Repetition permeates this poem. Six of the 14 lines start with the words "I love thee," and the phrase occurs two other times with a slight variation in the last line. The phrase responds to the first line in which the poet sets out to "count the ways" in which she loves "thee." Three of those lines are directly next to one another, and the next line is just one line below that cluster, making the repetition very conspicuous.
Variety is evident in the repetition of the phrase “I love thee.” The poet changes the length and the flow of the details that follow the phrase. The first time it appears, the phrase is followed by a long, sweeping declaration:
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 sentiment intensifies when it is followed by three concise lines of verse. The first two occurrences of “I love thee” are followed by "to the depth" and "to the level." The next two instances of “I love thee” are followed by "as men" and "as they." The lines that follow repeat a structure: "with the passion" and "with my childhood's faith," but they differ in the way the two lines start.
Finally, in line 12, "I love thee" appears in the middle of the line. The last line changes the phrase to "I shall but love thee." The change in the dramatic rhythm signals a change as the poem comes to the end.
This combination of repetition and variety increases the dramatic quality of the emphatic statements the poem makes about deep, passionate, and multifaceted love.
(PLATO)
