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Literary Elements in Music and Poetry

Fallon Marie
4 min readNov 19, 2024

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www.youtube.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq_D5Pp5HxA

For this assignment, I chose to analyze “How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. This poem is also more simply known as Sonnet 43. Elizabeth was a successful poet in her day and was famously married to fellow poet, Robert Browning. The two of them wrote many swooning romantic love poems for each other. “How Do I Love Thee” is Elizabeth’s most famous. This work has been referenced in songs, literature, and even the ‘80’s classic Disney film, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” It’s referenced in the monologue Roger excitedly recites while jumping up and down on Eddie Valiant’s bed (Zemeckis, 1988).

In the poem, Elizabeth uses personification to great effect. She gives her very soul dimensions of “height, depth, and breadth (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How Do I Love Thee”). Throughout the poem, she illustrates that she loves Robert with every piece of her-from her griefs to her passions to her most quiet need. Every part of her soul is madly in love with this man.

This poem has always been one of my favorite pieces of poetry on the planet. It so clearly illustrates the passionate once-in-a-lifetime love we so rarely see play out in real life that it makes me believe in love all over again. I think this poem resonates with so many people because we all want a love like that.

This poem also always reminds me of two songs-“How Deep is the Ocean” by Julie Andrews and “I Knew I Loved You” by Celine Dion…

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Fallon Marie
Fallon Marie

Written by Fallon Marie

She/her ♿️🇺🇸🏳️‍🌈🤘🏻🦋✝️If you can’t stand up, stand out Writer, cat mom, future therapist, Disney nerd. advocate Hebrews 4:15-16.

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