Study Notes on Sonnet 29 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Sonnet 29 - 'I Think of Thee' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Brief Summary

  • Theme: The poem explores the speaker's obsessive thoughts about their lover, using the metaphor of vines encircling a tree to illustrate the nature of their growing love.
  • Realization: The speaker concludes that being physically present with their lover is preferable to dwelling on thoughts of them.

Synopsis

  • Opening Statement: The speaker begins by expressing how her thoughts entwine around her lover like vines around a tree.
  • Metaphor Development: Barrett Browning elaborates on the metaphor, depicting the impact of obsessive thoughts on the speaker.
  • Resolution: Upon achieving physical closeness with her lover, the overwhelming thoughts subside.

Context

  • Author Background: Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) composed this poem during her courtship with Robert Browning.
    • The work is part of a collection called "Sonnets from the Portuguese"—44 sonnets believed to have been penned for Robert Browning.
    • She initially kept these poems private and only shared them years after their marriage.
  • Societal Tensions:
    • Writing about a high-profile individual in the 1800s brought societal tension given that her father opposed their marriage.
    • The couple met secretly and exchanged many letters before eloping.
    • After their marriage, Barrett Browning was estranged from her family, and she was six years older than Robert.
  • Social Issues: Barrett Browning was known for her awareness of social issues, including child labor and slavery.
  • Victorian Expectations: During the Victorian era, emotional repression was expected of women. The poem's conclusion may symbolize her challenge to these gender norms and limitations.
  • Personal Struggles: Due to prolonged health issues, Barrett Browning was mostly bedridden, which might explain her focus on thoughts over physical presence.

The Title "I Think of Thee!"

  • Narrative Perspective: The use of first-person perspective fosters a personal connection, suggesting that the speaker is Barrett Browning herself, rather than a fictional character.
  • Highlighting Obsession: The poem's intimate tone emphasizes the speaker's obsessive thoughts directed toward her lover, presenting the work more as self-exploration than a public love letter.

Poetic Elements

Personal Address

  • The speaker directly addresses her lover, establishing intimacy and the poem's romantic essence.
  • Exclamation Mark: Its usage indicates the depth of feeling, possibly reflecting defensiveness to an accusatory letter.
  • Imagery: The line “there’s nought to see” indicates an inability to focus on anything beyond her lover, highlighting their emotional dependence.
  • The palm tree symbolizes the novel or eternal facet of their love with its exotic and biblical connotations.
  • Auditory Imagery: The poem uses sound-related imagery to evoke the inevitability of their love.
  • Break from Obsession: The conclusion indicates a release from obsessive thoughts through physical closeness, where they can love each other authentically.

Extended Metaphor

  • The primary metaphor involves comparing the speaker's thoughts to vines wrapping around a tree, indicating growth that can become detrimental.
  • Internal Rhyme: The words “tree” and “thee” create harmony, suggesting a concern that love may obscure true identities.
  • Sibilance: Alliterative sibilance appears in “thoughts” and “thee,” creating a negative tone, particularly at the poem's beginning, while presenting thoughts as suffocating.
  • Turning Point: The triadic structure signals a shift in tone within the poem, highlighting emotional transformation.

Opening Lines

  • “I think of thee! – my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee, as wild vines, about a tree”
    • Imagery: Vivid natural imagery reflects the speaker’s feelings, portraying thoughts that envelop her lover like wild vines.
    • Word Choice: Terms like “twine” and “bud” signify growth, and “broad leaves” imply an engulfing of her reality by her thoughts, represented through “straggling green.”

Structure and Form

  • Sonnet Structure: The poem follows a Petrarchan sonnet form, consisting of two quatrains and a sestet, using iambic pentameter (ten syllables per line, with five stressed and five unstressed beats).
  • Traditional Format: Adhering to this form reflects the traditional aspect of her love, yet deviations from strict iambic meter indicate the urgent need to convey overwhelming emotions.
  • Pronoun Usage: The frequent repetition of “thee” and “thy” emphasizes the poem's inward focus on the beloved.
  • Problem-Solution Dynamic: The first stanza reveals the speaker’s emotional turmoil, contrasting the conclusion where she moves from unfulfilled longing to physical presence with her lover.

Volta (Turning Point)

  • Positioning: In traditional sonnets, the volta occurs after the eighth line; however, in this poem, it appears earlier (line 5) and begins with “yet.”
  • Reflecting Nonconformity: This early volta may mirror the poem's unconventional elements, reiterating the theme of breaking traditional molds in love.

Rhyme Scheme

  • Structure: The rhyme scheme is ABBCCBBCDBDBDB, reflecting Italian sonnet forms rather than the English sonnet prevalent during Browning's time.
    • This variance indicates a nuanced portrayal of love focused on emotional connection rather than physicality.

Language

Intimate Language
  • Pronoun Repetition: The continual use of “thee” throughout highlights the relationship's intimacy and the speaker's yearning for closeness.
  • Auditory Imagery: Words like “rustle” and “shattered” depict familiarity and heightening excitement in their relationship, despite the absence of physical connection at that point.
Natural Imagery
  • Active Verbs: Terms such as “twine” and “bud” evoke the wildness of the speaker’s love.
  • Characterization: Referring to her lover as a “palm-tree” portrays him as stable and reliable, while the vine’s parasitic nature suggests potential negative consequences of her obsessive love.
  • Flower Imagery: Reflects perceptions of female sexuality; historically flowers symbolized feminine beauty, yet in contemporary literature, they also express female empowerment.
Emotional Intensity
  • Suffocating Descriptions: The portrayal of the lover is intensely framed in context to the speaker’s existence, suggesting an inability to envision individuality outside their relationship.

Comparisons

Similarities with Other Works

  1. Love’s Philosophy by Percy Bysshe Shelley

    • Both poems leverage natural imagery as metaphors for romantic love. Examples include Shelley’s line about nature's unity and Browning’s vine/tree metaphor.
    • Both employ concise structure to convey intense emotions.

  2. Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning

    • Both narrators display unhealthy fixations on their lovers. In "Sonnet 29", the use of verbs suggests suffocation, reflecting the speaker's obsession.
    • Natural imagery and metaphors recur in both poems, depicting emotional states of the speakers.
    • Each speaker expresses initial dissatisfaction, followed by a sense of fulfillment in love, and transitions from obsession to connection.
Differences
  • Conclusion Tone: "Sonnet 29" concludes with a resolution, transitioning the line’s manipulation from “I think of thee!” to “I do not think of thee - I am too near thee,” while "Love’s Philosophy" retains a consistent unresolved tone.
  • Self-Awareness: In "Sonnet 29", the speaker acknowledges her obsession’s potential detriment, while the narrator in "Porphyria’s Lover" lacks such self-awareness, signified by the assurance of divine approval at the poem's end.
  • Form: The rigid structure of "Sonnet 29" contrasts with the continuous form of "Porphyria’s Lover", illustrating the different nature of love amidst the constraints of their respective formats.