The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. "How Do I Love Thee (Sonnet 43)." Sonnets from the Portuguese (Forgotten Books, 2018).

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

"How Do I Love Thee" is one of the most well-read love poems in the English language, and the most famous poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Browning was born in England in 1806 and began writing poetry at the young age of eleven. Her first collection of poetry appeared in 1838, and in the 1840s she participated in a literary society composed of other prolific writers. She was also politically active, advocating for the abolition of slavery and the strengthening of child labor laws. Upon the death of William Wordsworth, Browning was considered alongside Alfred, Lord Tennyson for the title of Poet Laureate.

Her 1844 collection Poems caught the attention of writer Robert Browning, and the two courted and married in secret. "How Do I Love Thee" is generally interpreted as a love poem from Elizabeth to Robert, though the poem's speaker and addressee are never explicitly stated. This guide uses female pronouns for the speaker and male pronouns for the addressee, but the poem's primary characters remain open to interpretation. The poem begins with the rhetorical question, "How do I love thee?" and proceeds to explain the numerous ways the speaker cares for and cherishes her beloved.