Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Elizabeth Barrett - Sonnet 29

    Uploaded by

    Marcelo Coelho
    8 views7 pages

    Original Title

    Elizabeth Barrett_Sonnet 29

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    8 views7 pages

    Elizabeth Barrett - Sonnet 29

    Uploaded by

    Marcelo Coelho

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 7
    “Many poems have been writen about love: ture ils eauses, is effets, is beginnings, is end- inge—hut Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Porrugueseisunique in the history of Eng- Tish literature for the means by whieh the sonnets ‘were eventually published forall dhe world to read. According to Margaret Fosters biography Etizabeth Barret Browning, three yeas ater her 1846 mar- riage to fellow poet Rober Browning, Barett Browning was listening to her husband rail against “personal” poetry which, presumably, could not handle the greater and more complex themes that he felt poetry should. She then surprised her hus- brand withthe question, “Do you know once wrote some sonnets about yo?" and then showed him the forty-four sonnets she had composed during their ‘courtship. Astounded by their beauty and power, Browning insisted that they be published, and in 1850, Barratt Browning's Sonnets from the Por- ruguese was read by countless more peopl than the Sonnets’ originally intended audience of one While the most famous line of all Barrett Browning's poetry is found in “Sonnet XLII (How do I love thee? Let me count the ways"), all of the poems in Sonnets from the Portuguese reveal her agile mind that explores the nature of love and its effects on her. “Sonnet XIX," ike several of its companions, offers Browning a limps of his beloved when she fs not in is pres= fence: beginning with the statement “T think of thee.” the poem depicts the workings of Baret Browning's mind as she anticipates her husband's Sonnet XXIX Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1850 Elizabeth Barret Browning arival. Although modeen readers were not, of course, considered by Barrett Browning as she wrote her poems to Browning, they can still ap- prciate the skill and force of er verse over 150 years late. 7 as Elizabeth Barrett Browning ws born in Durham, England, on March 6, 1806, the oldest of her p cents’ twelve children. Her father, Edward Boulton Barret, was a sharp businessman who made a for ‘tune from a number of sugar plantations in Jamaica, Barrett was very ster, and he ruled his home with absolute authority; his household law forbidding any of his children to marry caused a great deal of strife. Barrett Browning grew up in Hope End, her family's country home near the Malvern Hill. As child, she wrote a number of poems: her earliest known poem was written when she was eights a Dintday git for her mother. For he fifteenth birth- day, her Father ad one of her poems (The Bautle ‘of Marathon) privately printed. Her fst brush with sorow, however, occured in 1828 when her mother, Mary, suddenly died. After the abolition of slavery in Jamaica, the Bares” fortunes declined, and they relocated to London in 1837. By the time she had moved to London, Barrett Browning's health was poor. As a child, she had suffered a spinal injury and shown signs ofa lung condition that was never fly diagnosed the damp climate of London only exacerbated her illnesses. Many remedies were proposed, and in 1838, she was moved to Torquay. where the sea air would, presumably, soothe her lungs. However, the tip proved a tragic one when her favorite brother, Ea ‘ward (who had accompanied her athe insistence), {drowned ina boating accident on his way back to London from her new residence. Feeling responsi= ble for his death, Barrett Browning became 3 recluse and practically an invalid. She returned to London in 1841, where she rarely left her room and became dependent on morphine—a dependency that would continue forthe rest of er lle In 1844, her two-volume collection Poems was published; while her verses brought her fa. vorable ertical attention, her work also brought her the man who would eventually woo, win, and ‘marry her: Robert Browning. Browning (who had yet to make his reputation asa poet) was 90 im pressed by her work that he wrote to her. Over the fourse of the next Few months, he and Barrett Browning wrote to each other almost every day until they finally met on May 20, 1845, and dis ‘covered that they were already in love. More t= ters (over 500 in al) and visits continued until the to were secretly marred on September 12, 1846. Fearing the wrath of Barrett Browning's father, the newlyweds fled to Florence. Though the Kalin cli= mate greatly improved Barrett Browning's health, her father never forgave her, and she found her self disnherited. She and her faher were never reconeiled. Apart from a few short visits, Barrett ‘Browning remained in Italy forthe rst of her life: in 1849, she gave bint to her only child: her son, Penini In 1880, Barret Browning's Sonnets from the Portguese were published. Although they had been writen earlier as a private gift to Browning (sho called her his “te Portuguese" due 0 her olive complexion), her husband was so moved by the forty-four sonnets that he fet they should not bbe denied to the world, Barrett Browning ac (quiresed, and this collection stands as her greatest and most well-known achievement, Other signti= cant works include Casa Guidi Windows (1856), a politcal poem in which she expressed her suppert forthe Florentine nationalist movement and Aurora Leigh (1859), an experimental verse narrative, She ded on June 2, 1861, and was buried in Florence. Browning published a colletion of his wife's po etry in 1866, just as his own poetic career was at its height Lines 1-4 Barrett Browning’s first statement (*T think of the!") is, in prt, the subject ofthe poem, forthe entire sonnet attempts to imitate, through its im agery and sound, the dynamics of her mind ‘dwelling on Browning, her fond yet absent lover. (Though readers customarily “use the term “speaker” tonote the difference between a poet and the voice behind his or her werk, in the case of “Sonnet XXIX" one ean speak of Barrett Brown- ing asthe speaker, since the pocms are deliberate and undisguised addresses to er husband.) Burett Browaing compares her thoughts of Browning to ild vines" that “twine and bud” about tee— here, the “ice” is Browning. Like vines, Barrett Browning's thoughks of Browning grow more peo= fuse with the passing of time; evenualy, they grow to such length and density (as they “Pat out broad leaves") that they cover the tre that gives them a place to flourish. “Soon there's naught to see" she ‘explains, except for the “sragsing green” of the vines; in a metaphorical sense, Barrett Browning is suggesting that her thoughts eventually seem to overpower in intensity the thing that allows them to grow in the frst place. Her longing for Brown- ing seems 19 overshadow Browning himself, 2s ‘eventually the “straggling green” on a tee “hides the wood. Lines 5-7 Lester words her be mistaken for an expres- son of romantic delight with her cutent situation, Barret Brosing immediately qualities her previ= ‘ous idea, Calling Browning “my palm tree” as @ sign of playful affetion, Baret Browning insists that she could never regard her thoughts (however “wild” and “broad”) as a substitute for Browning himself. He is “dearer, better” than aay thoughts about him, regardless of how beautifully expressed in verse those thoughts may be. Lines 7-1 Barrett Browning's thinking about Browning has (naturally) inreased her desire to see him, 50 Media Adaptations | Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Po -uguese is included inthe 1997 audio collection Robert and Elizabeth Browning: How Do I Lose Thee? These cassties feature a history of the Brownings’ courtship, interspersed with perfor. rances of both poets’ work read by Steven Pacey and Joanna David, The collection i avail. able from the Audio Partners Publishing Cor Poration she asks him to “Renew thy presence” and face her Extending the metaphor offered in lines I~, she commands Browning fo act lke a “strong tee” and “Restle” is “boughs.” Doing so will set thy trunk. all bare” and cause her though of him (the “bands of greenery’) to “Drop heavily down." The image ‘ofa toe shaking ts owa boughs in an effort to fee itself ofthe vines that “insphere” it reflects Barrett [Browning's opinion of Browning as a strong, mas cline figure who, when “all bate." is beautiful ia his simplicity and freedom from her encumbering thoughts. Indeed, Barrett Browning seems to hold litle regard for her own thoughts, since she wishes these to be “burst, shattered, everywhere” once Browning appears before her. Lines 12-14 Barrett Browning concludes the poem exe pressing the hope that she will soon be in the “deep joy" of Browning's presence and find herself un- er his “shadow; as the shade of a tre provides comfort to those Who sit under it, so will Brown- ing's overpowering self provide comfort for Bs ett Browning, who even describes the “ait” under her “palm tree” as “new.” Her word is a better place when Browning isi it, and she is willing to remain overshadowed by the force and power of heer beloved. Finally, she tells Browning that she i willing to sit in his shadow because doing so will fre her from constantly thinking of him: she longs forthe time when she willbe “too neat” him and ‘where thoughts of him will be unnecessary. Te “pepe f SESE Study } + Research the critical receptions of Elizabeth Barett Browning and her husband, Rober. To ‘what extent do biographers and ris use the Brownings’ marriage to better understand the poetry produced by this famous couple? To what degree do modem readers think one poet inl enced the work ofthe other? + *Sonnet XXIX" is one ofthe forty-four sonnets that comprise the Sonnets from the Portuguese ‘Compose a sonnet sequence of four or five po- ems in which you trace a speaker's emotional fr mental activity as Elizabeth does in er son- not sequence, + Research the Victorian era to lear about the book-buying publi: Who bought books? Specifically, who bought books of verse? Was reading verse sictly for the upper classes, oF did the new mide class discover this pleasure as well? Then, see if you can draw any conelu- sions about Victorian readers and how they re- sponded to women poets: were such poets received with enthusiasm, skepticism, of both? + Read Rudolph Besier's 1930 play The Barretts of Wimpole Street, which dramatizes the 10- mance between Elizabeth and Robert Browning. What liberties, if any, does Besier tke with the ‘known biographical facts? Is the Elizabeth of Besier’s play seem like the kind of person who could compose “Sonnet XIX” ut The Beloved’s Absence ‘Barret Browning's artistic challenge in “Sonnet XIX" isto depict the feelings that come upon her ‘when she i separated from Browning: by extension, the poem applies to anyone who thinks about his or her absent beloved with longing and anticipation of bis or erreur, Barett Browning's mod is to de- seribe the workings of her mind in organic tems: ‘houghts are like "wid vines” that wind about the mage of Browning, here likened to ate. Barrett Browaing’s comparing her thoughts of Browning to vines that “twine and bod” about him suggests the degree to which his absence (egard> less of length) has affected her: “twine” implies that her thoughis continually move i steady ways, while “bud suggests that they continually grow. One ‘thought of Browsing leads toa second, which leads to athird thoughts engender more thoughts, just as vines ep winding and budding withthe progres. sion of time, These vines also “Put out broad leaves,” andthe size ofthese leaves suggests the in tensity of Barret Browning's thoughts—an inten sity 0 great that "soon there's naught 10 see Except the stragaling green which hides the wood.” Vines can, of course, killa tee by wrapping themselves around the branches and effectively cutting off the ‘tree's means of survival, but Barrett Browning does not want tocommit “botanical sufocaton.” Instead, Barret Browning wishes that she could see Brown ing inthe lsh rather than in her mind's eye, Jus 4 “straggling” vines are no match Tor the power and beauty ofa “strong tree,” thoughts of person fare a weak substitute forthe person himself. Bar- rett Browning state, “I will not have my thoughts instead of thos” fr this very reason. Her recognizing tat her thoughts of Brown- ing cannot compensate for his absence prompts Barett Browning to beg him, “Renew thy pres- cence.” To continve the botanical metaphor, Brown- ing’s return wil be like a tree shaking off the vines that cover it: “Rustle thy boughs and set thy trunk All bare,” she asks, wishing to see him in all the glory of his strength. (°Set thy trunk all bare” also slyly and playfully suggests Barrew Browning's sexual desire.) AS the poem continues, Barrett Browning's wish to see Browning grows. more powerful 1o the point where she denies the value ff her own longing: she hopes thatthe “bands of ‘greenery which insphere™ him will "Drop heavily down” and le “burs, skatered, everywhere!” The reader gets the sense of Barret Browning's grow- ing impatience with her own thoughts and thei Fe ‘le ttempis to “insphere” the essence of Browning. ‘Once her “strong tree" has returned to her, she can sacefully dwell in his “shadow” and breathe a “new ai.” an air made “dearer” and “beter” by Browning's presence, Then, she will not need 10 think of him because she will be “Yoo near” him. ‘The physical presence of the beloved precludes any Tonging thoughts of him because this presence is too overpowering. As Angela Leighton remarks in her 1986 study Elicabeth Barret Browning, “For as Tong as the speaker thinks her poem, she must miss the presence which supports i.” ‘Thus, the Poetry for Students oem begins with “I think of thee” and ends with ‘Tam too near thee.” 10 indicate how Barret Browning moves from wishes of seeing Browning tw an imaginary fulfillment of that wish The Sonnet Form and Sonnet Sequences “The word “sonnet” comes from the Italian son- neito, a word that means “litle sound.” The first master sonneteer was Petrarch, who gave his name to the Petrarchan (also called Talia) sonnet: a poem of fourteen lines in which a situation or prob- Jem is presented inthe opening eight tines (the oc- tave) and then resolved of complicated in the remaining six (the sestet) The rayme scheme of the octave is abba, abba: that of the sestet is ede cede or (in the case of "Sonnet XIX") ede, ded. ‘The meter is iambie pentameter (en syllables per line of alternating unstressed and stressed sya bles). Sonnets beeame popular in England in the sixteenth century, when poets such as Sir Thomas Wyatt, Samuel Daniel, and Edmund Spenser began to employ (and toy with) the form. English inex ‘est in the sonnet eventually led to the creation of different sonnet types, the Spenserian and. the Shakespearean, both of whieh sil feature Fourteen lines but alter the Petrrchan shyme scheme. The form fell out of favor during the cightcenh century bout was resurected in the nineteenth by William Wordsworth, John Keats, Petey Bysshe Shelly, and, of course, Elizabeth Barrett Browning herself ‘The sonnet is stil widely found inthe work of mod- ‘em poets such as W. H. Auden, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Richard Wilbur. ‘The reasons for the form's broad appeal can be easily understood: it offers readers a compact and intense examination of a specific issue and challenges poets to write about their subjects in a rigidly prescribed form, While the themes explored in sonnets are limited only by their ereators’imag- inations, the most commonly explored theme in sonnets is love and its effects on the speaker—as is obviously the case with Barrett Browning's “Sonnet XIX." “Sonnet XXIX" follows, to an extent, the met- rical pattem of the Petrachan sonnet: the poem's iambic pentameter is mosily regular, except for mo- ments when Barret Browning toys with the meter to emphasize an idea. For example, when she states that her “vines” of thought “Put out broad leaves,” the words “out.” “broad,” and “leaves” are all stressed to suggest the weight of her thoughts. Sim= ‘larly, consider the line describing Browning's shaking her thoughts off his “palm tee” sel This line begins with a spondee (a oot with two stressed syllables), followed by an iamb,an- ‘other spondee, an iamb, and then a pythie (wo un- stressed syllables) Drop hey down—burs, shanered, every! ‘The sound ofthis line reflets its sense as the reader's voice reflects the weight ofthese “heavy” thoughts crashing to the earth Rhetoricaly, the poem also generally follows the Petrarchan pattern although the poem's “turn” (as the change between the octave and sestet is ‘commonly called) oceus notin the eighth line but inthe seventh, when Bartet Browning tells Brosn= ing, “Rather, instantly / Renew thy presence.” While “Sonnet XIX" can be rad and enjoyed fon its own, it part of a collection of sonnets ti ted Sonnets from the Portuguese. These forty-four sonnets make up what is commonly called a son- ret sequence, in which each poem serves as one step ina narrative, emotional, of psychological pro- _aression, Petrarch's sonnets, for example, explore the poet’ feelings for Laura, his beloved, a the poems in Barrett Browning's Sonnets rom the Por- Iuguese depict her intense love and longing for Browning. Other notable sonnet sequences in Eng= lish include Sir Philip Sydney's Astraphel and Stella (1591), Michael Drayton's Idea's Mirror (1594), Shakespeare's Sonnets (1609), and John, Donne's Holy Sonnets (1639). The Victorian Era “The adjective “Victorian” historically refers to the long reign of Queen Vietria (1837-1901), The first haf of her reign was a period of incredible growth and prospenty. the most important exam ple of which was the rise ofthe middle cass as an ‘economic and political power. A specific highlight (and example of English pride) of this half of Vie~ tori reign was the Great Exhibition (1851), in hich hundreds of people from around the world visited London's Crystal Palace to view the fruits fof technology and science. The nation enjoyed Compare, Contrast + 4800s: The 1842 Treaty of Nanking ends the Opium Wer between Great Britain and China and confirms the cession of Hong King to Great Britain Today: In 1997, Hong Kong is relinguished by the British and returned to Chinese rule ‘+ 1800s: Kast Marx and Friedrich Engels publish their Communist Manifesto in 1848; thie work influences a numberof world leaders who adopt several ofits economic and socal ideas Today: With the collapse ofthe Soviet Union, Cina remains the world’s dominant communi power. + 1800: In 1844, George Williams organizes the ‘Young Men's Chistian Assocation (YMCA) of London, a service organization ‘Today: The YMCA has expanded to inclde people of both sexes, all ages, and all religions fs members. The World Alliance of YMCAs, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, has 30 nillion members in 110 counties. + 1800: In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell becomes the frst woman to carn a medical degree inthe United States. Today: Women routinely enter the field of med- ‘eine although they ae still underrepresented in the upper ranks of many medical schools. pethaps its period of greatest optimism and enthu- siasm, As Barret Browning’s husband Browning wrote in Pippa Passes (1841): ‘And day's the mom: The snail’ onthe th: Gets in bis beaver As ph wth he world! ‘This unbridled enthusiasm, however, was rocked in a number of ways as Vietoia's reign ‘continued. In 1859, Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species and cased an international up- roar from those who viewed his ideas of “natural selection” as heresy. In addition, while te rise of the middle class via the Industrial Revolution marked an achievement of earlier decades, more and more authors and politicians began examining ‘the human cost of so great an economic boom. Writers such as Charles Dickens, John Stuart Mill, and John Ruskin atacked Victorian values in their work while politicians such as Benjamin Distal ‘who tice served as prime minister attempted t0 uphold conservative attitudes, Though the term “Victorian” was first synonymous with English pas ‘wiotsm anda belief that England had a sovereign duty to influence the affairs of the word, the term ‘eventually came to connote an attitude of pris sishness, oldsfashioned Values, out-oftouch con- Servatism, and a jingoistic nationalism that many English people viewed with scorn, rather than os- talgia, Writers such as Oscar Wilde, George Berard Shaw and Joseph Conrad sounded the f- nal death blows of the era in their scathing (and popular) works. Victorian Verse ‘While the Victorian age is best known for its

    You might also like