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How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

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A woman shares her deepest feelings with her beloved, just as he has given her flowers throughout the year.

Poet
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Composed
1850 · Victorian
Form
sonnet
Core theme
Identity
The PoemFull text

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1850

Beloved, thou hast brought me many flowers Plucked in the garden, all the summer through And winter, and it seemed as if they grew In this close room, nor missed the sun and showers. So, in the like name of that love of ours, Take back these thoughts, which here unfolded too, And which on warm and cold days I withdrew From my heart's ground. Indeed, those beds and bowers Be overgrown with bitter weeds and rue, And wait thy weeding: yet here's eglantine, Here's ivy!—take them, as I used to do Thy flowers, and keep them where they shall not pine; Instruct thine eyes to keep their colours true, And tell thy soul, their roots are left in mine.

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

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§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A woman shares her deepest feelings with her beloved, just as he has given her flowers throughout the year. Just as his blooms flourished in her small, sunless room, her thoughts have blossomed from the soil of her heart, and she now returns them to him for him to nurture. The poem concludes with a poignant image: the roots of those thoughts remain hidden within her, signifying that her love for him is something she can never completely relinquish.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Beloved, thou hast brought me many flowers / Plucked in the garden, all the summer through

    Editor's note

    Browning begins by speaking directly to her beloved, reminiscing about how he brings her flowers all year round. The mention of "all the summer through / And winter" shows that this is a consistent and devoted action, rather than just a single gesture. The flowers thriving in her "close room," even without sun or rain, illustrates the main idea: love has the power to help things thrive in unexpected circumstances.

  2. So, in the like name of that love of ours, / Take back these thoughts, which here unfolded too,

    Editor's note

    Here, the poem revolves around the word "So" — she is initiating an exchange. Just as he gave her flowers, she now shares her thoughts with him. The word "unfolded" serves a dual purpose: thoughts unfold like petals, and they have also been revealed or confessed. She presents this as a fair trade, rooted in their mutual love.

  3. Be overgrown with bitter weeds and rue, / And wait thy weeding: yet here's eglantine,

    Editor's note

    Browning is refreshingly candid here, catching you by surprise. The "heart's ground" isn't a neat garden — it's intertwined with "bitter weeds and rue" (with rue representing both a plant and a sense of regret). She acknowledges that her inner world holds pain and sorrow. Yet, she doesn't leave it at that: she highlights eglantine (a sweet-briar rose) and ivy as evidence that beauty and loyalty can thrive there as well.

  4. Here's ivy!—take them, as I used to do / Thy flowers, and keep them where they shall not pine;

    Editor's note

    The exclamation in "Here's ivy!" carries a genuine warmth — it feels like someone has just discovered something valuable hidden among the weeds. Ivy traditionally symbolizes loyalty and enduring connection. She asks him to look after her thoughts as she did with his flowers: to place them where they won't fade or "pine" (a word that suggests both fading and longing).

  5. Instruct thine eyes to keep their colours true, / And tell thy soul, their roots are left in mine.

    Editor's note

    The closing couplet serves as the emotional high point. She asks him to truly engage with her thoughts, to grasp them clearly and ensure they don't slip away from his memory. The final line hits with a gentle realization: everything she has shared with him still resides within her. She can't completely offer her love because it’s an inseparable part of her identity. It’s a profoundly personal and somewhat vulnerable way to conclude.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone remains tender and intimate, with a subtle undercurrent of vulnerability. Browning isn’t showcasing grand romantic passion; instead, she speaks in a soft, steady voice, much like someone sharing a genuine and thoughtful confession. There’s a moment where she reflects on the weeds and rue in her heart, touching on a hint of melancholy, yet the poem doesn’t slip into sadness. It rebalances with warmth and concludes with a profound, grounded connection.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Flowers
The beloved's flowers symbolize his steady, meaningful expressions of love. They also embody a type of gift that can be exchanged—something Browning contrasts with the thoughts she returns, which she can never completely let go of.
The close room
Browning spent many years confined to her home because of illness. The "close room" refers to a specific part of her life and also represents a sense of restriction. However, the blooming flowers in that space indicate that love can overcome physical boundaries.
Bitter weeds and rue
Rue is a real plant, and it’s often linked to feelings of regret and grief. The weeds in the soil of her heart symbolize the pain, sorrow, and tough emotions she holds — a genuine acknowledgment that her inner world isn’t just filled with sweetness.
Eglantine and ivy
Eglantine (sweet-briar rose) traditionally represents sweetness and poetry, while ivy symbolizes fidelity and lasting connection. Together, they embody the beautiful aspects she can still share from a heart that has also experienced pain.
Roots
The final image of roots remaining in her soul serves as the poem's strongest symbol. Roots anchor and nourish a plant—by expressing that the roots remain with her, Browning highlights that her love is not something she can completely relinquish. It is an essential part of her identity.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Form
sonnet
Meter
iambic pentameter
Rhyme
ABBA ABBA BCBCBC

§07Historical context

Historical context

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote the 44 sonnets that make up *Sonnets from the Portuguese* during her secret romance with Robert Browning in the mid-1840s. For years, she kept them to herself, and it was only in 1850 that Robert convinced her to publish them, arguing that they were too remarkable to keep hidden. The title served as a clever disguise — "from the Portuguese" made the work seem like translations rather than deeply personal confessions. Much of Barrett Browning's adult life was spent as an invalid, mostly confined to her father's home in London. Her relationship with Robert unfolded mainly through letters and marked a significant expansion of her world. This biographical backdrop is crucial for understanding the sonnet: the "close room," the flowers brought to her, and the image of a heart choked with weeds all carry significant meaning when you consider the life that inspired them.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

Is this the same poem as 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways'?

No — that’s Sonnet 43 from the same sequence. This poem is Sonnet 44, the last one. They often get mixed up since both are well-known and come from Sonnets from the Portuguese. Sonnet 43 lists the different ways she loves; Sonnet 44 has a quieter, more intimate tone, where she presents her thoughts like flowers.

What does 'rue' mean in the poem?

Rue operates on two levels simultaneously. It refers to a real herb — a bitter-tasting plant that has long been linked to sorrow and regret. Additionally, "rue" as a verb expresses the feeling of remorse or grief. Browning employs this dual meaning, knowing that readers will recognize both interpretations, so the weeds in her heart represent both the actual bitter plants and the regrets she holds.

What is eglantine?

Eglantine is another term for sweet-briar, a wild rose known for its fragrant leaves. This flower shows up in the works of Shakespeare and Spenser, symbolizing sweetness, poetry, and the beauty of nature. Browning includes it as one of the beautiful things still flourishing in her heart, alongside the weeds.

Why does she say the roots are left in her?

It’s her way of expressing that love, at its core, can’t be entirely shared or relinquished. She can share her thoughts with him like offering cut flowers, but the essence of those thoughts — the roots — remain within her. It’s a lovely yet bittersweet picture: she’s giving him all she can, but the part of her that creates the love is something she can’t share.

What is the rhyme scheme and does it follow the rules of a sonnet?

The poem is a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet, consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. It follows an ABBA ABBA rhyme scheme in the octave, which is the first eight lines, and features a sestet that rhymes CDCDCD in the final six lines. Browning, known for her technical skill, intentionally employed this traditional form. The transition between the octave and sestet marks her shift from portraying the weeds to highlighting the eglantine and ivy.

Who is the poem addressed to?

It’s addressed to Robert Browning, the poet she married in 1846. The entire Sonnets from the Portuguese sequence captures her feelings for him during their courtship. The detail of him bringing flowers to her room likely reflects their real relationship.

Why is the sequence called 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' if they are not translations?

It was a carefully chosen disguise. Barrett Browning felt uneasy about publishing such intimate poems under her own name, so she sought some cover. Robert proposed the title to present them as translations instead of straightforward autobiography. There's also a private joke at play: Robert affectionately called her "my little Portuguese," a nod to her earlier poem "Catarina to Camoens."

What does the poem say about Barrett Browning's illness?

It doesn't mention her illness explicitly, but the "close room" reflects a true aspect of her life. She was mostly confined to her bedroom at 50 Wimpole Street for years because of a lung condition and a spinal injury. The image of flowers growing in a sunless room carries a personal touch — it symbolizes love making life thrive in circumstances that seem impossible.

Key quotes

Key quotes

“thou hast brought me many flowers Plucked in the garden, all the summer through And winter”
This opening image of flowers given across all seasons — summer *and* winter — immediately establishes the beloved's constancy and devotion, setting up the central metaphor of flowers as tokens of love that the speaker will then reverse and return.
“those beds and bowers Be overgrown with bitter weeds and rue”
This is a rare moment of vulnerability and self-deprecation: the speaker admits that her own inner 'ground' is not pristine but tangled with suffering ('rue' carries a double meaning — both the bitter herb and the emotion of regret), making the gift of her thoughts feel more honest and earned.
“yet here's eglantine, Here's ivy!—take them, as I used to do Thy flowers”
The exclamatory dash and the direct address ('Here's ivy!') create a sudden burst of warmth and generosity. The speaker turns the poem's central conceit on its head — she is now the one offering flowers (her thoughts) back to the beloved, mirroring his original gesture and completing the exchange.
“And tell thy soul, their roots are left in mine.”
This closing line is the poem's emotional climax and its most memorable image: by locating the 'roots' of her thoughts inside her own soul, the speaker insists that the gift is inseparable from the giver — love here is not just exchanged but permanently intertwined, a fitting, resonant conclusion to the sonnet.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways (Sonnets from the Portuguese 43)." 1850. Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-sonnets-from-the-portuguese-43-elizabeth-barrett-browning/.

APA

Browning, E. B. (1850). How do i love thee? let me count the ways (sonnets from the portuguese 43). Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways-sonnets-from-the-portuguese-43-elizabeth-barrett-browning/

Text source: en.wikisource.org

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In 'Sonnets from the Portuguese 44,' Elizabeth Barrett Browning transforms a conventional gesture of romantic exchange — the giving and receiving of flowers — into a meditation on the fragility and resilience of love, ultimately arguing …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
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