How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of being and ideal grace. I love thee to the level of every day’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. I love thee freely, as men strive for right. I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! / I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of Being and Ideal Grace

The question that opens the poem—“How do I love thee?”—is an example of aporia, the expression of real or pretended doubt in order to make a point. Browning employs aporia as a rhetorical device to emphasize the intensity of love that the speaker feels for her beloved.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

‘How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways,’ or ‘Sonnet 43’ is one of Browning’s most famous poems. She is a renowned Victorian poet who managed to achieve acclaim in her lifetime. She went on to influence many British and American poets, particularly Emily Dickinson.