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Sonnets from the Portuguese

4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 · rating details · 5,077 ratings · 101 reviews

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a prolific writer and reviewer in the Victorian period, and in her lifetime, her reputation as a poet was at least as great as that of her husband, poet Robert Browning. Some of her poetry has been noted in recent years for strong feminist themes, but the poems for which Elizabeth Barrett Browning is undoubtedly best know are Sonnets from the...more

Hardcover, 64 pages

Published August 15th 1986 by St. Martin's Press (first published 1850)

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Jul 21, 2011 Cheryl in CC NV rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had this in my purse so I'd read a poem or two at a time over the course of months, only when caught unexpectedly idling. That was good, because this is not something you'd want to read straight through or with any haste. I was able to watch as the maiden cycled irregularly through infatuations and insecurities and passions. Some allusions were definitely too obscure for me - but I liked this edition and I am satisfied with my appreciation of it.

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Dec 08, 2009 Marts (Thinker) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Poetry lovers

Shelves: audio-books, poetry

I've got this in audio and thoroughly enjoyed listening. Its beautiful poetry, that 'stream of conscientiousness' flows within Browning's text.

Quote: "How do I love thee, let me count the ways, I love thee to the depth, breadth, and height, my soul can reach...." (Sonnet 43)

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May 15, 2007 Lucy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: verse-and-stage, the-mile

XXIII
Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead,
Wouldst thou miss any life in losing mine?
And would the sun for thee more coldly shine
Because of grave-dumps falling round my head?
I marveled, my Belovèd, when I read
Thy thought so in the letter. I am thine--
But...so much to thee? Can I pour thy wine
While my hands tremble? Then my soul, instead
Of dreams of death, resumes life's lower range.
Then, love me, Love! Look on me--breathe on me!
As brighter ladies do not count it strange,
For love, to give up acres...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Valerie added it

Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of this to hand, so I can't include a table of contents.

I think too many critics are a tad too judgmental. The life of a chronic invalid in premodern times (before the development of such things as self-operable wheelchairs and accessible indoor plumbing) was a pretty grim affair, even for the materially well-off people who had good educations and lots of toys, books, etc. It's not surprising if they got a little depressive and insecure and all, or if they clun...more Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of this to hand, so I can't include a table of contents.

I think too many critics are a tad too judgmental. The life of a chronic invalid in premodern times (before the development of such things as self-operable wheelchairs and accessible indoor plumbing) was a pretty grim affair, even for the materially well-off people who had good educations and lots of toys, books, etc. It's not surprising if they got a little depressive and insecure and all, or if they clung to anyone who offered them a chance at a fuller life.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, it's true, does take it a little further than most. Her most famous sonnet ends "...and if God choose/I shall but love thee better after death". Not just love 'until death do us part', but PERPETUAL love...if it's permitted.

When I was first told the title, I was puzzled by the attribution "from The Portuguese". I don't think the standard explanation that she was trying to conceal her love for Robert Browning quite holds water. She could have used a pseudonym, after all, or pretended that her lover was a pure phantom of her imagination...she'd hardly have been the only person to claim that. There was no need to even imply that she wasn't the originator of the poems.

I think it possible that one of the reasons she didn't just say something along the lines of "Yeah, I wrote 'em. You can take them as they are, or you can not take 'em" is similar to the deliberations Charlotte Bronte described in her Biographical Notice of Ellis And Acton Bell: 'Averse to personal publicity, we veiled our own names under those of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell; the ambiguous choice being dictated by a sort of conscientious scruple at assuming names positively masculine, while we did not like to declare ourselves women, because--without at that time suspecting that our mode of writing and thinking was not what is called "feminine"--we had a vague impression that authoresses were likely to be looked on with prejudice; we had noticed how critics sometimes use for their chastisement the weapon of personality, and for their reward, a flattery, which is not true praise.'

Minor orthographic note: have you noticed that you don't know how to spell 'Portuguese'? Because I have. I can often spell quite difficult words, including some (such as 'ophthalmologist') that aren't spelt at ALL like they sound. But I have to look up 'Portuguese' every time.(less)

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Jul 22, 2011 Vasha7 added it · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

Although on a personal level I can't really get in tune with the self-abasing tone of these verses and still less their idealization of love as a spiritual timeless etherean thing, there are quite a few really good passages here, I can see that even on first reading. I liked both the metaphor and the sentiments of XXIX ("I think of thee!---my thoughts do twine and bud..."), and XXXVIII ("First time he kissed me, he only but kissed...") is elegant in structure, use of imagery, and even use of all...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Christy B (Readin' and Dreamin') rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics, fiction, poetry, victorian

Christ. I don't even know what to say, here.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a lo...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Larry Hostetler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After reading the introductory note my edition has I was concerned that the sonnets themselves would be too dark for my enjoyment. Yet knowing a little (14 pages) of EBB's life added immensely to my enjoyment. Six of the XLIV sonnets (including XLIII "How do I love thee, let me count the ways")are ones I will share with the object of my love, an amazing percentage of the total to rise to such a level. Of the others, very few were not evocative or at least interesting. Some tender, some redolent,...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Mark Bennett rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literarature-art, poetry

Michelle Dean does it again, pointing the way to literature that affects and alters my course.

http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/fea...

She's a gem of a writer, you should check her out:

Hazlitt: http://www.randomhouse.ca/hazlitt/voi...

The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/authors/mich...

On Tumblr: http://michelledean.tumblr.com/

I will also be scooping up the complete letters of Elizabeth and Robert, a very engaging/fascinating love story.

~~~

My final status update: "A grand collection of sonnet lov...more

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Oct 25, 2010 Debbie Robson rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the 52 books that feature in my novel Crossing Paths: the BookCrossing novel and I chose it before I had actually read the poems (by reputation alone). I'm so glad I did make this the centrepiece of the lovers' conversations through BookCrossing. There are some wonderful poems, especially sonnets VII, XVII and XXII.
http://budurl.com/CPSaleAmazon
Here is the journal entry from the novel for this book:
"My Darling, this book is for you. I have had it for some time now and never found...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Rhonda Rae Baker rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, poetry, non-fiction, own

Beautiful poetry...love Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...

Robert Browning was so impressed with his wife's love sonnets that he urged her to make them public. He convinced her to share them with the world. To conceil the fact that they were love poems written for him, they came up with the nickname of "my Little Portuguese" which he called her, Sonnets from the Portuguese became the title.

These poems are beautiful beyond measure and one of my most favorite co...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote these forty-four beautiful, somewhat exhausting poems for her husband, fellow Victorian poet Robert Browning. (The title alludes to his nickname for her, "my little Portuguese.") To my modern ears, some of the sonnets sound a bit repetitive and overwrought, particularly the first six or eight, in which the poet enumerates the ways in which she finds herself unworthy to be loved by someone as extraordinary as her husband. But the images used by Barrett Browning se...more

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May 05, 2011 Andreea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry, ebook, love-poetry, sonnets, english-lit-1b

EBB's sonnets are a strange, yet wonderful treat. You can see why feminists fans of her shy away from discussing them and why not so feminist audiences love them. Some of them are not quite as clever as I think EBB is, but among ridiculously well known ones (such as number 43 - 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways') and really weepy ones, you do get some unexpected gems - for example, sonnet 29 (I think of thee!- my thoughts do twine and bud) which is my favourite poem from the collected....more

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Feb 19, 2013 Edwin Roman rated it 5 of 5 stars

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Loni rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, england, romance, classics

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets From The Portuguese might be her most famous work. It contained the poem of hers I was most familiar with, Sonnet 43:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise....more

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Mar 29, 2013 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee...more How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I never have or would understand the concept of love. I see love in pop culture, in songs and books. However, i don't think love can ever be fully described, and yet reading Sonnets From the Portuguese, I have come to grasp a demonstration of the capacity and omnipotence of love. The book is a classic and collection of timeless poems about love. Browning writes of the highs, lows, feelings, loss and anything that encapsulates the meaning and experience of love.

There has been some extensive debate to who the 44 sonnets are refering to and from whom. It is most likely that the sonnets is about Browning herself than of anyone else as the sonnets are very reflective and personal orientated. What can be seen through the transition between the poems: is that Browning is elapsing through different stasis of love. People say that the sonnets are all very autobiographical. It seems that Browning has induced parts of her love life into the sonnets. There are many stages being presented within the poem. Factors like feeling bashful, heart beating to the feeling of loss and unrequited love has all been touched by the sonnets. It is also suggested that the sonnets are very nostalgic, this leads back to the idea of how the poems are autobiographical.

It is also very interesting how dismissive the story is towards the society it was published in. Browning writes with a sense that all the love is being radiated by herself. It also hints to the fact that the women who is telling her story through the poem is a sort of propoganda of feminism. We see that the age of 1850 was part of an epoch where women had no rights. Media and any form of widespread communication are all pro-males. In Sonnets of Portugeuse we see a women being the one who narrates, experience and shares love. Nevertheless, the true experience of this anothology master piecce is in its writing quality. Each poem has a way of pulling the heart's strings, each word was a star to create a beautiful endless night of literature. The sonnets are like maps to the ways of our hearts, anyone who reads it would have a sense of understanding, what love is.

Sonnets From the Portuguese is that first kiss, that perfect momment with someone speacial and the grief once you lose it all. It describes the indescribable and contains one of my favorite poems.
(less)

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Dec 18, 2012 Shauna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

Sonnets from the Portuguese first of all, não é útil se você quer praticar o português. This book will in no way prepare you for the ordering of a galão in some Lisbon café.
In fact, "portuguese" was a pet name Browning's (secret) husband used for her. The title also refers to the sonnets of the 16th-century Portuguese poet Luís de Camões; in all these poems Elizabethe uses rhyme schemes typical of the Portuguese sonnets.
Here is one of my favourites:

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Ex...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Ann Santori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011

Beautiful, but SO depressing. I can't understand (well, I can, but it's a long, feminist kind of understanding) why people read this and think, "Wow, that's love!" Barrett Browning writes into each sonnet how lucky she is to be loved -- a supposed privilege she doesn't deserve because of her invalid status and advanced age (she was six years older than Robert Browning, to whom the sonnets are written). Her entire self-worth is wrapped up in Robert's approval and that doesn't make me think "love,...more

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Oct 18, 2008 Paula rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an early example of what now is called a sonnet cycle, as pretty much all of the poems are concerned with her secret love with Robert Browning. The forty-four poems are basically confessional and range in emotions, from despairing to elated to fretful. What I like so much about them (other than the fact that they're all tightly written sonnets) is that they're so indicative of female emotions because they fluctuate to extremes. Also, this collection includes one of the most famous poems...more

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Jan 27, 2010 J. Alfred rated it 5 of 5 stars

Remember how, in the Song of Songs, love is described as "strong as death"? Barrett Browning has a sequence of sonnets that begins with Love, personified as a god, being mistaken for Death. It is out of this world good. Some interesting other stuff as well, including especially her Cry of the Human, the refrain of which is "be pitiful, oh God!"
How do I love it? Let me count the stars.
Um, there are five. Five stars.

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Dec 21, 2012 Carolyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

One of my favorites! Especially "A Seaside Walk" verse V:

"For though we never spoke
Of the grey water and the shaded rock,
Dark wave and stone unconsciously were fused
Into the plaintive speaking that we used
Of absent friends and memories unforsook;
And had we seen each other's face, we had
Seen haply, each was sad."

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Jul 04, 2011 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beautiful, just beautiful. Heartache, delicate mythological allusions and revelations about love and its endless paradoxes make this especially striking (to me at least)in the timeless conflict that love brings out in everyone. Also, I'd really like to be Elizabeth Barret Browning's best friend, anyone have a time machine? Pretty please?

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Oct 30, 2012 Nicole Dobbins rated it 5 of 5 stars

I got this cloth-bound for my 15th birthday and have been carting it around for over a decade, reading it over and over again, writing essays on various sonnets for several different classes through the years. The romance between E.B.B. and her husband, Robert Browning, is probably my favorite story of all time.

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May 11, 2012 Amy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Love is so winning and she was much in love. The most famous sonnet begins, "How shall I love thee? Let me count the ways." Yet, there are so many other great thoughts including, "Because God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame." I will be re-reading this book of poems regularly.

Highly recommended.

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Jan 29, 2013 Tia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, favorites

This short book of poems held me captive at the bookstore. I couldn't set it down. I had to buy it. And before I paid for it- I was found hugging it all through the bookstore.

It has given me so many goosebumps and filled my eyes to the point of tears so many times that it should be deemed miraculously beautiful and one of God's gifts to man. Yes.

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Nov 21, 2009 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was the subject of my first term theme in high school. Many years later I do not enjoy it as much as I did then. I gave it three stars because it is hard to write a sonnet, much less many of them. It is my poetry book of more than fifty pages for the twenty point item.

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Oct 18, 2009 Marco rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

XLI

I thank all who have loved me in their hearts,
With thanks and love from mine. Deep thanks to all
Who paused a little near the prison wall
To hear my music in its louder parts
Ere they went onward, each one to the mart's
Or Temple's occupation, beyond call...

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Aug 10, 2009 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: poetry

Best when paired with a romantic novel (I chose The Time Traveler's Wife) or read after a bright, sunny day spent with someone you're in love with.

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Dec 27, 2008 Tessa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: pomes

I actually read this on google books, so really I read it in the Harvard library by proxy--very exciting.

On one hand I am disturbed by how much Barrett Browning feels diminished by love and on the other hand I am impressed by how evocative her writing is.

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Oct 10, 2010 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I must say that I was slow to warm up to the poems and don't think I would have liked them as well without having read the Introduction first. Lovely, very personal. You can really see the path of the love affair between EBB and Robert Browning.

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Dec 11, 2007 Erin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

I cannot express how lovely I find this collection of poems. Well constructed and beautifully written, it is among my favorite books of all time, probably my favorite collection of poetry. I'm partial to the sonnets as I find them traditionally romantic. I guess the conservative poet in me likes the meter and rhyme. When I first read this collection I was a third-year at UVA and was in major seduction with Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf and glossed by this treasure. Years later, I see what I co...more

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About Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most respected poets of the Victorian era.

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“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.” — 451 people liked it

“If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only. Do not say
'I love her for her smile ... her look ... her way
Of speaking gently, ... for a trick of thought
That falls in well with mine, and certes brought
A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'
For these things in themselves, Beloved, may
Be changed, or change for thee,--and love, so wrought,
May be unwrought so. Neither love me for
Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,
A creature might forget to weep, who bore
Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!
But love me for love's sake, that evermore
Thou may'st love on, through love's eternity.” — 40 people liked it

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