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By ‘quiet need’ Elizabeth means the simple,
domestic elements of life. In other words ‘I will
be a submissive wife to you and make your tea,
scrub the toilet etc.’ This is all the more powerful
given the fact that Elizabeth was a celebrity at
this point, yet she is willing to humble herself for
the love of her life.
The first part of each of these
two lines is fairly simple to
understand: I love you of my own
free will and I love you with
purity and goodness.
Copyright MrBruff.com
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
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43
Sun and candlelight are symbols for youth and
old age, day and night, strength and weakness. In
all of these interpretations the message in clear: I
will love you forever, through all stages of life.
This simile suggests that ‘just a people freely
choose to act morally, I freely choose to love
you’. The term ‘Right’ is capitalised as it means
the definitive right i.e. moral rightness.
Just as it is pure to modestly shy away from
people’s admiration, my love for you is pure.
Elizabeth is surely writing from her own
experience here of dealing with fame.