(I know I was supposed to comment. Consider this my comment.)
I liked Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. The last poem especially caught my interest: XLIII. The poem is must assuredly in sonnet form, but I cannot be entirely sure if it is in Italian or English form. The sonnet is in iambic pentameter, with 14 lines and 5 meters per line.
In the first stanza, Browning begins her poem by quoting one of Shakespeare’s most famous openings to a sonnet: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” indicating that the following poem is to be a love poem. Also, this gives the reader an idea that the poem may be a Shakespearean sonnet. Browning then proceeds to further solidify her initial statement by giving examples of how she loves “thee”: “to the depth and breadth and height…”; “freely,”; “purely”.
In my opinion, the sonnet is about a person (Perhaps Browning) who opens her heart to her lover, within which are all of her “old griefs” and fond childhood memories. Therefore, she is allowing her lover access to her innermost self, which proves her love.
In the last line: “I shall but love thee better after death.” it is unclear as to whether the death will be her own or her lover’s. Perhaps this was done on purpose?
