E.B. Browning

             Browning where she displays her love and devotion for her husband. The sonnet is like a monologue where the poet asks herself a question and comes up with the answer. The strength of the sonnet is that the speaker tries to express her feelings as a person, which was considered a very uncommon thing in those days when women were thought to be inferior to men and their only duty was to give birth to children.
             The main reason I like this poem is the emotion it displays- the emotion of a woman. The striking feature of the sonnet is that nowhere in the sonnet the poet says that she likes her beloved for his richess, money, or his wealth. She likes her beloved for what he is, as a man which is definitely a great quality. Love is beautiful but there are very few lovers who can love their beloved with their heart. In the sonnet the poet asks herself how deeply she loves her beloved. .
             ?I love thee to the depth and breadth and height.
             My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.?.
             She loves her beloved with her soul. Human body is perishable, and after death it decomposes and is eaten up by insects. On the contrary soul is imperishable and cannot be destroyed, nor decomposed. The poet says she loves her beloved to the depth, breadth, and the height her soul can reach. Her love can be compared from the daily needs of human being to the deepest feelings she goes through. The poet compares her love with the love of a man who is fighting for his rights. The poet declares her love is pure. For, she does not ask anything in return. She loves him passionately. The poet further compares her love with old grieves, childhood's faith, and lost saint. In the end she proclaims.
             I love thee with the breath,.
             Smiles, tears, of all my life! - -and, if God choose,.
             I shall but love thee better after death.
             The poet expresses her love from materialistic to abstract things. From the day to day small needs her loves transcends time, and place.