How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)

Study Guide

Literary Devices

Tone

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Literary Devices Tone

Browning’s sonnet is a conventional love poem, and as such it’s characterized by a tone best described as impassioned. The impassioned nature of the poem derives in large part from the way the speaker frames it with their opening question: “How do I love thee?” (line 1). This question provides the motivation for the rest of the poem, which, as indicated in the second half of the opening line, will proceed by way of enumeration: “Let me count the ways.” The speaker thus goes on to list different forms the love for their beloved takes. As a rhetorical strategy, enumeration has an amplifying effect. Each new description of love adds to the previous descriptions, creating a sense of accumulation. Browning’s frequent use of enjambment in the octave further intensifies this sense of accumulation. Indeed, the speaker seems barely able to control their amorous feelings as they allow one line to flow into the next without stopping. Taken together, these formal aspects of the poem give rise to an overall impression of emotional intensity and ardor that we conventionally associate with the word passion.