Anthology - Sonnet 29 - 'I think of thee!'

QUOTE: objective personal pronoun, direct address, exclamative

“I think of thee!”

QUOTE: superlative, exclamative, asyndeton

“who art dearer, better!”

QUOTE: tricolon, exclamative, asyndeton, auditory imagery

“burst, shattered, everywhere!“

QUOTE: simile, natural imagery

“as wild vines, about a tree“

QUOTE: extended metaphor, ecphonesis, religious imagery, natural imagery

“O my palm-tree“

QUOTE: extended metaphor, imperative, auditory imagery, natural imagery

“renew thy presence; as a strong tree should, // rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare“

QUOTE: repetition, circular structure, adverb

“I do not think of thee - I am too near thee.“

QUOTE: assonance, internal rhyme

“deep joy, to see and hear thee”

FORM AND STRUCTURE [5]:

• Petrarchan sonnet

• volta

• iambic pentameter

• ABBA to CDCD rhyme scheme

• circular structure

FORM AND STRUCTURE: Petrarchan sonnet [3]

• usually used in context of unreachable, unrequited love

• here, unconventionally used for attainable and reciprocated love

• regular structure implies regularity of love

FORM AND STRUCTURE: volta

placed at line 5, breaking convention and symbolising rebellion against gender roles

FORM AND STRUCTURE: iambic pentameter [2]

• heartbeat rhythm represents passion and inherent love

• occasionally broken suggesting intensity of love and unconventional love

FORM AND STRUCTURE: ABBA to CDCD rhyme scheme [2]

• ABBA represents embrace/suffocation

• CDCD represents integration into one another

FORM AND STRUCTURE: circular structure

represents endless and ongoing love

CONTEXT [3]:

• written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

• in Victorian era when female sexuality was a taboo

• her marriage to Robert Browning was secret as her father disapproved - she was disinherited

THEMES [5]:

• romantic relationships

• sexual relationships

• religion

• nature

• gender roles