Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay - 1367 Words

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in 1806 in County Durham, England. She was the eldest of twelve children born to Edward Barrett Moulin Barrett and Mary Graham Clarke. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, or Ba, grew up in her family’s estate Hope End, Henfordshire. They were part of the upper-middle class, owning a successful sugar trade. Elizabeth began writing at a very early age. When she was twelve her father had her first epic poem The Battle of Marathon privately printed (Radley 15). She referred to this work as Pope’s Homer done over again, or rather undone (28). Her diary at this time in her life offered glimpses into her perceptive and expressive writing style. Three years later she became†¦show more content†¦Elizabeth suffered from many illnesses at this time. In 1838 her Uncle Samuel Barrett died and left her an inheritance substantial enough to provide her with living expenses. The following year her favorite brother Samuel nicknamed Bro, drowned. Elizabeth became depressed for some time. The 1840s saw many famous works produced by Elizabeth. Some of these include The Cry of the Children, De Profoundest and The Dead Pan. She also published Poems. Poems contained tributes to famous poets Elizabeth revered such as Robert Browning and Henry Wordsworth. In 1845 Elizabeth received her first letter from Robert Browning. He wrote in praise of her poetry. They corresponded for several months, marrying in 1846. Their marriage was not welcome by her father. Her relationship with him was never the same. The couple made their home in Florence, Italy. In Italy, Elizabeth became interested in the country’s politics. She hoped the country would unify. She expressed this feeling in her Poems before Congress, published in 1860 (25). In 1849, the Browning’s welcomed their first and only child, Robert Wiedmeman Barrett-Browning, called Pen. A year later she produced and published Sonnets from the Portuguese, her most famous work. The sonnets were a sequence of 44 sonnets recording the growth of her love for Robert. He often called her ‘my little Portuguese’ because of her dark complexion (Critical Poet). During thatShow MoreRelatedWilliam Browning And Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay1197 Words   |  5 Pagesliterary works usually describe the condition of their period directly or indirectly. The two authors, Roberts Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also expose the culture and the condition of the society of the Victorian era through their works. The authors are married couple authors of the Victorian era. Roberts Browning’s a typical literary work is My Last Duchess. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s one of the most famous work is Aurora Leigh. In the two poems, the authors m ainly focus on the differentRead MoreEssay On Elizabeth Barrett Browning955 Words   |  4 PagesElizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an English poet of the Victorian Era. She was born on March 6, 1806 at Coxhoe Hall, Durham, England. Barrett had a big family, she was the oldest out of 12 children. Her parents, Mary Graham Clarke and Edward Barrett, educated their children at home. The family made their money off of Jamaican sugar plantations and depended on slave labor. Barrett began her love for reading and writing poetry at a very young age. She began reading the classicRead MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning Essay1059 Words   |  5 PagesElizabeth Barrett Browning was born on March 6, 1806, in Coxhoe Hall, Durham, England. She was the eldest of eleven children born of Edward and Mary Moulton-Barrett (DISCovering Authors). Her father was a â€Å"possessive and autocratic man loved by his children even though he rigidly controlled their lives† (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Although he forbid his daughters to marry, he always managed to encourage their scholarly pursuits ( DISCovering Authors). Her mother, Mary Graham-Clarke, was a prosperousRead MoreThe Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Essay1304 Words   |  6 Pages Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett was born March 6, 1806 in Durham, England to Edward Barrett Moulton-Barrett and Mary Graham Clarke. She was the eldest of twelve. Her father made the family fortune from a sugar plantation. In 1809, the Barretts moved to an estate called Hope End in England. Elizabeth Barrett’s childhood was spent happily at the family’s home in England. She had no formal education, learning solely from her brother’s tutor and from her continuous reading. She managed over the yearsRead MoreSpeech And Writing Of Elizabeth Barrett Browning1002 Words   |  5 Pageslived enough to know,† -Elizabeth Barrett Browning (Aurora Leigh v. 187). In the Victorian Age, a woman s greatest duty was that of being a wife and a mother. Women were told that they must be graceful, quiet, dependent, passive and to love with an absence of passion. They were of little individual worth apart from their husbands. A woman s enthusiastic interest in a higher, more a dvanced education was most definitely frowned upon by society. Elizabeth Barrett Browning outrightly questioned andRead MoreThe Cry Of The Children By Elizabeth Barrett Browning1368 Words   |  6 PagesElizabeth Barrett Browning’s â€Å"The Cry of the Children† is a poignant look into the horrid practice of child labor that took place in the mines and factories of 1840’s industrial England. Browning paints such a vivid, disturbing picture that she aroused the conscience of the entire nation. A new historicist perspective into this poem will help understand why Browning decided to take a stand and speak up for these children through her work. The poem opens with,† Do ye hear the children weeping,Read MoreSonnet 21 By Elizabeth Barrett Browning965 Words   |  4 PagesSonnet 21 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a poem where the speaker is questioning her partner s love for her. Barrett Browing uses a Petrarchan line scheme and iambic pentameter. The tone of the poem is riddled with raw emotion, uncertainty, and vulnerability. Throughout Sonnet 21, Barrett Browning demonstrates that the bloom of love, like spring flowers, is fleeting. The poem opens with, Say over again, and yet once over again,/ That thou dost love me (Barrett Browning 1-2). The opening lineRead MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning s The Cry Of The Children1067 Words   |  5 PagesElizabeth Barrett Browning’s â€Å"The Cry of the Children† Like many writers in the Victorian Age, Elizabeth Barrett Browning used her poetry as a platform to reach a larger audience to bring awareness to contemporary social issues (Greenblatt, â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning† pp. 1,123). Common issues that were written about during the Victorian Age included inequality between men and women, child labor and the American abolitionist movement (1,123). According to the first footnote referenced in her poemRead MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning s The Battle Of Marathon1008 Words   |  5 PagesElizabeth Barrett Browning was born on March 6, 1806 in England. She was the first of twelve children. Her family were wealthy sugar plantation owners on the British held island of Jamaica Elizabeth was encouraged by her mother to learn several different languages and by the time she was six she knew French, Latin and Greek. In 1816, at age 10, Elizabeth was so proficient in French, she composed a classical French tragedy, Regulus. By the time she was twelve she was writing short novels andRead MoreElizabeth Barrett Browning s Love909 Words   |  4 PagesElizabeth s Love What is Love? Love can be described as an intense emotional feeling with the ability to change the life of the giver and the recipient of this profound emotion. Love can be described as a verb or action. Love can be experienced in varying levels of intensity. Elizabeth Barrett Browning credits her love for her husband as the power that headed her emotionally, physically, and spiritually. EEB began writing at the age of twelve, but two years later, she was confined