a. As people are embarrassed by praise This is the correct option.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806 - 1861) wrote this poem "How Do I Love Thee?" to show her unconditional love to the poet Robert Browning. The title of the poem is a question and the answer is given through the poem. So, she loves him purely and she tells him he should not get embarrassed by her love: "...I love thee freely, as men strive for right // I love thee purely, as they turn from praise..." Her love is genuine and she does not want anything in return.
These options are not right:
b. As people do things without needing praise ( Praise is a feeling not a need. In the poem, praise is related to getting too much attention).
c. As people usually do in spite of themselves ( People do not feel praise involuntarily. Something happens and this makes them feel praise).
d. As people rarely do ( The focus is not set on any frequent event , but on the loved one's feelings of embarrassment).
