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

I think of thee! - my thoughts do twine and bud

About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,

Put out broad leaves, and soon there’s nought to see

Except the straggling green which hides the wood.

Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood

I will not have my thoughts instead of thee

Who art dearer, better! Rather instantly

Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,

Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,

And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee

Drop heavily down, - burst, shattered, everywhere!

Because, in this deep joy to see and to hear thee

And breathe within thy shadow a new air,

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

THEMES:

  • romantic relationships

  • sexual relationships

  • religion

  • nature

  • gender roles

FORM:

  • Petrarchan sonnet

    • usually used in context of unrequited, unreachable love

    • here, unconventionally used for attainable and reciprocated love

    • regular structure implies regularity of love

STRUCTURE:

  • volta

    • at line 5

    • breaks from tradition and symbolises rebellion against gender roles

  • iambic pentameter

    • heartbeat rhythm represents passion and inherent love

    • occasionally broken suggesting intensity of love and unconventional love

  • ABBA to CDCD rhyme scheme

    • ABBA represents embrace/suffocation?

    • CDCD represents integration into one another

  • circular structure

    • represents endless and ongoing love

LANGUAGE:

  • intimate language

    • objective personal pronoun, direct address, exclamative - “I think of thee!”

    • superlative, exclamative, asyndeton - “who art dearer, better!“

    • tricolon, exclamative, asyndeton, auditory imagery - “burst, shattered, everywhere!“

  • natural imagery

    • simile - “as wild vines, about a tree“

    • extended metaphor, ecphonesis, religious imagery - “O my palm-tree“

    • extended metaphor, imperative, auditory imagery - “renew thy presence; as a strong tree should // rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare“

  • repetition, circular structure, adverb - “I do not think of thee - I am too near thee.“

  • assonance, internal rhyme - “deep joy, to see and hear thee“

CONTEXT:

  • written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

  • in Victorian era when female sexuality was major taboo

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