Sonnets from the Portuguese, written around 1845–1846 and first published in 1850, is a collection of 44 love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The collection was praised and widely read during the poet’s lifetime and is still popular today. Although the title suggests otherwise, the sonnets are entirely original works by Browning and were not translated from Portuguese.

The first line of Sonnet 43 is one of the most well-known lines in English poetry: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

Title

Barrett Browning was reluctant to share her poems because she felt they were too personal. Her husband, Robert Browning, believed the poems were the finest series of English sonnets since Shakespeare's time and encouraged her to publish them. To protect their privacy, Barrett decided to present the poems as translations from another language. She first wanted to call the collection "Sonnets translated from the Bosnian," but Robert suggested claiming the source was Portuguese. This choice likely reflected Barrett's admiration for the poet Camões and Robert's affectionate nickname for her: "my little Portuguese." The title also connects to a collection of letters from 1669 called Les Lettres Portugaises.

In popular culture

The first line of Sonnet 43 has been used in many titles and works.

• "Let Me Count the Ways" (Yoko Ono song), a 1980 song from Milk and Honey
• "Let Me Count the Ways" (Natural song), a 2002 song
• "Let Me Count the Ways (I Love You)", a 1976 song by The Temptations from The Temptations Do the Temptations
• "Let Me Count the Ways", a 1980 song by Tanya Tucker from Dreamlovers
• "How Do I Love Thee", a 1984 instrumental by The Shadows from Guardian Angel
• "Let Me Count the Ways", a 1984 song by Steve Hackett from Till We Have Faces
• "Let Me Count the Ways", a 1996 song by Dave Koz from Off the Beaten Path
• "How do I love thee?", from Sonnets from the Portuguese by Libby Larsen (1990)

• Let Me Count the Ways, a 1965 work by Peter De Vries
• Let Me Count the Ways, a 1988 novel by Leigh Michaels
• Let Me Count the Ways: Discovering Great Sex Without Intercourse, a 1999 book by Marty Klein
• "Let Me Count the Ways", a 2007 poem by Matthew Byrne, also appearing in The Best American Poetry 2007

• "Let Me Count the Ways", an episode of Knots Landing
• "Let Me Count the Ways", an episode of Cheers
• "Let Me Count the Ways", an episode of The Red Green Show
• "How Do I Love Thee", a fictional gameshow for newly-weds on Married… with Children

The collection also appears in the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, when it is given to Buffy by a love interest.