| Individuals
are born with several different types of mindsets
and approaches to how they perceive and react
to societal norms. In situations where most of
society abides by what is presented to them, some
individuals may stand out. In this regard, Elizabeth
Barrette Browning is certainly one individual
who has stood out.
With both, her moralistic as well as her literary
armory on her side, Elizabeth certainly does have
the status of an individual worthy of having her
literary works canonized. This is because she
was a poet who expressed elements like rhythm
and spontaneity, sentimentalism, and protested
against oppression of other human beings.
Though one cannot really assert that Elizabeth
was explicitly committed to political poetry,
it can be said that she considered it important
to her as a poet, in addition to her ability to
express romantic sentiments through her work (Elizabeth
Barrette Browning (a), 2004).
Deviating from the societal expectations of her
time, Elizabeth was against slavery. Her resentment
for slavery was particularly known when her father
wanted to send her younger siblings to his plantations
to work (Dally, 1989, 21-25). It was at about
this time that she wrote ‘The Seraphim and
Other Poems’ in (1838). This was presented
with grand style in the form of a Greek Classical
Tragedy.
Elizabeth’s technique employed was unique,
and indeed was a result of her interest in Greek
studies. Prior to this, Elizabeth studied Hebrew
on her own so that she could read the Old Testament.
This was because of the fact that she was interested
in Christian ways of life, and enriched her knowledge
by doing so (Elizabeth Barrette Browning (b),
2004).
In addition to this, Elizabeth helped in services
of the church in every manner possible. However,
it is not only for this that she should be remembered,
as it is her literary work has indeed left and
indelible mark in the minds of readers who have
picked up her poetry.
Elizabeth’s poetry was indeed enough to
entertain the poet Robert Browning. He was particularly
interested in one poem that she wrote in her collection
of poems, simply named ‘Poems’. This
was indeed significant to note, as a poet who
takes interest in the works of another poet means
that there is something to be valued.
The value is certain, as in Elizabeth’s
poems there is a heavy influence of Shakespeare,
and this is because she was keen on his works
from a very young age. Indeed, she was interested
in Shakespearean works much before the age of
ten. By the time she was twelve she wrote her
first poem. This was influenced by works such
as the ‘Lost paradise’ too. However,
her influence switched from this to Greek literature,
particularly Greek Tragedy’. Greek drama
fascinated Elizabeth, and hence, she began writing
her poetry accordingly.
Aside from the Greek literature that greatly
influenced Elizabeth’s work is the fact
that she was innovative. One of her major works
‘Aurora Leigh’ (1857) demonstrates
her innovativeness through her novel-poem form
that her work takes (McSweeney, 1993, 18-23).
This poem actually tells the reader/listener a
story in the form of a poem (Huang, 1997). Reinforcing
the genius about this innovativeness in Elizabeth’s
work is the fact that there are other prominent
literary figures that followed this approach.
Few works following the novel-poem set include:
Robert Browning’s The Ring and the Book,
The Inn Album (1875), and Red Cotton Nightcap
Country (1873), and Arthur Hugh Clough’s
Bothie of Tober-na-Vuolich (1848) and Amours de
Voyage (1862) (Isaacs, 1992).
Aside from the popularity of Elizabeth’s
novel-poem set, a major characteristic of her
work also includes the fact that it was symbolic.
An example of this are the terms she uses in her
poems or the names she gave them. An example of
this is ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’.
Here, the Portuguese was no one but herself, as
Robert Browning referred to Elizabeth as his ‘little
Portuguese’ because of her dark complexion.
Apart from the symbolism in her poems, Elizabeth
is known for her spontaneity as well. There is
a high degree of liveliness in most of her work,
though there are several that are sentimental.
In fact, it must be noted that the sentimental
ones are mainly the ones that she had written
secretly and stored away. Most of them were published
after she married Robert Browning, as these expressed
her love for him (Winwar, 1950, 15-20).
In addition to her sentimental and rhythmical
works, Elizabeth’s position on social injustice
was also known through her poetry. She had expressed
her voice for freedom for Italy and other oppressed
nations. This certainly reflects the way that
she felt about slavery too. However, this is not
expressed explicitly because of her general rejection
of social oppression (Donaldson, 1993, 5-18).
Elizabeth’s views of social oppression,
more specifically refer to gender issues. However,
these are tenderly depicted with most of them
deciphered by reading between the lines. Examples
of this are visible in ‘Sonnets from the
Portuguese’. The reason why this collection
of poems is a good example is because it reflects
the manner in which Elizabeth as a woman had to
conceal her feelings (The Victorian Sonnet, 2004).
Though this may have been the most logical thing
to have done prior to marrying Robert, in contrast
to contemporary times one may not conceal such
works of a loved one. It must be noted that these
poems were also written during the Victorian period,
which was a period in which women expressed themselves
in the most subtle ways (The Victorian Sonnet,
2004).
Critics hold that this period was one in which
women were rather self indulgent, and on the whole
this period witnessed poet over-expressing themselves.
However, this can be argued against severely.
This is because works during this period were
ones in which poets demonstrated immense poetic
skill. Whether or not one wishes to term these
as over-expressed, inferior or lacking intellectual
content is another matter. However, the main point
to focus on is the gracefulness with which the
content is presented (The Victorian Sonnet, 2004).
Women’s poetry during this era did largely
focus on issues that were relevant to themselves,
and it may even be asserted that there was indeed
a great deal of such works at that time, but when
each of these poems are looked at on an individual
platform one can see the uniqueness in each of
them. Since there are many poetic with similarities
to Elizabeth’s work during this period,
and several that are literarily canonized, Elizabeth’s
work falls into the same category (Isaacs, 1992).
Indeed, many of the poetic works during this period
were also referred to as chaotic and confused.
Elizabeth’s work is said to be not far behind
these, and since there are several works of the
Victorian period that are honored today, so do
Elizabeth’s works hold similar distinction
(Isaacs, 1992).
Along with this distinction, also come unusual
characteristics that leave Elizabeth standing
alone out of the many poets of her time. Though
she was one to follow Shakespeare and many other
dominant literary/poetic figures, she was deviant
in a sense that her poems broke the norms.
An example of this is her short poems turning
out to be rather long. It is apparent from this
that Elizabeth had a problem controlling herself.
Elizabeth would also engulf herself and her husband
in her work, which he often felt was her means
of expressing her love for him with the many sentimental
works she composed (Isaacs, 1992).
Certainly, she dedicated a great of her sentimental
genius to her husband. However, he was not the
only one to notice this in her work as there are
prominent figures in the literary world that have
had a good word for Elizabeth and her work. One
in particular is Virginia Woolf. She once said
that Elizabeth “was inspired by a flash
of true genius when she rushed into the drawing-room
and said that here, where we live and work is
the true place for the poet” (Isaacs, 1992).
This was another indication of how feminist Elizabeth’s
work was. The fact that she produced all her work
from her home, where she lived, tells the story
of a woman especially in the times that she lived.
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