sonnet 14 outer explication
DESCRIPTION
Sonnet 14 Outer ExplicationTRANSCRIPT
Sonnet 14If thou must love me
By Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Arnesto, Donita
Caguitla, Anthea Sarah
Gutierrez, Tracey Antaeus
Javier, Frances Aina Beatrice
2Bio6
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
OUTER EXPLICATION
1. The poem has 3 quatrains and a couplet.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
Quatrain
Quatrain
Quatrain
Couplet
2. There are 14 lines in the poem.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
1
23
4
567
8
910
131211
14
3. There rhyme scheme of the poem is:A C
B DB CA D
A CB EBA
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
AB
C
BA
A
BB
AC
D
D
E
C
4. The first word in each line starts with a capital letter.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
5. The first word of every sentence such as “Do” and
“Neither” and the word “Beloved” are the only words which are capitalized inside the lines.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
6. There are 10 syllables per line.
If/ thou/ must/ love/ me/, let/ it/ be/ for/ nought/Ex/cept/ for/ love's/ sake/ on/ly/. Do/ not/ say/'I/ love/ her/ for/ her/ smile/—her/ look/—her/ way/Of/ spea/king/ gent/ly/,—for/ a/ trick/ of/ thought/That/ falls/ in/ well/ with/ mine/, and/ cer/tes/ brought/A/ sense/ of/ plea/sant/ ease/ on/ such/ a/ day/'—For/ these/ things/ in/ them/selves/, Be/lov/ed/, may/Be/ changed/, or/ change/ for/ thee/,—and/ love/, so/ wrought/,May/ be/ un/wrought/ so/. Nei/ther/ love/ me/ for/Thine/ own/ dear/ pi/ty's/ wi/ping/ my/ cheeks/ dry/,—A/ crea/ture/ might/ for/get/ to/ weep/, who/ bore/Thy/ com/fort/ long/, and/ lose/ thy/ love/ there/by/!But/ love/ me/ for/ love's/ sake/, that/ e/ver/more/Thou/ mayst/ love/ on/, through/ love's/ e/ter/ni/ty/.
7. Predominantly, the poem uses one syllable words.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
8. Words with 2 syllables such as except, only, speaking, gently, certes,
pleasant, themselves, unwrought, neither, pity’s, wiping, creature,
forget, comfort, and thereby are used in the poem.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
9. The only word that contains the most number of syllables
is the word “eternity”.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's e/ter/ni/ty/.
10. The poem predominantly uses the present tense.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
Subject Verb
(You) let
(You) Do say
(You) love
(You) love
11. The poem is written in the active voice.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
12. The long sounds in the poem are:a – sake, say, way, day, may, changed, change, mayste – me, speaking, ease, these, thee, dear, cheeks, creature, weep, bei – I, smile, mine, neither, thine, wiping, dry, might, thy, therebyo – only, evermoreu – look, lose
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
13. There are some Old English words that are used in the poem
such as: thou, thee, thy, and mayst.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
14. Dashes are used in five lines of the poem. 2 dashes in L3, 1 dash in L4, 1 dash in L6, 1 dash in L8 and 1 dash in
L10, making a total of 6 dashes.
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
15. Personification is utilized in the selection such as:
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry –L10
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
16. Dependent clauses are used in the poem such as:
If thou must love me –L1That falls in well with mine –L5who bore Thy comfort long –L11 to L12
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
17. Prepositional phrases are found in the selection such as:
for noughtExcept for love's sakeOf speakingof thoughtwith mineof pleasant ease
on such a dayin themselvesfor thee for Thine own dear pitythrough love's eternity
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
Not used as preposition
18. The poem contains adjectives such as:
love’s sakeher smileher lookher waya tricka sensepleasant easesuch a day
these thingsThine own dear pity’smy cheeksA creatureThy comfortthy loveLove’s eternity
If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile—her look—her way
Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.
19. The poem contains adverbs such as:onlynot
gentlywellsodrylong
If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.