Question

How do the speaker's references to the "soul" and "ideal Grace" in lines 3 and 4 of Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning affect the way readers view the love between the speaker and her beloved? They make readers see their love as purely physical. They make reader see their love in spiritual terms. They make readers see their love as entirely intellectual. They make readers see their love in scientific terms.

Answer 1

Answer:

They make reader see their love in spiritual terms.

Explanation:

Line 3 and 4 of Elizabeth Barrett's sonnet 43 (How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways) are;

"My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the Ends of Being and ideal Grace."

In these lines she wants to tell her beloved and readers that she loves her beloved as much as her soul can reach and where she feels out of sight. She is measuring her love in term of the reach of her soul which is infinite.

Ideal Grace is somewhat ambiguous here, but it most probably means "to the perfection". So we can interpret she loves her beloved to the perfection. Since Elizabeth Barrett was very religious, Ideal Grace may also mean to some religious concept as interpreted by herself.

Soul being a completely spiritual concept, so reference to soul makes the reader view her love in spiritual terms.