Summary

In the poem “How Do I Love Thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the speaker tells her lover about how she loves him. She begins by asking how she loves the person she is talking to, giving the impression that she is wondering aloud. 

The speaker then mentions the ways in which she adores her beloved. She compares her love to different personal, spiritual, or universal experiences in order to explain the depth of her love which cannot be measured otherwise. For example, she claims that her love goes as far as her soul can reach. She also says that her love is both free and pure. Then the speaker adds that she puts the same passion in her love as she used to put in her sadness.

 The speaker finishes by saying that she hopes God allows her to continue to love him even after death, and that her love might actually grow even more then. 

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