3 Things You Need to Know about 'Sonnet 29' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Hello everybody, with a special shout-out to the English teachers at Millfield High School, and welcome to today's video, Three Key Things about the Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem, Sonnet 29. This poem explores how absence from a loved one can be overwhelming, but that relationship can still bring joy and fulfilment. In terms of form, the poem is a Petrarchan sonnet. A Petrarchan or Italian sonnet takes its name from Petrarch, who is in love with a woman called Laura. Petrarch wrote hundreds of sonnets to her, sonnets often focused on unattainable, idealised love. He wrote about Laura for many years, both during her lifetime and after her death, presenting her as a perfect, almost divine figure. A Petrarchan sonnet has fourteen lines. The first eight, known as the octave, present a problem, the last six, known as the sestet, present a solution to that problem, and in line nine we have a volta, a sharp twist or turn, and the octave, the first eight lines, always has an abba, abba rhyme scheme. When we look at Sonnet 29, we can see it is indeed a Petrarchan sonnet, and there was actually a more modern sonnet form called the Shakespearean sonnet, but Barrett Browning chose to write in the Petrarchan form, and a good question to ask is why? Well, if we read this as a poem about how absence from a loved one is overwhelming, the Petrarchan form is suitable because, like Petrarch, Barrett Browning is consumed by thoughts of her lover who, remember, she is not yet married to or present with. The courtship with Barrett Browning was constrained by societal pressures, particularly in the poet's controlling father, so the Petrarchan sonnet form, often associated with unattainable or distant love, reflects this theme of absence. However, Sonnet 29 also challenges some of the conventions of a Petrarchan sonnet, most obviously in the placement of the volta. A Petrarchan sonnet should have its twist or turn in line 9 at the shift from the octave into the sestet. In Sonnet 29, we find the volta comes early and actually straddles lines 7 and 8, rather instantly renew thy presence. So, what exactly is the volta in this poem? What's the shift in thought or emotion? Well, in the octave, the speaker is consumed by her thoughts and feelings about the person she loves, comparing her thoughts to wild vines that wrap around him, and this metaphor shows how his absence is overwhelming the speaker. In the sestet, this focus shifts. She no longer wants to just think about him. She craves his actual physical presence. The fact that the volta comes early reflects the speaker's emotional urgency as a result of being absent from her loved one. It's as if her feelings are so overwhelming she can't even follow the traditional structure of the sonnet form. The early volta emphasises her desperation. She's no longer content to live in her mind but craves something real. Her love is so overwhelming it breaks free from the expected form. Barrett Browning also uses natural imagery to show both how the absence from her loved one is overwhelming and, crucially, how that love still brings joy and fulfilment. The speaker's thoughts are described as wild vines that grow and twist uncontrollably around her beloved, and this metaphor is effective because vines are fast-growing and difficult to control, just like her overwhelming thoughts in the absence of her loved one. The word wild implies her love is all-consuming. The speaker's thoughts twine, which means twist together or interweave, reflecting the physical intimacy the speaker desires but cannot yet have. However, there is also religious imagery to be found in these lines. I think of thee, my thoughts do twine and bud about thee as wild vines about a tree. Here, the poet describes her future husband as a tree and herself as a vine, and this is reminiscent of the words of Jesus in John 15.5, I am the vine, ye are the branches, he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing. Jesus is here saying he's the tree, his followers are its branches, and the image of the tree symbolises the idea that Christians can do nothing if not connected to God. What is so clever is that in a poem about the all-consuming, overwhelming nature of the speaker's love, the combination of both sensual and religious imagery suggests this love is indeed all-consuming. It covers every aspect of life, the spiritual and the physical. And in terms of comparing to other poems, it's important to note that despite the absence, this relationship is seen as a good thing. So how does the poet present that? Well, the natural imagery used throughout has connotations of this love being life-giving, natural and healthy. The religious imagery suggests this love is a source of goodness, as if it's sacred and blessed by God. And the ending, I do not think of thee, I am too near thee, can be read as a suggestion that the speaker's thoughts will vanish when she's finally with her lover physically. This ending creates a sense of closure, the obsessive thoughts that have been building throughout the poem are finally put to rest, and structurally this reinforces the poem's overall message that love, even when overwhelming, ultimately leads to satisfaction and joy. So what compares well? Both Sonic 29 and When We Two Parted explore the emotional impact of being apart from a loved one, but while Sonic 29 remains optimistic despite the struggle, When We Two Parted starts and ends in sorrow. If you found this video useful, please do give it a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel.