Sonnet 29, by Elizabeth Browning is a Petrarchan sonnet, used to emphasise how Browning craves for the presence of her lover, in an excitable and restless tone. Similarly, Love’s Philosophy by Percy Shelley is a romantic plea to his lover to seduce a lady to succumb to physical desire, which is masked by a light and joyous tone. Both poems explore desire through various means to highlight their desperation for it. Browning uses a central extended metaphor of nature to explore feelings that were unusual of typical Victorian women. The poems itself begins with an exclamatory sentence; “I think of thee!”, which emphasises her strong desire as her thoughts have been personified by a simile to “twine and bud”, as “wild vines about a tree”. This …show more content…
Nature has been personified to create a sharp parallel between the purity of nature and the purity of their love. Hence, his lover’s restraint and rejection are unnatural and unforgivable. Shelley also uses imperatives; “see” to show his frustration in not being accepted. This is further noticeable as the verbs “mix” and “mingle” are replaced with the more aggressive “clasp” to show his forceful need for physical love. Oxymoron’s have also been used to juxtapose his lover and himself; “law divine”, “waves clasp”. Religious imagery is also present to reinforce the sense that submission to Shelley is morally right and virtuous. Shelley’s position as an atheist enables us to understand this as manipulation, which is ironic as he is willingly to put aside his beliefs for the quest of his …show more content…
This indicates a highly reflective and considered line of thought. The 2 stanzas follow a similar pattern which begins with multiple examples to persuade his lover, finishing with a rhetorical question. The rhyme scheme mixes masculine rhyme; “earth”, “worth” with feminine rhyme; “single”, “mingle”, further enhancing his philosophy that masculine and feminine should “mix” and “mingle”. The poem is written in simple language, typical of Romantic poets. This simplicity echoes the purity Shelley is alluding to with his desire. Each stanza represents a single long sentence punctuated with colons and semicolons, showing in a childlike way, Shelley’s persistence in the quest for