Sonnet 14 Outer Explication

Sonnet 14If thou must love me

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Arnesto, Donita

Caguitla, Anthea Sarah

Gutierrez, Tracey Antaeus

Javier, Frances Aina Beatrice

2Bio6

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

OUTER EXPLICATION

1. The poem has 3 quatrains and a couplet.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

Quatrain

Quatrain

Quatrain

Couplet

2. There are 14 lines in the poem.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

1

23

4

567

8

910

131211

14

3. There rhyme scheme of the poem is:A C

B DB CA D

A CB EBA

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

AB

C

BA

A

BB

AC

D

D

E

C

4. The first word in each line starts with a capital letter.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

5. The first word of every sentence such as “Do” and

“Neither” and the word “Beloved” are the only words which are capitalized inside the lines.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

6. There are 10 syllables per line.

If/ thou/ must/ love/ me/, let/ it/ be/ for/ nought/Ex/cept/ for/ love's/ sake/ on/ly/. Do/ not/ say/'I/ love/ her/ for/ her/ smile/—her/ look/—her/ way/Of/ spea/king/ gent/ly/,—for/ a/ trick/ of/ thought/That/ falls/ in/ well/ with/ mine/, and/ cer/tes/ brought/A/ sense/ of/ plea/sant/ ease/ on/ such/ a/ day/'—For/ these/ things/ in/ them/selves/, Be/lov/ed/, may/Be/ changed/, or/ change/ for/ thee/,—and/ love/, so/ wrought/,May/ be/ un/wrought/ so/. Nei/ther/ love/ me/ for/Thine/ own/ dear/ pi/ty's/ wi/ping/ my/ cheeks/ dry/,—A/ crea/ture/ might/ for/get/ to/ weep/, who/ bore/Thy/ com/fort/ long/, and/ lose/ thy/ love/ there/by/!But/ love/ me/ for/ love's/ sake/, that/ e/ver/more/Thou/ mayst/ love/ on/, through/ love's/ e/ter/ni/ty/. 

7. Predominantly, the poem uses one syllable words.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

8. Words with 2 syllables such as except, only, speaking, gently, certes,

pleasant, themselves, unwrought, neither, pity’s, wiping, creature,

forget, comfort, and thereby are used in the poem.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

9. The only word that contains the most number of syllables

is the word “eternity”.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's e/ter/ni/ty/. 

10. The poem predominantly uses the present tense.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

Subject Verb

(You) let

(You) Do say

(You) love

(You) love

11. The poem is written in the active voice.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

12. The long sounds in the poem are:a – sake, say, way, day, may, changed, change, mayste – me, speaking, ease, these, thee, dear, cheeks, creature, weep, bei – I, smile, mine, neither, thine, wiping, dry, might, thy, therebyo – only, evermoreu – look, lose

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

13. There are some Old English words that are used in the poem

such as: thou, thee, thy, and mayst.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

14. Dashes are used in five lines of the poem. 2 dashes in L3, 1 dash in L4, 1 dash in L6, 1 dash in L8 and 1 dash in

L10, making a total of 6 dashes.

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

15. Personification is utilized in the selection such as:

Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry –L10

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

16. Dependent clauses are used in the poem such as:

If thou must love me –L1That falls in well with mine –L5who bore Thy comfort long –L11 to L12

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

17. Prepositional phrases are found in the selection such as:

for noughtExcept for love's sakeOf speakingof thoughtwith mineof pleasant ease

on such a dayin themselvesfor thee for Thine own dear pitythrough love's eternity

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

Not used as preposition

18. The poem contains adjectives such as:

love’s sakeher smileher lookher waya tricka sensepleasant easesuch a day

these thingsThine own dear pity’smy cheeksA creatureThy comfortthy loveLove’s eternity

If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Except for love's sake only. Do not say

'I love her for her smile—her look—her way

Of speaking gently,—for a trick of thought

That falls in well with mine, and certes brought

A sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—

For these things in themselves, Beloved, may

Be changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,

May be unwrought so. Neither love me for

Thine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—

A creature might forget to weep, who bore

Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!

But love me for love's sake, that evermore

Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity. 

19. The poem contains adverbs such as:onlynot

gentlywellsodrylong

If thou must love me, let it be for noughtExcept for love's sake only. Do not say'I love her for her smile—her look—her wayOf speaking gently,—for a trick of thoughtThat falls in well with mine, and certes broughtA sense of pleasant ease on such a day'—For these things in themselves, Beloved, mayBe changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought,May be unwrought so. Neither love me forThine own dear pity's wiping my cheeks dry,—A creature might forget to weep, who boreThy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!But love me for love's sake, that evermoreThou mayst love on, through love's eternity.