Compare how poets present desire in "Sonnet 29" and one other poem from the anthology.
Grade 9 Thesis
Both Barrett Browning and Shelley present speakers consumed by desire, yet where Barrett Browning ultimately rejects fantasy in favour of physical presence, Shelley remains trapped in a rhetorical plea that the beloved never answers -- suggesting that desire fulfilled and desire frustrated require fundamentally different poetic forms.
How natural imagery embodies desire
Poem A
Barrett Browning uses an extended vine/tree metaphor to present desire as organic growth that becomes smothering.
"my thoughts do twine and bud / About thee, as wild vines"
Poem B
Shelley catalogues natural pairings (rivers/ocean, winds/each other) to argue that union is the law of nature.
"nothing in the world is single"
Comparative link
Both poets root desire in the natural world, but Barrett Browning shows nature as dangerous (vines that "hide the wood") while Shelley presents it as harmonious evidence for his argument.
The speaker's agency and control
Poem A
Barrett Browning's speaker moves from passive obsession to active command -- she uses imperative verbs to demand her lover's presence.
"Renew thy presence"
Poem B
Shelley's speaker never gains control; the poem ends on a rhetorical question that receives no answer, leaving him powerless.
"What is all this sweet work worth / If thou kiss not me?"
Comparative link
Barrett Browning presents female desire as assertive and ultimately fulfilled, subverting Victorian gender norms. Shelley's male speaker, by contrast, remains in a position of supplication -- the desired kiss never comes.
Form and structure as expressions of desire
Poem A
The Petrarchan sonnet form gives Barrett Browning a volta at line 6, structurally enacting the shift from fantasy to reality.
"I do not think of thee"
Poem B
Shelley uses two mirrored stanzas with an identical closing question, creating a circular structure that suggests desire is stuck in repetition.
The repeated rhetorical question structure
Comparative link
Barrett Browning's form moves towards resolution; Shelley's circles back, reinforcing the difference between desire answered and desire endlessly deferred.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Barrett Browning presents desire as something that can be actively shaped and fulfilled through the rejection of idealisation, while Shelley's desire remains a persuasive performance with no resolution. The contrast reveals how poetic form itself can embody the emotional state of desire -- linear when it is resolved, circular when it is not.