Everything you need to understand or teach Sonnet XXIX by
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Barrett Browning's first statement
("I think of thee!") is, in part, the subject of the poem, for
the entire sonnet attempts to imitate, through its imagery and
sound, the dynamics of her mind dwelling on Browning, her fond
yet absent lover. (Though readers customarily use the term
"speaker" to note the difference between a poet and the voice
behind his or her work, in the case of "Sonnet XXIX" one can
speak of Barrett Browning as the speaker, since the poems are
deliberate and undisguised addresses to her husband.) Barrett
Browning compares her thoughts of Browning to "wild vines" that
"twine and bud" about a tree here, the "tree" is Browning. Like
vines, Barrett Browning's thoughts of Browning grow more profuse
with the passing of time; eventually, they grow to such length
and density (as they "Put out broad leaves") that they cover the
tree that gives them a place... View more of the Sonnet XXIX
Summary