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Compare The Different Ways In Which 19Th Century Female Poets Explore The Theme Of Love

In the 19th century women were not treated as they are today. Women had very little rights, in fact women and children had about the same amount. Women could not vote or sue or own property, even if it was inherited from her family. Women were seen to be there only to provide children and do all the domestic chores. The only occupation that women could have was of a teacher or a domestic servant. Women were also not allowed to own checking accounts or savings. In this era many men idolised women and saw them as being pure and clean. This was the traditional view of women, not only was there a view on women but also one of love.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was the author of How do I love thee? .This poem is a traditional Victorian love poem which follows the rigid sonnet structure. Using this structure places limits on what you want to say and how you can describe things, but the poet has used this form to show how serious her love is. This structure also gives the poem authority.
The rhythm of Iambic Pentameter emphasises the important words at the end of each line. It also creates a joyous musical tone. The use of Iambic Pentameter steers away from the rigid structure and helps the reader feel like the poem is flowing and it also helps to create a rhythm. To help create the rhythm and flow the poet uses stressed syllables such as “breath” and “thee”, these words have an exaggerated vowel sound.
This poem is full of Imagery especially religious. The poet uses religious imagery to describe her love for her husband is almost like her love for her God. She claims to love her husband “purely” which is the way that she should/would love her God. She is comparing the way that she loves to many religious things. She compares loving her husband to thinking about heaven “My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight”. But because she is comparing her love for her husband to her God it almost seems as if to a certain extent that her love for her God is not as important...