Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s sonnet ‘If Thou Must Love Me’ is autobiographical in nature. The poem expresses the poet’s own views regarding ideal love. It was written as her demand for unconditional love from her lover and future husband Robert Browning, a famous Victorian poet.
 
In this sonnet, Elizabeth asks Robert to love her for love’s sake and not for things like her beauty, gentleness or way of speaking. She thinks that these things are transitory (short-lived) and thus would fade away with time, making their love fall apart. So, she demands genuine and sincere love so that they can continue to love each other through love’s eternity.