Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!' (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:
The meaning of the poem
The ideas and messages of the poet
How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology
Below is a guide to Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’, from AQA's GCSE English Literature Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:
Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
Writer’s methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam
Overview
In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:
The poem in a nutshell
A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s intention and message
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ in a nutshell
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’, written by the Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, is a sonnet which is part of a secret collection believed to be written for Robert Browning. The poem expresses the speaker’s thoughts about her absent lover and how she wishes for his presence; she explores longing and physical desire within romantic relationships.
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ overview
Lines 1-4
“I think of thee! - my thoughts do twine and bud
About thee, as wild vines, about a tree,
Put out broad leaves, and soon there's nought to see
Except the straggling green which hides the wood.”
Translation
The poem begins by describing the speaker’s thoughts as if they are vines surrounding a tree which block the light as they grow bigger and broader
Barrett Browning’s intention
Barrett Browning compares her thoughts to nature’s wild and unrestrained growth
These thoughts almost consume the tree (which represents her lover)
The physical closeness between vine and tree suggests a sensual, even sexual, connection
The descriptions suggest her thoughts about her lover are out of control and untamed
Lines 5-7
“Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood
I will not have my thoughts instead of thee
Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly”
Translation
The speaker shifts tone to explain to him that she prefers his physical presence to thinking about him
The speaker addresses her listener as a tree to further connect nature with her thoughts
Barrett Browning’s intention
Here, the speaker suggests she is aware that thoughts of desire can be dangerous if not satisfied
The speaker’s emotional exclamation explains how much better physical love is to longing
Lines 8-11
“Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should,
Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare,
And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee
Drop heavily down,- burst, shattered, everywhere!”
Translation
The speaker gives instructions to her lover and asks him to come back to her
She asks him to free himself of all the ‘tangles’ of longing and let everything be clear again by shattering the dreams and fantasies
Barrett Browning’s intention
These lines suggest his presence would free them both of the restrictions of thoughts and longing
Lines 12-13
“Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee
And breathe within thy shadow a new air,”
Translation
Here, the speaker explains why she thinks he should return to her
Her reason is sensory: she wants to see and hear him close to her
Barrett Browning’s intention
The speaker explains that a genuine, deep happiness will come from seeing and hearing her lover close to her, so much so it will be like a new experience
Barrett Browning presents physical unity as sensual and exciting
Lines 14
“I do not think of thee - I am too near thee.”
Translation
The speaker explains that if he is with her, she will not have to think of him
Barrett Browning’s intention
Here, Barrett Browning ends the poem with a clear solution to the problem
She explains that when they are physically together, she will not have to think of him and long for him
Writer’s Methods
Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have.
Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s intentions behind her choices in terms of:
Form
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem presents a female speaker who expresses and explores her feelings of longing for her absent lover. 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee' is a sonnet, a traditional love poem, although sonnets are not conventionally written by a female speaker. Therefore, the poem offers an alternative perspective to romantic love.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Complex relationships | The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, an Italian love poem of 14 lines | Barrett Browning’s form is of a typical sonnet as she uses it to express intense emotions of romantic love, often regarding unrequited or frustrated love |
Unlike typical sonnets, this one has a volta in line 5 rather than after an octave of 8 lines | The speaker breaks tradition by offering a shift in tone early in the poem to focus on a more rational solution instead of the complex problem of the distance in their relationship: this could present the speaker as impatient for her lover’s presence, or less emotional, thus defying conventional Victorian views of women in love | |
Barrett Browning presents complex romantic relationships by subverting a traditional form to offer a female perspective on longing and desire | ||
Structure
The poem mostly follows the typical structure of a sonnet, but subverts tradition with irregularities to present an alternative viewpoint.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Desire | The poem sometimes follows an iambic pentameter typical of a sonnet, but breaks this rhythm throughout the poem | Barrett Browning does not adhere to the rules of the traditional sonnet: in this way she expresses a rebellious opposition to strict codes of conduct |
The poet uses enjambment and caesurae which make the rhythm uneven:
| The speaker’s tone is emotional at times as she tries to control her longing and desire | |
By the end of the poem, the speaker returns to her thoughts, but her final line contradicts the first line: she begins the poem thinking of him, and ends saying she will not think of him | The poem’s structure suggests the speaker has reconciled her feelings by the end as she decides reality is better than fantasy | |
Barrett Browning challenges Victorian ideas of romance between the genders by presenting a female speaker who sways from convention and expresses intense physical desire | ||
Language
Barrett Browning’s poem, Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’, uses an extended metaphor to compare love and longing to nature. As expected in a sonnet, elevated language is directed to an absent lover to present intense emotions in romantic relationships.
Theme | Evidence | Poet’s intention |
Longing in romantic relationships | The poem uses an extended metaphor which compares her feelings of longing to the wild and tangled branches of vines around a tree | The natural imagery is described as suffocating, blinding the speaker to clear thought, to show her intense emotions |
The speaker describes her lover as a strong tree and asks him to “rustle thy boughs”, “drop” the leaves and “bare” his trunk in order to “burst” and “shatter” their tangled daydreaming:
| Here, the speaker asks her lover to physically release the tension of their frustrated thoughts:
| |
Barrett Browning uses elevated, archaic language to present her love as devoted and pure: “thee” and ”thy” | Traditionally, Petrarchan sonnets would elevate the idea of love as something sacred; here the poem’s exaltation of love is clear in the exclamatory first line, “I think of thee!” | |
Barrett Browning presents the complicated and intense emotions of longing and desire with imagery which suggests the sensory experience of physical love will free her from her thoughts | ||
Context
Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Elizabeth Barrett Browning or the Victorian era which is unrelated to the ideas in 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Barrett Browning in 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ which relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Barrett Browning explores:
Complex romantic relationships
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’, by Victorian poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, was written in the context of a patriarchal, British society:
Fathers had control over decisions regarding their daughters’ relationships
Society favoured relationships which were respectable, restrained and kept to a strict code of conduct
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s father forbade her from marrying Robert Browning which resulted in a secret relationship, based largely on secret letters
The poems were not shown until after her marriage to Robert Browning, as their content would be considered scandalous
Barrett Browning’s parents disowned her after her marriage, illustrating the rebellious attitude of the poet and the strictness of her society
In this context, the poem, as part of a collection of sonnets (allegedly written to Robert Browning), presents their complex relationship
Barrett Browning’s poem is in the form of a sonnet, which were traditionally written by a male speaker about intense love, often unrequited and imbalanced
The poem subverts traditions as it is written by a woman to a man
The poem suggests the speaker has control: she instructs her lover to come to her
This challenges gender expectations which advocate coy, restrained females
The poem presents a clear solution to the problematic emotions brought on by frustrated desire and complex love, suggesting a rational speaker
This opposed perceptions within Barrett Browning’s patriarchal society wherein women were seen as incapable of logical thought.
Desire and longing
Barrett Browning‘s poem was written at a time when British society frowned upon and repressed female sexuality
The poem subverts gender expectations as the speaker presents powerful emotions, frowned upon in upper-class British society
Barrett Browning’s speaker is excited about love, and frustrated with the lack of physical presence in their relationship
Her exclamations and sensory language present a female speaker with similar emotions to a man, commenting on gender expectations
Her allusion to the physical nature of release from the agony of her tangled thoughts shows an unrestrained woman in love
What to compare it to
The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ explores the ideas of complex relationships, longing and desire, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:
For each pair of poems, you will find:
The comparison in a nutshell
Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ and 'Porphyria’s Lover'
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ and Robert Browning’s 'Porphyria’s Lover' convey a speaker’s intense feelings as well as a sense of intention in their response to desire. However, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s narrator presents a solution to the complex emotions, while Robert Browning’s speaker is unable to think rationally and is delusional with jealous love.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems suggest complex responses to feelings of desire | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Porphyria’s Lover' |
Barrett Browning’s speaker longs for the physical presence of her lover: the sonnet’s rhythm is disrupted with enjambment, exclamations and caesurae to present her overwhelming longing: “I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud/About thee, as wild vines, about a tree” | Browning’s first person dramatic monologue presents a passionate lover experiencing intense desire:
| |
However, the speaker controls her emotions: the volta in line 5 suggests she has a rational awareness of the danger of too much fantasising: “Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood/I will not have my thoughts instead of thee” | Browning’s speaker takes control of his emotions as he “debates what to do”: the caesura shows his calm tone, “And strangled her. No pain felt she;/I am quite sure she felt no pain” | |
The complex emotions of desire are presented in both poems with speakers who are, at times, composed, and at other times, emotional and not in control | ||
Topic sentence | Both poets convey intense emotions in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Porphyria’s Lover' |
The poem uses an extended metaphor which compares the speaker’s feelings of longing to the wild and tangled branches of vines around a tree, described as suffocating, blinding the speaker to clear thought: “Put out broad leaves, and soon there's nought to see” | Browning evokes nature’s power with personification to represent his own intense emotions: “The sullen wind” tears down tree-tops and did its worst to vex the lake” | |
The speaker suggests her lover’s presence will release her from the agony of longing
| Browning’s speaker also connects Porphyria to nature, describing her love as warming the cottage and shutting out the cold and storm: “She shut the cold out and the storm,/And kneeled and made the cheerless grate” | |
Both poets convey their strong feelings related to romantic love and desire with natural imagery | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Barrett Browning’s poem illustrates physical love as the way to harmony in relationships, Browning’s poem presents physical love as destructive | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Porphyria’s Lover' |
The speaker compares her lover to a tree whose presence will physically release the tension of their frustrated thoughts and bring harmony: “O my palm tree” | In 'Porphyria’s Lover', the speaker describes disharmony within nature: the imagery connotes to his own dark and cold emotions | |
The speaker asks her lover to “Renew thy presence” and “Rustle thy boughs” so that she can be relieved of longing | The closeness of Porphyria to the speaker does not seem to move him: “And, last, she sat down by my side/And called me. When no voice replied” | |
The speaker prefers physical unity to what she describes as tangled and confusing thoughts: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee” | The speaker here, however, prefers his thoughts to the presence of his lover: he does not reply to her call and he debates what to do as she seduces him | |
Barrett Browning’s speaker is concerned with the physical unity of their love, rather than twisted thoughts, however Browning’s speaker chooses his own deluded thoughts | ||
Both poets challenge gender expectations within relationships, but Barrett Browning’s poem shows a liberated woman, while Browning’s shows one who is vulnerable and overpowered | ||
'Sonnet 29 – I think of thee!’ and 'Love’s Philosophy'
Comparison in a nutshell:
This is an effective comparative choice to explore desire and longing within complex romantic relationships. Both Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ and Shelley’s 'Love’s Philosophy' consider physical unity as a natural part of love, and present strong emotions when this is denied them.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems show longing as a result of denied physical love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Love’s Philosophy' |
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s first-person speaker conveys strong intense emotions in a romantic sonnet dedicated to a silent lover who is absent | Similarly, Shelley’s first-person speaker directly addresses a silent lover in a persuasive and romantic plea | |
The speaker here conveys similar frustration with broken lines: “Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!” | Shelley’s speaker, too, is frustrated with longing: “What is all this sweet work worth/If thou kiss not me?” | |
Elizabeth Barrett Browning uses natural imagery in an extended metaphor which connects the power of her feelings with the power of nature: “Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should” | Similarly, Shelley’s speaker personifies nature to present love as natural and full of desire:
| |
The poets comment on the overwhelming power of denied physical love within romantic relationships, by connecting nature with their feelings | ||
Topic sentence | Both poems comment on physical love as unifying | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Love’s Philosophy' |
Barrett Browning’s poem comments on the solution to her desire and longing as physical and sensory unity: “Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee/And breathe within thy shadow a new air” | Shelley’s speaker, too, argues that it is a law of nature to come together in unity: “Nothing in the world is single” | |
Both poems present physical love as natural and the answer to the painful emotions of longing and frustrated desire | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s speaker presents a hopeful and positive resolution, Shelley’s speaker is left without an answer | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'Love’s Philosophy' |
Barrett Browning begins describing her fantasies and thoughts as tangled like vines around a tree, but by line 5 she breaks conventions of the sonnet form with a volta and begins to present the solution | Shelley’s speaker, however, presents an argument throughout the poem, with two mirroring stanzas which end with rhetorical questions | |
The speaker answers her own question, ending with a sense of resolution: “I do not think of thee - I am too near thee” | Shelley’s speaker ends his poem without resolution, and still frustrated: “What is all this sweet work worth/If thou kiss not me?” | |
Both poems express passion in a frustrated relationship, however the speaker in Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ ends the poem with a decision to be together and the speaker in Love’s Philosophy is left alone | ||
'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ and 'The Farmer’s Bride'
Comparison in a nutshell:
Both Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ and Charlotte Mew’s 'The Farmer’s Bride' convey powerful feelings of desire within frustrated romantic relationships. However, Barrett Browning’s poem shows physical harmony as a resolution and Mew’s ends only with relentless, unresolved longing.
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poems highlight the intense emotions of frustrated love in romantic relationships | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'The Farmer’s Bride' |
The first-person speaker in Barrett Browning’s poem illustrates her frustrated thoughts and feelings with simile describing nature as untamed: “—my thoughts do twine and bud/About thee, as wild vines, about a tree” | Similarly, Mew’s speaker compares his frustrated desire with nature
| |
The speakers evoke natural imagery to suggest frustrated love is uncontrollable | ||
Barrett Browning’s speaker expresses her frustration with exclamations and caesurae: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee/Who art dearer, better! Rather, instantly” | Mew’s speaker’s frustration about his lover is similarly expressed:
| |
The poets both comment on the frustration of thwarted desire to be close to their lover by creating speakers with unstable voices | ||
Similarities:
Topic sentence | Both poets present speakers with intense desire for physical love | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'The Farmer’s Bride' |
The first-person speaker uses sensory language to suggest her lover’s physical presence will bring her relief
| Mew’s speaker’s frustration about his lover is similarly expressed: “The brown of her—her eyes, her hair, her hair!” | |
Barrett Browning’s speaker expresses her desire to be close to her lover with assertions about the distance between them: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee” | The farmer, similarly, is aware of the barrier of distance: “Tis but a stair/Betwixt us” | |
The poets both comment on the desire to be close to their distant lover, presenting their need for physical intimacy | ||
Differences:
Topic sentence | While both poets explore the desire for physical love, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem presents a speaker longing to be with an absent lover within a consenting and harmonious relationship, while Charlotte Mew’s poem depicts a speaker’s longing and desire within a disharmonious, forced relationship | |
Evidence and analysis | 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ | 'The Farmer’s Bride' |
Barrett Browning’s speaker directly addresses her absent lover, instructing him to be with her with imperative verbs: “Renew thy presence” | However, Mew’s speaker presents the distance between he and his lover differently: here, the speaker and his lover do not talk and he has hardly heard her speak | |
Barrett Browning’s speaker ends the poem with a sense of physical harmony: “I am too near thee” | Mew’s poem, however, presents the farmer’s continued longing as a result of their lack of communication and his violent actions toward her
| |
Barrett Browning’s poem presents a female speaker within a harmonious and consenting relationship, whereas Mew’s poem illustrates the painful distance within a forced relationship from the perspective of a male speaker | ||
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