1a. In line 6, how does the speaker refer to night and day?
2a. How does the speaker love with a "passion put to use/In my old griefs"? Where has she loved before?
3a. What does the speaker say about death in the last line of the poem?
4a. Identify the eight answers the speaker gives to her initial question. What do these things have in common?
5a. Evaluate one way in which the speaker professes her love. Does the item stand on its own, or is it part of a cumulative effect?
1b. What does the speaker mean by saying that she loves "to the level of everyday's/Most quiet need"? What does this say about the speaker's love and its importance?
2b. Why does the speaker refer to "childhood's faith" and "old griefs"? Explain your answer.
3b. What does this answer suggest about the speaker's love?
4b. Do you think this sonnet expresses the depth of the speaker's love? Would the response have been stronger if Browning had written a longer poem?
5b. At her death, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a more popular poet than her husband, Robert. Based on the works you have read by each, which do you prefer? Why?
Sonnet. Review the chart you made in Literary Tools. Based on the rhyme scheme, which type of sonnet is this? Explain whether this poem has the traditional breaks of such a sonnet.
Repetition. Identify examples of repetition in this poem. How does the repetition emphasize the poem's theme?
1. Imagine somebody has just written this poem for you. Write a journal entry about your feelings.
2. Write your own love poem. Begin with the question, "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." You may address your poem to anyone you love.
3. Create an advice column about love. First write a letter with a question or problem that somebody might have. Then create a response.
Sentence Variety.Rewrite the following passage to improve sentence style and avoid repetition. Elizabeth Browning was a poet. Robert Browning was also a poet. Elizabeth Browning was a more popular poet during her lifetime. She is best known for her love poems written to her husband. She also wrote about many moral and political issues. She wrote "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point" in 1850. That was just seventeen years after slavery was outlawed in Great Britain and its colonies.
Comparing and Contrasting.Compare and contrast this poem with any other love poem in this book. Identify which poem you think more strongly expresses genuine feelings of love. Use examples from both poems to support your thesis.
