Love is closely linked with admiration in "How do I love thee?" This is partly because the speaker admires her beloved as well as loving him, but it's also because her love for him seems to have replaced several other kinds of more childish admiration that she had for other people around her.
Questions About Admiration
- Does the speaker of "How do I love thee?" look up to or admire her beloved? Is she placing the beloved on a pedestal? Explain.
- Who are the speaker's "lost saints" (12)? There are a few good ways to answer this question, so don't feel pressured to come up with the "right" answer.
- At one point in this poem, the speaker says that she loves with her "childhood's faith" (10). In what or whom did she have faith? Why? Does she still have that same faith?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Although the speaker of "How do I love thee?" felt admiration for her childhood heroes, her adult love is a transformation of that admiration into affection.