by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861)
Translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926)
How do I love thee? Let me count the...
Language: English
Available translation(s): CHI
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. I love thee to the level of every day's Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as [they]1 turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith. I love thee with a love I [seemed]2 to lose With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)See also Karl Shapiro's parody How do I love you?
1 Steele: "men"
2 Steele: "seem"
Authorship:
- by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 43, first published 1847-50 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Sonnet", 1970-74, published 1974 [ voice, piano ], in the collection Fifty Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederic Balazs (b. 1920), "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways", published 1960 [ high voice and string quartet or chamber orchestra ], from Sonnets after Elizabeth Barrett Browning [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alice Barnett (1886 - 1975), "Sonnet", published 1918 [ high voice, piano ], from Three songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Milton Beecher (1883 - 1968), "How do I love thee?", published 1921 [ medium voice, piano ], from Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gena Branscombe (1881 - 1977), "How do I love thee?", published 1907 [ medium voice, piano ], from Love in a Life, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Noble Cain (1896 - 1977), "How do I love thee", published 1936 [ SSAATTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Cheslock (1898 - 1981), "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways" [ mezzo-soprano or tenor, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otis Herbert Colvin, jr. (b. 1923), "How do I love thee", 1952 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otis Herbert Colvin, jr. (b. 1923), "How do I love thee", 1970 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leon Dallin (b. 1918), "How do I love thee", 1953, first performed 1953 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs from the Portuguese [sung text not yet checked]
- by Blevins Davis , "How do I love thee", published 1936 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norman Dello Joio (1913 - 2008), "How do I love thee?", published 1954 [ low voice, piano ], from Songs in English [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norman Dello Joio (1913 - 2008), "How do I love thee?", published 1954 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Clarence Dickinson (1873 - 1969), "How do I love thee", 1935 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "How do I love thee", published 1910 [ medium voice and piano ], from Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 43 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Eleanor Everest Freer (1864 - 1942), "How do I love thee", published 1936 [ duet for mezzo-soprano and baritone with piano ], from opera The Brownings Go to Italy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Abel Gabert , "How do I love thee?", published 1908 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harvey Bartlett Gaul (1881 - 1945), "A Sonnet from the Portuguese", published 1926 [ TTBB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by James McDonald Gayfer (b. 1916), "How do I love thee", 1974 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Leonard Stanley Glarum (b. 1908), "How do I love thee", published 1964 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Arthur Goldsworthy (1878 - 1966), "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways", published 1932 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from How Do I Love Thee, note: portions of the text have been omitted by the composer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Forrest Goodenough (b. 1918), "How do I love thee?", published 1956 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ron A. Goodwin (b. 1925), "How do I love thee?" [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Kimball Hadley (1871 - 1937), "How do I love thee?", op. 20 no. 3, published 1900 [ high voice, piano ], from Five songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "How do I love Thee?", 2015 [ soprano and piano ], from How do I love thee? -- 5 songs for soprano and piano on sonnets by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Wesley M. Harris , "How do I love thee", 1972, first performed 1971 [ SATB chorus (with divisi) and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "How do I love thee?", op. 116 (Three Sonnets) no. 2 (1935) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franklin Hopkins (1879 - ?), "How do I love thee", published 1913 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph M. Hopkins , "How do I love thee?", published 1949 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rosalie Housman (1890? - 1949), "The 43rd Sonnet" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert William Jones (1932 - 1997), "Sonnet from the Portuguese, 43", 1972, first performed 1973 [ alto, string quartet ], from Love Song [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Kaufer (1909 - 1990), "How do I love thee", published 1951 [ voice and piano ], from Dover Beach and Other Songs, no. 13, Waukegan, Illinois: Lyric-Art [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Libby Larsen (b. 1950), "How do I love thee?", 1991 [ soprano and chamber orchestra or piano ], from Sonnets From the Portuguese , no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Edouard Lippé , "How do I love thee", published 1941 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by ?, Mrs. J. Chester Madsen , "Sonnet" [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by August Maekelberghe (1909 - 1975), "How do I love thee?", published 1970 [ SSAA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Robert Alexander Markham (b. 1898), "How do I love thee" [ soprano, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William McCauley (b. 1917), "How do I love thee?", 1967 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William J. McDaniel (b. 1918), "How do I love thee" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Mary Flournoy Passailaigue (b. 1908), "How do I love thee" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Allie Coleman Pierce , "How do I love thee", note: three lines of the sonnet have been omitted by the composer, not noted above [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frederick Piket (1903 - 1974), "How do I love thee?", published 1957 [ four-part mixed chorus, a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Protheroe (1866 - 1934), "How do I love thee", published 1913 [ medium voice, piano ], from Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold William Rhodes (1889 - 1956), "A Woman's Love", published 1919 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Franklin W. Riker , "How do I love thee", published <<1940 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Tom Vernon Ritchie (b. 1922), "How do I love thee?", 1971, first performed 1971 [ soprano, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Kurt George Roger (1895 - 1966), "How do I love thee?", 1952, first performed 1968 [ baritone, harp,and string quartet ], from Three Love Odes for Baritone, Harp, and String Quartet [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "How Do I Love Thee", 1997, published 1999, from Evidence of Things Not Seen, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Annetta Rosser (1938 - 1998), "How do I love thee?", published 1997, from Songs of Love, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Roy (1928 - 2003), "How do I love thee", published 1948 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by A. A. Smith , "How do I love thee", 1962 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Edward Stahlschmidt , "How do I love thee", 1940, note: from a letter [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lynn Steele (1951 - 2002), "Sonnet XLIII" [ soprano and flute ], from Three Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Carlos Surinach (b. 1915), "How do I love thee?", published 1966 [ voice and piano ], from Flamenco Meditations [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Tahourdin (1928 - 2009), "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways", 1968, first performed 1970 [ speaker, alto, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, tape ], from cantata Riders in Paradise [sung text not yet checked]
- by Beulah Threlkeld , "How do I love thee", 1935 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lajos Vass (b. 1927), "How do I love thee?", c1966 [ soprano and piano ], also set in Hungarian (Magyar) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harriet Ware (1877 - 1962), "How do I love thee", published 1912 [ high voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by ?, Mrs. J. Eddie Weems , "How do I love thee", from The Browning Cycle of Love Lyrics [sung text not yet checked]
- by Maude Valérie White (1855 - 1937), "How do I love thee", published 1885 [ mezzo-soprano or baritone, piano ], note: five lines have been omitted by the composer, not noted above; London: Ricordi [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juanita Hardy Wilson , "How do I love thee?", published 1957 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) , no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 43, first published 1908 ; composed by Maria Bach, as Emilie Maria von Bach, Willy Kehrer, Siegmund Schmidt, Harry Ziems.
- Also set in Hungarian (Magyar), adapted by Lőrinc Szabó (1900 - 1957) ; composed by Lajos Vass.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) (M.W. Wang) , "我有多麽愛你?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 14
Word count: 127
Wie ich dich liebe? Laß mich zählen wie
Language: German (Deutsch)  after the English
Wie ich dich liebe? Laß mich zählen wie. Ich liebe dich so tief, so hoch, so weit, als meine Seele blindlings reicht, wenn sie ihr Dasein abfühlt und die Ewigkeit. Ich liebe dich bis zu dem stillsten Stand, den jeder Tag erreicht im Lampenschein oder in Sonne. Frei, im Recht, und rein wie jene, die vom Ruhm sich abgewandt. Mit aller Leidenschaft der Leidenszeit und mit der Kindheit Kraft, die fort war, seit ich meine Heiligen nicht mehr geliebt. Mit allem Lächeln, aller Tränennot und allem Atem. Und wenn Gott es giebt, will ich dich besser lieben nach dem Tod.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926), no title, appears in Sonette aus dem Portugiesischen, no. 43, first published 1908 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861), no title, appears in Poems, in Sonnets from the Portuguese, no. 43, first published 1847-50
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Maria Bach (1896 - 1978), as Emilie Maria von Bach, "Wie ich dich liebe", 1939 [ medium voice and piano ], from Fünf Sonette, no. 5, Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek [sung text not yet checked]
- by Willy Kehrer (1902 - 1976), "Wie ich dich liebe", op. 43 (1930), first performed 1936 [ soprano and piano ], from Wie ich dich liebe. Portugiesische Sonette der Elizabeth Barrett-Browning. 9 Lieder, Thüringen : Willy-Kehrer-Archiv Schmölln [sung text not yet checked]
- by Siegmund Schmidt (b. 1939), "Wie ich dich liebe", 2006 [ vocal duet for soprano and alto with flute, violin, viola, and violoncello ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harry Ziems , "Wie ich dich liebe", from Wie ich dich liebe. Liebeslieder nach Sonetten englischer Dichtung. Nach Gedichten von Rainer Maria Rilke, Elizabeth Barret-Browning, Friedrich Bodenstedt, Ferdinand Freiligrath, William Shakespeare und Philip Sidney, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-02-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 100