Sonnet 43 — Eduqas GCSE English Literature

Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a Petrarchan sonnet in which the speaker catalogues the many ways she loves her beloved, culminating in the assertion that she will love him even better after death. For Eduqas GCSE English Literature, it is a core poem in the Love and Relationships anthology, valued for its spiritual and romantic intensity, its use of anaphora, and its subversion of traditional sonnet conventions.

Sonnet 43 is one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese, a sequence of 44 sonnets exploring her love for her husband, Robert Browning. In this poem, the speaker attempts to define the nature of her love by listing its many dimensions: its depth, breadth, and height; its everyday and spiritual qualities; and its endurance beyond death. The poem is a Petrarchan sonnet, characterised by an octave and a sestet, with a volta or turn at line 9.

For Eduqas GCSE English Literature, Sonnet 43 is a key poem in the Love and Relationships anthology. It offers rich opportunities to analyse how form, structure, and language shape meaning, and to explore themes of love, spirituality, and gender. Understanding the poem's context, including Barrett Browning's religious faith and the Victorian era's attitudes to love and marriage, is essential for achieving top marks.

• →Petrarchan sonnet form: octave (8 lines) and sestet (6 lines), with a volta or turn at line 9.
• →Anaphora: the repetition of 'I love thee' at the start of multiple lines, creating a liturgical, incantatory effect.
• →Spiritual and physical love: the poem blends religious language ('soul', 'saints') with everyday imagery ('sun and candle-light').
• →Eternal love: the speaker asserts that her love will continue after death, 'better after death'.
• →Subversion of tradition: a female speaker confidently articulates her love, challenging the silent muse role typical of Petrarchan poetry.

• Award credit for sustained analysis of the volta and its role in shifting the poem's focus from earthly to spiritual love.
• Reward detailed discussion of specific language choices, e.g., 'depth and breadth and height' as a triadic structure conveying boundlessness.
• Look for accurate use of literary terminology, such as 'iambic pentameter', 'anaphora', and 'hyperbole'.
• Credit linkage to context, such as the secret courtship with Robert Browning, where relevant to the question.
• Reward comparison that explores both similarities and differences in how love is idealised.

• 💡Always begin with a thesis that directly addresses the question, using key words from the prompt.
• 💡When writing about structure, pinpoint the volta and explain how it deepens the argument.
• 💡Integrate short, embedded quotations to support every point, rather than long block quotes.
• 💡Use comparative connectives (e.g., 'similarly', 'in contrast') when comparing poems to ensure a cohesive response.
• 💡Manage time to leave 5 minutes for proofreading, checking for accurate spelling of key terms like 'Petrarchan'.
• 💡Always integrate quotations smoothly into your analysis and zoom in on specific words for language analysis.
• 💡Link form and structure to meaning: explain why Barrett Browning chose a sonnet and how the volta affects the reader.
• 💡Use subject terminology accurately (e.g. anaphora, volta, Petrarchan sonnet) and avoid feature-spotting without explaining effect.

• Confusing the sonnet form with Shakespearean sonnets and misapplying features like the rhyming couplet.
• Relying solely on paraphrasing the poem rather than analysing its techniques.
• Misinterpreting the religious references as suggesting the speaker's love replaces God, rather than using them metaphorically.
• Failing to identify the shift in tone or argument (volta) at line 9.
• Students often think the poem is purely autobiographical and ignore the speaker's voice as a constructed persona. Correction: Barrett Browning writes as a persona, and the poem is a literary construct, not a simple diary entry.
• Students may assume the poem is only about romantic love and miss its spiritual and religious dimensions. Correction: the poem repeatedly invokes the soul, saints, and God, presenting love as sacred.
• Students sometimes claim the poem has no structure or is just a list. Correction: the Petrarchan form and the volta are carefully structured to develop the argument about love's nature.

1. 1Day 1-2: Read the poem aloud and annotate it for form, structure, and key themes. Learn the Petrarchan sonnet structure.
2. 2Day 3-4: Analyse language in detail, focusing on anaphora, religious imagery, and the volta. Create a quotation bank.
3. 3Day 5-6: Research context: Barrett Browning's life, Victorian society, and the Sonnets from the Portuguese.
4. 4Day 7-8: Practice writing analytical paragraphs using the PEE/PETAL structure, focusing on how form and language create meaning.
5. 5Day 9-10: Complete timed exam questions and self-assess using mark schemes. Review feedback and refine your approach.

• 📋Close analysis of an extract: You may be given a section of the poem and asked to analyse how Barrett Browning presents love. Advice: focus on the given lines, but link to the whole poem.
• 📋Whole-poem essay: A question such as 'How does Barrett Browning present the speaker's feelings about love?' Advice: cover beginning, middle, and end, and integrate context.
• 📋Comparison question: Compare Sonnet 43 with another poem from the anthology, e.g. on the theme of enduring love. Advice: use comparative connectives and balance your analysis.