Poetry analysis and interpretation

¶ … Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" and Browning's "How Do I Love Thee"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee" and Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear and Loving Husband" are two love poems that express the power of love in that it never changes. These poems were written over two hundred years apart and they say almost the same thing. The significant difference between them is the intended audience but the message is clear. Bradstreet's strategy in presenting a more personal poem makes it more intimate because we feel as though we are reading something personal from one lover to another. Unwavering love is a common theme to both poems and each poet finds completion with her mate. They are a testament that love never changes over the years and true love will always satisfy. Because Bradstreet composed this poem for her husband, we feel as though we are peeking into her heart and the mood of the tone is more intimate and close. Her strategy is to convey this feeling to her husband more than everyone else and she does so successfully.

The strategy of utilizing literary techniques in both poems is common in usage but quite different in delivery. In "To My Dear and Loving Husband," the poet utilizes symbols as part of her strategy. She states that her love is like the "riches that the East doth hold" (Bradstreet 6) and that he love is so powerful that "rivers cannot quench" (7) it.

The poet's strategy also includes inviting her husband to "compare with me ye women if you can" (4), suggesting that he will not find anyone that will love him like she does. Metaphors are also seen in this poem, with the poet comparing the shared love to the wealth of riches. In addition, what she receives from this love she "cannot repay" (9) and she asks the "heavens reward thee manifold, I pray" (10). In contrast, the poet in "How Do I Love Thee" utilizes more metaphors to illustrate her point. We see more religious overtones in this poem as the poet refers to images and notions that remind us of religious terminology. An example of this kind of with metaphor occurs when the poet tells us her love can achieve "the ends of Being and Ideal Grace" (Browning 4). The poet also compares her love to the "level of every day's/most quiet need, by sun and candlelight" (5-6). Her love is a source of strength to "strive for Right" (6) and the depth of her love will live beyond her years, as indicated when she states, "I shall but love thee after death" (14). The literary techniques used in both poems help deliver the message of unending and perfect love.

The intended audience is different for each poem; in "To My Dear and Loving Husband," the poet is speaking directly to her husband as opposed to making a more declarative statement as we see in "How Do I Love Thee." Bradstreet is speaking directly to her husband and Browning is speaking to readers. This difference does not diminish the effect of either poem but it is significant when examining strategy. We can look at Bradstreet's poem as more personal in that she might not have intended this poem for public consumption and even if she did, she still chose to address her husband directly, giving him all of her attention. Bradstreet's poem is also composed with a mood and tone of humility, indicating that the love she shares with her husband is invaluable. Browning's poem also indicates that her love is extremely important, claiming she will "love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach" (Browning 2-3). She, too, seems to compare this love to her love for God when she writes, "I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints" (11-12).

Their strategy of expressing love in lyric form is popular and very expressive. In "To My Dear and Loving Husband," we do not think of Puritan women expressing their love so freely, which is refreshing in its own way. In addition, it is worth noting that the poet might even love her husband more than God; this is unclear but the fact that a Puritan woman would hint at it is interesting. The poem is almost a sonnet and it is composed of couplets.