Poetry analysis on "How Do I Love Thee" and "Sonnet XVIII"

"Sonnet: How Do I Love Thee" by: Elizabeth Barrett Browning & "Sonnet XVIII" by: William Shakespeare <Tab/>Both, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee" and William Shakespeare's "Sonnet XVIII," explore the universal theme of eternal, transcending love. Similarly, both sonnets are confessions of love towards a male subject. Browning's is a passionate love; one that the Greeks referred to as eros. "Eros is Love, who overpowers the mind, …

…yet another human attribute of his beloved, with a trait of summer. The author then assures his beloved that his "eternal summer shall not fade." Through this, he uses summer as a metaphor for beauty. The speaker brags that his beloved will never suffer the same fate as a summer's day, because he has dedicated him to "eternal lines." This adds the theme of poetry to a sonnet that had, until now, been about love.