The poem How Do I Love Thee Essay Example

The poem How Do I Love Thee? Paper In what ways, and how, does Elizabeth Barrett Browning convey deep and eternal love in the poem How Do I Love Thee? from the Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII? The poem How Do I Love Thee? from the Sonnets from the Portuguese XLIII is a Petrarchan sonnet of fourteen lines, consisting of an octave and a sestet. It was written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-61) in 1845 and was composed for her husband, the renowned Romantic poet, Robert Browning. At the time of writing, Barrett Brownings life had been one of seclusion from the world, as she was the daughter of an overprotective, archetypal Victorian Father. And, although she was a published poet at the time of writing the sonnet, Barrett Browning had spent the majority of her early adult life as a recluse, forbidden by her father any moderate contact with the outside world. Following the death of her mother when she was 22, and the drowning of her brother in 1838 in Torquay, Devon during a visit to aid Barrett Brownings ailing health, the poet became bed bound with poor health and a nervous disposition. We will write a custom essay sample on The poem How Do I Love Thee? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The poem How Do I Love Thee? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The poem How Do I Love Thee? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Her sickness in her mid twenties, which is considered to be anorexia, combined with a bronchial complaint, restricted her adult life and she had little contact with possible suitors other than the poet Robert Browning who, along with John Kenyon, a friend of the arts, visited her in her home. As Barrett Browning lived most of her life in the confines of her room, her poetry does not reflect, or usually reference, the outdoors as, say, Wordsworths poems do; but her poems are usually figurative, relating to the world outside as she saw it through reading literature and she was very well read. This poem was written when she was forty years old and she writes with a certain innocence, mixed with a mature, womanly outlook. Elizabeth Barrett Browning secretly married Robert Browning, who was six years her junior and the two set out for Italy to escape her domineering father. The poem How Do I Love Thee? is part of a sequence written by Barrett Browning during this period of her life and the poem is a declaration of love to her new husband. It was written soon after their elopement and remains one of the most famous love poems, containing in the opening the rhetoric question How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Barrett Browning goes on to declare her love in no less than eight ways in the poem. The first way the poet shows her love is in the lines 2, 3 and 4: 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. Barrett Browning declares her love to be unconditional. She loves with her all her soul, reaching out beyond Being, as far as her soul can reach, to both her creator and to her Love. This line contains a quotation from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, and as the poet was a devout reader of the bible, the reference reflects her knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. The length, breadth and height she mentions conveys the shape of a crucifix: as high as Gods love, as deep as Christs love and sacrifice and as long lasting as infinity. Her love, she is saying, is as deep, broad and long as her soul can reach and is as great as the length, breadth and height of Gods love. Her love is as unconditional as, and is part of, the love Christ has for man. The reference to Being and Grace in line 3 relate to the Great Chain of Being which links God with man via the angels right down to the animals, plants and the Earth itself. Grace is the link within the chain, connecting God with all of his creation. As Gods love is infinite, Barrett Browning is declaring her love as the same, unconditionally reaching out to the length, breadth and height of Being and Grace. Her love reaches beyond her life, beyond Being and Grace, to the end of her life to her salvation.

Brunelleschis dome and the Greek Pantheon

Brunelleschis dome and the Greek Pantheon Free Online Research Papers Although Brunelleschi never duplicated classical features, he borrowed ideas from the ancient ruins and incorporated them into the desighn of his dome† (1). When a revival of classical styles became popular, new edifices in the classical style were built alongside or added to buildings of older styles. This is how the renaissance revived the classical past. The Ancient Greek Pantheon has a long history and has undergone extensive damage and restoration. The Greek Pantheon is divided into two distinct architectural sections, having height and diameter of equal dimensions. At the top of the dome is an opening, through this opening is the only way external light may enter. The Ancient Greek Pantheon used heavier material at the bottom and lighter materials at the top, this produced a self-buttressing system. The dome of the Ancient Greek Pantheon was heavy and was made out of solid concrete. It is the largest non reinforced concrete dome. The gothic masons that worked on the Ancient Greek Pantheon â€Å"built with pointed arches to create vaults that were reinforced with ribs† (2). Also during the time when the Ancient Greek Pantheon was constructed the masons used tall granite columns. This type of column was used in a lot of classical styles. In looking at the measurements of the ancient greek pantheon the whole interior would fit exactly within a cube. Also the height of the oculus and the diameter of the interior circle are the same. These things show that ancient roman units of measurement are used, and almost certainly had symbolic meaning, â€Å"either numerical, geometric, or lunar† (3). The symbols here show the peoples worshipping of a higher power. The cathedrals 44 windows also have a symbolic meaning. The construction of the dome on top of the cathedral of Florence marks the begining of Renaissance architecture. The cathedral of Florence was built over many years as well. Filippo Brunelleschi traveled to Rome to study the classical construction of arches and columns, and incorporated his findings in his studies into the dome on top of the cathedral of Florence. In the mass sacristy the chamber has inlaid wood panels by Florentine masters of the 15th. Century. The artists used linear perspective that was invented in the early 1400s. Brunelleschi’s dome was 45 meters wide, and was originally made out of wood. The usual way to build arches or domes in these times was to use scaffolding. Brunelleschi made the decision to build his dome without scaffolding, in a way that it would support itself similar to the Pantheon. Even today 600 years after it was built the dome is still the tallest building in Florence. In conclusion you can see the same type of construction methods in both the pantheon and the dome. Such as the way both structures were built to be self supporting. Both structures are meant to be places of worship and have very specific measurements and symbols of worship and of a higher power. The pantheon and the dome are built on land that is raised higher than the land around it and both structures have stairs leading to them. The pantheon holds the record for the largest non reinforced concrete dome and the dome of Brunelleschi is the tallest building in Florence to this day. As you can see a lot of the quality’s and ideas of the classical style is apparent in the dome and the dome was the mark of the start of the renaissance. We could admire the pantheon for all its wonder and history and for the time that it was constructed, we can admire the dome for its new outlook on the classical style either way we stand back in awe. Research Papers on Brunelleschi's dome and the Greek PantheonMind TravelCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThree Concepts of PsychodynamicRiordan Manufacturing Production Plan19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Effects of Illegal Immigration