KS4 English Literature – Poetry: Unseen Poetry

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Worksheet TwoThis worksheet accompanies slides 4–6 of Unseen_Poetry_Part_2.

‘Sonnet 43’, by Elizabeth Barratt Browning

___ How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

___ I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

___ My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

___ For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

___ I love thee to the level of everyday's

___ Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

___ I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

___ I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

___ I love thee with a passion put to use

___ In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

___ I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

___ With my lost saints, – I love thee with the breath,

___ Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,

___ I shall but love thee better after death.

Elizabeth Barratt Browning (1850)

1) After reading and listening to the poem, read through it again and try to write a letter by each new line of the poem, using letter’s ‘a’ to ‘d’. Each time you notice a new rhyme, use a new letter.

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KS4 English Literature – Poetry: Unseen Poetry

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2) Next, look at the rhythm of the poem. Count the number of syllables in each line. Mark the ones that you tend to stress with a ‘/’ and the unstressed syllables with an ‘x’.

3) What do you notice about the number of stressed and unstressed syllables per line?

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4) Why might Barrett Browning have chosen to use this kind of rhythm?

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