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'XIV (If thou must love me, let it be for nought)' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning


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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 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 cheek 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 may'st love on, through love's eternity.

Editor 1 Interpretation

If Thou Must Love Me: A Critical Interpretation

Wow. Just wow. Elizabeth Barrett Browning really knows how to write a love poem that packs a punch. And XIV (If thou must love me, let it be for nought) is no exception. This poem is so much more than just a love poem – it's a commentary on what true love should be, and what it shouldn't be.

Let's dive into the poem and explore its themes and meanings.

The Poem

First, let's take a look at the poem itself:

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, Belovèd, 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.

Right off the bat, we can tell that this isn't your typical love poem. Barrett Browning isn't interested in love for superficial reasons – she's interested in love for love's sake only. And she warns her beloved not to love her for any of the usual reasons: her smile, her look, her way of speaking. These things are all subject to change, and Barrett Browning knows that true love can't be based on something as fleeting as physical appearance or personality quirks.

But why is this so important to Barrett Browning? What is she trying to say about love?

Love for Love's Sake

At its core, XIV is a poem about the nature of true love. Barrett Browning is arguing that true love should be unconditional – it should be based on nothing other than love itself. That's why she implores her beloved to love her "for nought / Except for love's sake only." Anything else – her looks, her personality, her circumstances – is just window dressing.

But why is this such a big deal? Why can't love be based on something other than love itself?

Well, think about it. If love is based on something else – let's say, physical appearance – what happens when that thing changes? What happens if the person you love gains or loses weight, or develops a scar, or starts to go gray? If your love is based on something as superficial as appearance, then it's not really love at all – it's just lust.

And even if your love is based on something more substantial – like personality – that, too, is subject to change. People grow and evolve over time; what you love about someone today might not be what you love about them tomorrow. So if your love is based on something other than love itself, it's not sustainable.

That's why Barrett Browning is so insistent that her beloved love her for love's sake only. True love is unconditional, and it endures even when everything else changes.

Love and Pity

But there's another reason why Barrett Browning warns her beloved not to love her for anything other than love's sake: because she doesn't want to be loved out of pity.

She writes:

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!

Here, she's cautioning her beloved against loving her because he feels sorry for her. She doesn't want to be loved out of pity, because pity is fleeting. It might make someone feel good for a little while, but eventually, it fades away. And when it does, what's left? If someone loves you out of pity, what happens when the pity is gone?

Furthermore, if someone loves you out of pity, it's not really love at all. Love should be a choice, not an obligation. If someone loves you because they feel like they have to, then it's not really love – it's just a sense of duty.

Love's Eternity

But why is all of this so important to Barrett Browning? What does she hope to achieve by asking her beloved to love her for love's sake only?

Well, the answer lies in the final line of the poem:

But love me for love's sake, that evermore
    Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity.

Barrett Browning is arguing that true love lasts forever. It endures even when everything else falls away. And if you love someone for love's sake only, then your love will endure – because love is eternal.

But what does that mean, exactly? What is love's eternity?

It's a tricky concept to pin down, but I think what Barrett Browning is getting at is that love transcends time. It's not bound by the constraints of our mortal lives. When we die, our bodies might decay and our souls might move on – but love remains. It remains in the memories of those we've loved, and it remains as a force in the universe. Love is eternal, because it's not really tied to our physical bodies or our earthly lives.

And if we love someone for love's sake only, then our love can transcend time, too. We can love someone for eternity – not because of what they look like or how they act, but simply because we love them. And that love will endure long after we're gone.

Conclusion

So there you have it – XIV (If thou must love me, let it be for nought) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. It's a poem about true love, about the importance of loving someone for love's sake only, and about the eternal nature of love.

But it's also more than that. It's a reminder to all of us that true love is unconditional. It's not based on what someone looks like or how they act – it's based on the essence of who they are. And if we can love someone for who they are, then our love can endure forever.

So the next time you find yourself falling in love, remember XIV. Remember that true love is about more than just appearances or personality quirks – it's about the essence of who someone is. And if you can love someone for love's sake only, then your love can last a lifetime.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

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.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem XIV, "If thou must love me, let it be for nought," is a beautiful and timeless piece that speaks to the true nature of love. In this poem, Browning implores her lover to love her not for any superficial reasons, but for the sake of love itself. She argues that love based on external factors such as appearance or personality traits is not true love, as these things can change over time. Instead, she asks her lover to love her for the eternal nature of love itself.

The poem begins with the line "If thou must love me, let it be for nought," which sets the tone for the rest of the piece. Browning is essentially saying that if her lover must love her, then it should be for no reason other than love itself. She goes on to caution against loving her for any external reasons, such as her smile, her look, or her way of speaking. These things may be pleasing to her lover now, but they are not the foundation of true love.

Browning argues that love based on external factors is not sustainable. These things can change over time, and if her lover's love is based solely on them, then it may fade away as well. She writes, "For these things in themselves, Beloved, may / Be changed, or change for thee,—and love, so wrought, / May be unwrought so." In other words, if her lover's love is based on these things, then it may not last.

Browning also cautions against loving her out of pity. She writes, "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!" She argues that if her lover's love is based on pity, then it may not be true love either. Pity is a fleeting emotion, and if her lover's love is based solely on it, then it may fade away as well.

Instead, Browning asks her lover to love her for love's sake. She writes, "But love me for love's sake, that evermore / Thou mayst love on, through love's eternity." She argues that true love is eternal and unchanging. It is not based on external factors or fleeting emotions, but on the very nature of love itself. If her lover loves her for love's sake, then their love will endure forever.

Overall, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem XIV is a beautiful and timeless piece that speaks to the true nature of love. She argues that love based on external factors or fleeting emotions is not true love, and that true love is based on the eternal nature of love itself. Her words are a reminder that true love is not something that can be bought or earned, but something that is given freely and unconditionally.

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