job! A, B, and C are all true statements about the sonnet.
Feedback when incorrect: D is not a correct answer choice because Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote this sonnet for her husband, Robert Browning. However, Petrarch was an Italian poet and the rhyme scheme in this sonnet was indeed, named after him. E is not a correct answer choice because while it was uncommon for Victorian women to be respected poets, she was, and all of these sonnets were her original works. All of the other answers are correct.
1.9 Download the Poem: Sonnet 43, How Do I Love Thee? Please take a moment to review the sonnet. If you wish, you can click to download a copy for your use in this tutorial.
1.10 Using Poetry Terms to Determine Meaning Let s take a closer look at this sonnet. This sonnet has one stanza and fourteen lines. When reading poetry, you should read each numbered line until the end of the sentence, not necessarily until the end of the line, so you have to pay special attention to punctuation. An example of the ab-ba rhyme scheme can be found in lines five through eight. The octave is positive and romantic. Yet the volta introduces a slightly more honest part of the poem. In the sestet, while still expressing an intense love, the author acknowledges that love may not have always gone the way she wanted it to in the past. Now that you understand the basic format of the poem, you can begin to uncover powerful words and mysterious meanings. What is she trying to say about how she loves him? Let s learn a few more terms while examining words and meaning. And then, it will be your turn to show what you know!
1.11 Unlocking the Meaning Behind Words We can start by talking about a single word choice. The author does not say who they love or why they love that person, but how they love. So, we know this sonnet will be all about how the author loves this person. That is one powerful word that affects the meaning of the whole sonnet! The phrase I love thee is an example of repetition that ties the sonnet together. As we begin to explore meaning, we know by reading these lines that the author is filled with passion. But old griefs? An old boyfriend maybe? What of her childhood s faith? Is she commenting that she may have been naïve in past relationships? Many times in poetry, authors include words and phrases that have multiple meanings. This can be a very successful method for engaging readers. Do you think she means she loves him both day and night? Or is she trying to say she loves his personality both during the busy day and during romantic evenings? The tone of a sonnet can be conveyed in very few words. For example, in lines seven and eight, the words freely and purely establish an uncomplicated, honest approach to love. The author talks about her love extending to the the depth and breadth and height her soul can reach. This connotative language creates vivid imagery. Her smiles and tears may mean for better or for worse. But it may also just be one more way of stating that she loves him all of the time. Finally, and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death is an example of figurative language. She may think she is going to come up with a new way to love him better after death, but this is an example of figurative, not literal, language. One thing is for sure this girl is in love! Now it s time to show what you know!
1.12 Downloadable Key Poetry Terms Click on the link to download a list of a few Key Poetry Terms.
1.13 Practice 4 Match each term to its description by using the drop-down menu next to each sentence. Correct This is writing that uses a word (or words) that have ambiguous, or hidden, meanings. This allows the poet to evoke many thoughts in just a few words This is the attitude of the writer, usually conveyed through word choice. Creates an overall sound. This is when the tone, argument, or pattern of Choice multiple meanings tone volta thought in a poem changes. This is writing that goes beyond the actual, literal meanings of words so that the reader figurative language
Correct Choice gains new insights into the imagery and emotions in the poem. The repetition of similar sounds within words in a poem, creating a pattern. This is usually determined rhyme scheme by their placement within the lines or stanzas. Feedback when correct: Correct! Great Job! Before moving on, please review the correct matches displayed on the screen for you. Feedback when incorrect: Please take a moment to review the correct answers displayed on the screen for you.
1.14 Using a Graphic Organizer to Organize Thoughts It is often helpful to use a graphic organizer to organize your thoughts and ideas as you read. This downloadable graphic organizer will provide you with the practice you need to determine the meaning of select words and phrases from the poem. Notice that the sonnet is broken down by every two lines in the left column. Moving across the boxes from left to right, your answers should reflect your thoughts on two lines of the sonnet at a time. You will use evidence from the text and your own thoughts and ideas to discuss: Meaning, Key words and phrases, Sounds, Tone, and other Literary devices. This will be a great tool for you to utilize during the rest of the tutorial. Click on the link to download the Graphic Organizer. You should complete the Graphic Organizer before moving on to the next slide.
1.15 Sample Graphic Organizer Click on the link to download a sample, completed graphic organizer. Please compare the answers in the sample organizer to your answers.
1.16 Practice 5 After reading the beautiful language of this sonnet and analyzing specific words and phrases, let s examine one aspect of the sonnet s tone. Remember, tone is the attitude of the writer, usually conveyed through word choice. The octave and sestet have two distinct tones. Select either the octave or the sestet and write a sentence or two describing this tone. Provide support by referring to two to three words or phrases and explain how these word choices impact the tone and meaning. Please type your answer in the text box provided. You may want to use your graphic organizer to complete this response. Feedback: You may have written a response like this: The tone of the octave is about romantic love. She is describing an undying love that extends beyond space and time. The words depth, breadth, and height and the phrase my soul can reach paint the picture that she loves so strongly that it is beyond measure or even her own comprehension. The words freely and purely sum up the end of the octave by declaring simply how she loves. If you chose to write about the sestet, your response may focus on her realistic approach to love in this section. You may have mentioned lost saints and old griefs. You may have even reflected on her notion that she may need to leave it to God to decide how long her love lasts. This response would reflect her understanding that love is complicated.
1.17 Lesson Review Nice work! As a final review in this tutorial, let s look at some of the key concepts in reading and understanding poetry. Sonnets are fourteen line, lyrical poems about love. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, an important poet during the Victorian era, wrote Sonnet 43, which is one of the most famous poems ever written. Understanding the structure and key parts of a poem helps to enhance the reader s ability to extract meaning from the words and phrases. Literary devices, such as connotative and figurative language, help us to understand the various (and often mysterious) layers of meaning. Examining words and phrases and words with multiple meanings is critical to understanding the overall meaning of a poem. By analyzing the tone we can begin to understand the author s attitude about a subject.
1.18 Practice 6 Now you are ready for your final practice where you can demonstrate your ability to analyze poetry! In one full paragraph, provide a critical analysis of lines 12-14. Consider the words and phrases Elizabeth Barrett Browning chose and explain how these choices impact the meaning of these lines in the sonnet. Please type your answer in the text box provided. You may want to use your graphic organizer to complete this response. Once you submit, you may compare it to the response given. Feedback: You may have written a response like this: In lines 12-13, she is expressing that every happiness or sadness that she experiences during her life is touched by her love for him. In fact, every time she breathes in and out, she is reminded of her love for him. She lives for him, or at least, for loving him. However, for her, loving him in this life time is not enough! In line 14, she is almost speaking a hopeful prayer to God that if it is His will, she will be able to love her true love for all time. In fact, she is promising that she will but love thee better after death.
1.19 Personal Reflection While studying this sonnet, you probably found a word or phrase or maybe even an entire line that really made an impact on you. One of the best parts about reading poetry is that each reader responds in a way that is unique. Now you are going to write your own personal reflection. In 3-5 sentences, select a part of the sonnet and provide your own thoughts and ideas on why these words or phrases spoke to you. Please type your answer in the text box provided. You may want to use your graphic organizer to complete this response. Feedback: You may have written a response like this: After reading and analyzing this poem, I realized there were many parts of it that really spoke to me. I think the words childhood s faith made an impact on me because although she knows she may be acting like a naïve child, she is going to love him anyway. She may have had a bad relationship before, but she is putting herself out there and giving love another chance.
1.20 Thank You Thank you for using this original tutorial. Be sure to check out our other original tutorials too. Credits (Slide Layer)