Priya Das

What the poets have to say on the theme of love

To Love; mans greatest achievement, and yet his biggest weakness. It

has been inspiring writers and poets for eons, each taking their own
twist on what love really is. The two sonnets, sonnet 29 by Edna St
Vincent Millay and sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett browning explore
each end of the spectrum that is love; comparing idealism with
realism, love and the tragedies that come along with loss of it. The
general theme of Brownings sonnet 43 is perfect unconditional love, a
sentiment that she exudes throughout the sonnet; this is in opposition
to Millay’s sonnet, which breaks the surreal image of love, and exposes
the many painful truths.

Browning sets the tone for the sonnet with the first line;“ how do I love
thee, let me count the ways” is said frivolously and almost naively,
almost child like. In this first line, we can see that Browning take on
love is overall positive. Millay’s opening line sets the tone for her poem
as well with “ Pity me not because the light of day, at close of day no
longer walks the sky” Millay opens the open with a more sombre tone
expressing her sentiment on love.

Browning employs exaggerated imagery to put her feelings through of

love, this form of writing encompasses the point of view of the sonnet,
for example “ I love thee to the depth and breath and height my soul
can reach” she states that she loves him to every extent she possibly
could, she measures her feelings for the subject of this poem. She
immerses herself in love and sees neither the wrong nor the pain,
something, which is certainly not the case in sonnet 29. Millay begs the
reader not to pity her for her mistakes, in this case she states love as
one of those mistakes. “ Pity me not for beauties past away.” The
“beauties past away” in this case are the men that she has loved, she
expresses her sentiment on how fickle and temporary relationships
are, as she uses the plural for “ beauties” meaning there have been
more than one, showing how often this has occurred. Millay seems to
speak with more understanding on love than Browning; She asks the
readers, another difference between the two poems, Millay speaks
directly to the reader about her loss whereas Brownings speaks about
her love.

Throughout sonnet 43, Elizabeth Browning uses metaphor to “measure

“her love, stating “ I love thee to the level of everyday’s most quiet
need” she’s uses this imagery to relate to the reader. Her sonnets
were intended for her secret lover, hence the exuberance in expressing
her love. Her unconditional love for him is obvious as she says “freely”
meaning without constraints, “ purely “ with only good intentions at
heart. This unconditional love is a sentiment refuted by Millay, she
perceives love with conditions “ a man’s desire is hushed so soon” she
Priya Das

implies that a man loves to get something out of it, and once he has
received what he wants, he shall leave. Speaking from this experience
she writes “ This have I known always: love is no more”. This line sums
up Millay’s feeling of love. It is no more. She continues the line with “
that the great tide […] strewing fresh wreckage gathered in the gales”
the strong sense of imagery portrays her sentiment on love. This
“strewing wreckage” are all the people hurt by love. She says it is the
inevitable end as love is temporary, it ends in hurt, something not to
put ones faith in.

This feeling is not shared by Browning; she puts her passion into love,
her soul she hides nothing and wears her heart on her sleeve, she puts
the faith she has lost in her “saints” into her relationship. This scenario
sounds similar to what Millay could have been experiencing before she
experienced heartbreak.
As it stands these two sonnets couldn't be more conflicting on the
theme of love; however they both share the same fundamental
meaning, Love is a risk, but it is a risk worth taking. This is affirmed
throughout sonnet 43, but it is confirmed with eh last lines of sonnet
29. “Pity me that the heart is slow to learn, when the swift mind
beholds at every turn.” Millay admits that love hurts, but it is also the
“unknown” and spontaneous nature of love that makes it worthwhile,
even though loving is against her better judgement, she loves
nevertheless.

No one will ever be able to fully describe love. It has baffled writers and
philosophers alike, it is one of those indescribable things that makes us
act in rash unpredictable ways, the spice of life and yet even though
we know that it is ephemeral we still take the risks hoping to be the
one of the few that are spared of the inevitable pain that follows.

It is brave to love; It is foolish to love and yet we do so; humans

cannot function without it , and as both Millay and Browning state, life
without love might be less painful, but it is a life not worth living.