"I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life!"

Of the four sonnets read from Sonnets from the Portuguese, I found 32 and 43 to stand out to me the most. These two sonnets depicted the extreme emotions that Browning was experiencing. I thought that the way these sonnets were written was very powerful and moving.

In Sonnet 32, Browning exposes her feelings of doubt and uncertainty. In the beginning, she speaks of her uncertainty of Robert's love. The line "the first time that the sun rose on thine oath to love me, I looked forward to the moon to slacken those bonds which seemed too soon" seems to mean that she is awaiting the end of this great love in order to "slacken the bonds" in preparation. She continues by questioning her worthiness of Robert's love: "and, looking on myself, I seemed not one for such a man's love!" She ends this sonnet by realizing that by being loved by a great man makes her great as well. I found the feelings she portrayed to be moving. Everyone has experienced this feeling of insecurity in relationships, not feeling worthy enough of the other's love. Reading this sonnet, containing such an eloquent description of Browning's insecurities, reminded me of my own insecurities felt in past relationships.

In Sonnet 43, Browning tells her lover all the many ways in which she loves him. "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." She spoke of how she loved him with a love that was pure and free, of how her love for him is as passionate as her childhood faith. This declaration of love was beautiful. Experiencing this kind of pure love is something that most have not and will not do in their lifetime. This alone makes what Browning has written that much more significant.