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The passion is a religious term, referring to the suffering Jesus went through before his
crucifixion. Beaten, whipped, flogged and nailed to a cross, this word is deliberately used at
this point of the poem to introduce a theme of suffering. What Elizabeth is essentially saying
is that she will love Robert in the bad times, just as Christ remained faithful to God as he
went through the agony of the passion.
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I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
Elizabeth is referring here to
her lifetime of illness and
invalidity which she
experienced from the age of
15. She is saying that the
intensity of feeling she felt in
sickness is the same intensity
she now feels in her love for
Robert. Again this is a very
negative image, surely
pointing out that Elizabeth
knows her relationship will
contain problems, but she is
more than happy to embrace
them. She is not going into this
relationship with unrealistic
expectations.
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This line is a Biblical reference
to Matthew 18: 2-14 ‘Unless
you change or become like
little children you will not
enter the kingdom of heaven’.
This Bible verse speaks of
accepting Jesus with your
heart, not trying to
intellectualise or figure
everything out. In the same
way, Elizabeth is loving Robert
with a blind, trusting and
child-like faith. Again this
echoes earlier lines which
suggest that this relationship is
a risk – Elizabeth does not
really know Robert that well
but is committing her whole
life to him.