The greeting card lyrics and the sonnet “How Do I Love Thee?” conveys two ideas of love that can be compared and contrasted. The greeting card lyrics shows love as an emotion of trust and warmth, a directed expression towards someone that is specific, clear and simple, yet deep and emotional. The rhythm of the greeting card lyrics is calm and there is slight rhyme such as “Because you’re a part of my favorite memories as well as my most important dreams.” The mood and tone is very romantic and passionate, stating lyrics such as, “Why Do I Love You So Much? Because I trust you more than anyone in the world.”
The Italian sonnet follows a different structure in which it follows a Petrarchan sonnet pattern, consisting of 14 lines and a significant rhyme scheme. This sonnet conveys a formal, sensual, deep and soul-filled love. The repetition of the speaker saying “I love thee” brings to light the rhythm of the poem. It is also a hyperbole in a sense where it is an exaggeration of the phrase, used to further show readers the emotion of how strong her love that she is trying to convey through her poem and the usage of this phrase. The speaker states in her poem, “I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight.” This shows a significance in her expression of love being that she is comparing it to something spiritual. Love expands through her soul and body.
