"How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)"
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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.
How does the sonnet structure contribute to the meaning of the poem?
A) It does not have any effect on the meaning of the poem.
B) It sets up an idea at the beginning and expands it with similes before extending it with the couplet at the end.
C) It sets up a humorous situation in the first part, then changes to a more serious one with the couplet at the end.
D) It sets up a contrast at the start and then develops it to greater and greater lengths before reversing it with the couplet at the end.