If Thou Must Love Me, Let It Be For Nought

The title If Thou Must Love Me, Let Be It For Nought before reading the sonnet creates the love she feels to him. From the title the reader can understand the sonnet by Elizabeth B. Browning is part of a collection because the title bears the same first line. The structure consists into 3 quatrains and in to a couplet, so the sonnet follows the Elizabethan model, the first quatrain introduces the dialogue between the two lovers: the woman, the speaking voice, and her husband. She invites him (the poetess uses the imperative) to love her not only (key word, it stay in the middle of the second line.) for her ecstatic qualities, but only for the like to love (inner qualities). The invitation is built on the semantic field the approach between a woman and a man (smile, look, way of speaking). The man in approaching seeing only the heartily qualities, she want he loves her forever, so he should falls in love for eternal qualities: the main theme discuss is the courteous love. The second quatrain the ma gives his answer. He want to change, he wants to love she for her values, her soul. The use of open sounds vowel creates a sense of distance between the speaking voices: the same distance between heartily and heavenly things. This contrast is the main problem of courteous love.

The analysis should be carefully revised, in order to better convey the message of the poem. In particular, the attention must be focused on the parts a proper textual analysis consists of : denotation( analysing the title, the lay-out, the structure and summing up the content of the poem); connotation( analysing the phonological, semantical, syntactical levels and figures of speech). It goes without saying that the student has to make connotative analysis,in order to discover the poet's devices to highlight the main theme of the poem. Moreover, he/she has to consider the whole sonnet to carry out an effective textual analysis, not only the first two quatrains. Last but not least, the text shows lexical and grammatical mistakes, which can be corrected reading the text once or twice after writing it.

If Thou Must Love Me, Let It Be For Nought( corrected version)

Just considering the title the intelligent reader understands that it poses a condition in loving. Such expectation is suggested by the words "me" and "must". Besides, from reading the title the reader understands that the sonnet is part of a collection because it bears the same title of its first line.

However, the structure consists of three quatrains and a couplet, so the sonnet follows the Elizabethan model.

Considering the denotative level of the text, the first quatrain introduces a dialogue between two lovers: a woman, the speaking voice, and her husband. She invites him (the poetess uses the imperative) to love her not "only" ( a key - word, because it stays in the middle of the second line) for her physical qualities, but also for "love's sake".

In the second quatrain it is explained why the poetess want such way of loving. Indeed things like "smile", "look", "way of speaking" might change in time, so love based on them could be destroyed.

In the third quatrain the poetess invites the lover not to love her for his pity's wiping her cheeks, because every creature could forget to weep, so losing their love.

In the couplet it is said that the lover has to love her for love's sake, in order to make their love eternal. So the couplet gives a possible solution of the problem posed in the sonnet.

Considering now the connotative level of analysis, the theme of the sonnet is the poetess' exclusive thought about love, suggested by words like "only", "except", "for love's sake". She is claiming to be above physical attraction and meaningless relationships. In addition, she says that compliments and reassuring physical quips are easy and comforting but love is greater than that.

In the text there are some interesting devices that aim to highlight the main theme. First of all, the alliterations between the words "these-things" and "trick-thought" underline that true love, in the poetess's mind, is not based on earthly things, because they change in time. Besides, the thought is put into a better focus by the enjambment between lines 13-14 and the long vowel sound in words like "mine", "love", "be", "look". The use of open sounds vowel creates a sense of distance between the speaking voices and her lover: the same distance between earthly and heavenly things.

Then, it is possible to create two opposite semantic fields: the first consists of the words "smile", "look", "way of speaking", "things", "destroyed" and the key-word is "things", while the second is formed by the words "love's sake", "eternity", "only", "must" and the key-word is "must". They have the function of highlighting the contrast between physical love and love's sake. The concept can be easily understood by the simple use of syntax, which implies the poem to be remember easily.