4.1.1

Summary & Structure

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Summary of Sonnet 29

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 29 is is an extended metaphor following the narrator’s feeling of distance from her lover.

Summary

Summary

  • The poem is an extended metaphor following the narrator’s feeling of distance from her lover.
  • She tells her lover she thinks of him all the time, so much so that her thoughts have become like vines that act to obscure (hide) him from her.
  • But over the course of the poem, she comes to realise that her conception of him in her mind can never match up to his physical presence in her life.
  • She concludes that she no longer needs to think of her lover, as she is near him and that is enough.
Context

Context

  • Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote Sonnet 29 as part of a collection of 44 sonnets called Sonnets from the Portuguese, published in 1850.
  • These were written while she was being courted by Robert Browning.
    • Their marriage would lead to Barrett Browning being disinherited by her father.
Analysis of _Sonnet 29_

Analysis of Sonnet 29

  • In this poem, we see a direct contrast to the kind of relationship we see in her husband’s poem Porphyria’s Lover.
    • In Porphyria's Lover, we have one narrative voice, caught up in their thoughts.
    • But in Barrett Browning’s poem, the narrator acknowledges her lover as a person that exists outside of her mind.
  • This poem is an exploration of a relationship that finds balance and allows for compromise and equality.
  • Barrett Browning’s version of love in this poem is nourishing, in contrast to Browning’s deadly love.

Structure and Form of Sonnet 29

The sonnet form of Sonnet 29 influences the poem in the following ways:

Sonnet form

Sonnet form

  • A sonnet has 14 lines with a regular rhyme scheme. It is made up of two quatrains (two parts of four lines) and a sestet (one part of six lines).
  • A sonnet is usually about love – sonnets are especially concerned with love that is in some way unattainable.
  • We can see in some ways how Barrett Browning has subverted (undermined) this norm, as she is separated from her own lover by her own thoughts.
Structure (pre-turning point)

Structure (pre-turning point)

  • In the first quatrain, we see Browning introducing her dilemma. Her thoughts have wrapped up and obscured her lover.
  • In the second quatrain, we see a shift in her perspective. She is beginning to realise that she should not place her thoughts of her lover over his physical presence:
    • 'Yet, O my palm-tree, be it understood / I will not have my thoughts instead of thee.'
Volta (turning point) and final sestet

Volta (turning point) and final sestet

  • The volta (turn of thought) of the poem appears at the beginning of the final sestet of the poem.
  • The narrator instead decides that she wants her lover to 'renew' his physical presence in her life.
  • This final sestet is characterised by explosive and urgent language – reflecting the change in her state of mind.
Jump to other topics
1

When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)

1.1

When We Two Parted Analysis

1.1.1Summary & Structure1.1.2Themes: Death & Loss1.1.3Themes: Time & Anger1.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons1.1.5End of Topic Test - When We Two Parted
2

Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley

2.1

Love's Philosophy Analysis

2.1.1Summary & Structure2.1.2Themes2.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons2.1.4End of Topic Test - Love's Philosophy2.1.5Exam-Style Questions - Love's Philosophy
3

Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

3.1

Porphyria’s Lover Analysis

3.1.1Summary & Structure3.1.2Themes: Porphyria & Violence3.1.3Themes: Sin & Pathetic Fallacy3.1.4Key Quotes & Comparisons3.1.5End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover
4

Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)

4.1

Sonnet 29 – ‘I think of thee!’ Analysis

4.1.1Summary & Structure4.1.2Themes4.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
5

Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

5.1

Neutral Tones Analysis

5.1.1Summary & Structure5.1.2Themes5.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons5.1.4End of Topic Test - Sonnet 29 & Neutral Tones
6

Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)

6.1

Letters from Yorkshire Analysis

6.1.1Summary & Structure6.1.2Themes6.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
7

The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)

7.1

The Farmer's Bride Analaysis

7.1.1Summary, Structure & Form7.1.2Themes7.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons7.1.4End of Topic Test - Dooley & Mew7.1.5Exam-Style Questions - The Farmer's Bride
8

Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)

8.1

Walking Away Analysis

8.1.1Summary, Structure & Form8.1.2Themes8.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
9

Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)

9.1

Eden Rock Analysis

9.1.1Summary, Structure & Form9.1.2Themes9.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons9.1.4End of Topic Test - Walking Away & Eden Rock
10

Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)

10.1

Follower Analysis

10.1.1Summary, Structure & Form10.1.2Themes10.1.3Quotes and Comparisons
11

‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born 1963

11.1

'Mother, Any Distance' Analysis

11.1.1Summary, Structure & Form11.1.2Themes11.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons11.1.4End of Topic Test - Follower& Mother, Any Distance
12

Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)

12.1

Before You Were Mine Analysis

12.1.1Summary, Structure & Form12.1.2Themes12.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
13

Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)

13.1

Winter Swans Analysis

13.1.1Summary, Structure & Form13.1.2Themes13.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons13.1.4End of Topic Test - Duffy & Sheers
14

Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)

14.1

Singh Song! Analysis

14.1.1Summary, Structure & Form14.1.2Themes14.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons
15

Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

15.1

Climbing My Grandfather Analysis

15.1.1Summary, Structure & Form15.1.2Themes15.1.3Key Quotes & Comparisons15.1.4End of Topic Test - Nagra & Waterhouse
16

Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1

Grade 9 - Comparisons

16.1.1Grade 9 - Comparisons
17

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1

Recap: Main Quotes

17.1.1When We Two Parted - Lord Byron (1788-1824)17.1.2Love’s Philosophy - Percy Bysshe Shelley17.1.3Porphyria’s Lover - Robert Browning (1812-1889)17.1.4Sonnet 29 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning (17.1.5Neutral Tones - Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)17.1.6Letters from Yorkshire - Maura Dooley (Born 1957)17.1.7The Farmer’s Bride - Charlotte Mew (1869-1928)17.1.8Walking Away - Cecil Day Lewis (1904-1972)17.1.9Eden Rock - Charles Causley (1917-2003)17.1.10Follower - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)17.1.11‘Mother, Any Distance’ - Simon Armitage (Born1963)17.1.12Before You Were Mine - Carol Ann Duffy (Born 1955)17.1.13Winter Swans - Owen Sheers (Born 1974)17.1.14Singh Song! - Daljit Nagra (Born 1966)17.1.15Climbing My Grandfather - Andrew Waterhouse

Practice questions on Summary & Structure

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  1. 1
    What year was the collection _Sonnets from the Portugese_ (of which _Sonnet 29_ is one) published?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Features of _Sonnet 29_:True / false
  3. 3
    Features of a sonnet:True / false
  4. 4
    Structure of Sonnet 29Put in order
  5. 5
    What separates Barrett Browning from her lover?Multiple choice
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End of Topic Test - Porphyria's Lover

Themes