Flashcards for Sonnet 29 — I think of thee!

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is both the author and the voice in "Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee," part of her Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

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Robert Browning

Robert Browning emerges in "Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee" not as a voice speaking directly, but as a silent, dominating presence who embodies the poem's entire focus.

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The Beloved

The Beloved is a silent yet powerful presence at the core of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!" from Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

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The Speaker (Poet)

The Speaker is the lyric "I" in Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29 ("I think of thee!") from Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

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“I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee, as wild vines, about a tree.”

These opening lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29 ("I think of thee!") from her famous collection Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) are delivered by the poet-speaker — generally believed to be Barrett Browning herself — to her beloved, Robert Browning.

Poet-speaker (Elizabeth Barrett Browning) · Sonnets from the Portuguese, Sonnet 29

“Put out broad leaves, and soon there's nought to see / Except the straggling green which hides the wood.”

These lines are from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!" which is part of her famous collection Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (poetic speaker) · Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!

“Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood / I will not have my thoughts instead of thee.”

This declaration comes from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: "I Think of Thee!"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (the poetic speaker) · Sonnet 29

“Who art dearer, better!”

This line is from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (poet-speaker) · Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!

“Rather, instantly / Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should, / Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk all bare.”

These lines are from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: "I Think of Thee!"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (the poetic speaker) · Sonnets from the Portuguese, Sonnet 29

“And let these bands of greenery which insphere thee / Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!”

These lines come from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: "I Think of Thee!" in her well-known collection Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850).

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (the poetic speaker) · Sonnet 29: "I Think of Thee!"

“Because, in this deep joy to see and hear thee / And breathe within thy shadow a new air, / I do not think of thee—I am too near thee.”

These closing lines of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29 ("I think of thee!") from Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) resolve the poem's central paradox.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (the poetic speaker) · Sonnet 29 ("I think of thee!") from Sonnets from the Portuguese

Breath / Presence

In Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!, breath represents the living, physical presence of the beloved—something immediate, warm, and undeniably real.

The Tree

In Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!, the tree symbolizes the beloved himself — his vibrant, overwhelming presence.

Thought as Entanglement

In Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee!, thought symbolizes a stifling entanglement—a wild, clinging growth that paradoxically traps the beloved it cherishes.

Wild Vines

In Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29: I Think of Thee, the wild vines symbolize the speaker's intense and unrestrained thoughts about her beloved.

Sonnet

Sonnet 29 adheres to the Petrarchan sonnet format, consisting of fourteen lines split into an octave and a sestet, with a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA CDC DCD.

Volta

The poem shifts in line 9 with "Yet, O my palm-tree," moving from the speaker's inner thoughts to a direct and urgent plea: "be not over-exacted / With thoughts of thee!"

Extended Metaphor

The poem maintains a consistent botanical metaphor throughout its fourteen lines, portraying the beloved as a palm tree while the speaker's thoughts are represented as wild vines or ivy that entwine around him.

Apostrophe

The poem begins with a direct thought — 'I think of thee!' — but swiftly shifts to address the absent beloved.

Imagery

Barrett Browning's imagery is rich with tactile and botanical elements.

Epizeuxis

The opening line — 'I think of thee! — I think of thee!' — repeats the phrase directly and forcefully, without any words in between.

Repetition

Beyond the opening use of epizeuxis, the word 'thee' appears multiple times throughout the poem — in the title and in lines 1, 2, 5, 8, and 9 — creating a rhythmic echo of the beloved's presence, even in their absence.

Metaphor

Distinct from the extended palm-tree metaphor, the poem features smaller metaphors that enhance its texture.

Enjambment

Barrett Browning often glides through line endings without stopping: 'my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee, as wild vines, about a tree' pulls the reader along before the simile is fully formed, mirroring the twisting motion it depicts.

Simile

The poem starts with a clear simile that develops into a broader metaphor: 'my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee, as wild vines, about a tree.'

Sestet

The sestet (lines 9–14) marks a significant change in the poem's emotional tone.

Lyric Poem

Sonnet 29 is a true lyric poem: a brief, first-person reflection focused on a single emotional state rather than telling a story.

twine

To wind or wrap around something in a twisting, coiling way, the way a climbing plant curls itself around a support as it grows.

verb · Chapter 1

bud

To sprout new growth, as a plant puts out fresh buds; here it suggests thoughts multiplying and swelling outward rather than simply existing.

verb · Chapter 1

wild vines

Uncultivated climbing plants that grow freely and wrap themselves densely around whatever they touch, used here to picture thoughts that have grown uncontrolled and all-consuming.

phrase · Chapter 1

palm-tree

A tall, straight tropical tree with a bare trunk and a crown of leaves at the top; used as a term of endearment for the beloved, suggesting uprightness, strength, and beauty.

noun · Chapter 1

be it understood

An emphatic declaration meaning 'let this be made perfectly clear'; a formal way of insisting that what follows is a firm, non-negotiable statement.

phrase · Chapter 1

renew

To restore or bring back something in its full, fresh form; here, to make the beloved's actual physical presence felt again after it has been replaced by mental images.

verb · Chapter 1

rustle

To make a soft, whispering sound of light movement, as leaves do when stirred by wind; here it evokes the way thoughts scatter and disperse when the beloved arrives.

verb · Chapter 1

tendril

A slender, thread-like part of a climbing plant that curls around a support to hold the plant in place; here it represents the clinging, delicate attachments of the speaker's imagination.

noun · Chapter 1

insphere

To enclose or contain something within a sphere; here it means to surround or envelop the speaker completely, as the beloved's presence wraps around her.

verb · Chapter 1

gracious

Pleasingly beautiful and full of gentle goodness; here it describes the speaker's own imagined breath or dream of the beloved as lovely but ultimately inferior to the real thing.

adjective · Chapter 1

sestet

The final six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet, which typically introduce a turn or resolution in response to the opening eight lines.

noun