Speaker
The speaker’s gender is never clearly stated in the poem. However, as biographers have confirmed that the sonnets in the volume were dedicated to Robert Browning, it is generally assumed that the speaker is Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself. The poet/speaker is declaring her love for her husband and describing the various nuances of her feelings. The speaker’s feelings are complex and reveal insights into her character as the sonnet progresses. She is a religious person who has suffered disappointments in her life, contrasting the value of her lover with those who are no longer in her favor. Her love is both mystical and practical, as her lover is a source of both a powerful, otherworldly passion and the comfort one finds in the mundane things in life.
Listener
Once again, the gender is unspecified. One may assume that the subject of the sonnet is also the listener, as the speaker addresses this person directly as “thee.” The listener is deeply loved by the speaker. As the speaker names all the different ways in which she loves him, one also learns more about the speaker’s character and life experiences. Therefore, the listener is a sort of vehicle for the speaker’s self-expression. He holds a mirror to the speaker, allowing her to see who she truly is and reveal the personal experiences that have shaped her love with brutal honesty.
Men
The speaker uses the term “men” to refer to mankind. She compares the way she loves her husband to the free and natural manner in which people attempt to do the right thing in life. Her love is also humble—she does not ask to be commended for her pure and raw feelings, just as people resist praise when they have done the right thing for humanity.
God
The speaker makes a brief reference to God at the sonnet’s conclusion. While her love seems to be of her own volition, she feels that only God can determine whether she will be able to love after she is physically gone. If God is willing, she can and will love her husband even more after her death.
