Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a well-known Victorian poet who published Poems in 1844, to great reviews. She married fellow writer, Robert Browning, and moved with him to Italy. Her work was incredibly influential and can be found in Emily Dickinson’s and Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry. Read more about Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
‘Paraphrase on Anacreon: Ode to the Swallow,’ is a translation of a Greek lyric poem in which the speaker explains that love constantly (and annoyingly) inhabits their heart.
Thou indeed, little Swallow,
A sweet yearly comer.
Art building a hollow
New nest every summer.
‘My Kate’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a sorrowful elegy dedicated to a morally righteous and important woman who has passed away.
She was not as pretty as women I know,
And yet all your best made of sunshine and snow
Drop to shade, melt to nought in the long-trodden ways,
While she's still remembered on warm and cold days--
‘If thou must love me’ (Sonnet 14) by Elizabeth Barrett Browning declares the speaker’s intentions for how she is to be loved.
‘Let the world’s sharpness’ (Sonnet 24) is a poem that proposes a resolution to the world’s strife — all turn to, and accept, Love.
‘A False Step’ written by Elizabeth Barret Browning explores how a woman regrets her heartless action taken during her youth.
‘A Musical Instrument’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning describes the decimation of a riverbed and the crafting of the god Pan’s famous flute.
‘Change Upon Change’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a poem about lost love and change. The poet depicts her internal changes through images of the changing seasons.
‘Died..’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning explores the impact of a man’s death while also exploring the immorality of passing judgements, good or bad.
‘First News from Villafranca’ is a protest poem written in reaction to the Villafranca Armistice (11 July 1859) between Emperors Napoleon III of France and Francis Joseph I of Austria.
‘George Sand: A Desire’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a poem dedicated to the French writer Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin.
‘Grief’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning tells of the necessary conditions for feeling true grief and the way it transforms one’s body and soul.
‘Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave’ is a deeply powerful account of seeing a sculpture which evokes feelings of both beauty and suffering.
‘Mother and Poet’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a confessional poem about a mother who had lost her sons in
‘My Heart and I’ is a dark poem in which Browning depicts the distress a newly widowed woman goes through
‘Patience Taught By Nature’ reminds readers that there is a whole world beyond one’s own that is uninfluenced by the problems of human life.
‘Sabbath Morning at Sea’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning describes the experiences of a speaker trapped on board a ship at sea.
Also known as Sonnet 21, ‘Say over again…’ is a powerful and emotional sonnet that explores themes of love, passion,
‘Sonnet 16’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘And yet, because thou overcomest so,’ speaks to the poet’s intention to live happily from now on.
‘Sonnet 20’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘Beloved, my Beloved, when I think’ explores the ways that a new love changed a speaker’s life.
‘Sonnet 29’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is one of Browning’s best-loved sonnets. It is a moving love poem dedicated to the poet’s husband that expresses her devotion to him.
‘Sonnet 35’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning expresses the speaker’s worries about the changes in her life. She embarks on a new life with her beloved and hopes he’s ready to accept her in the same way she’s accepting him.
In ‘Sonnet 43’, or ‘How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways’ the speaker is proclaiming her unending passion for her beloved.
‘Sonnet 7’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a love sonnet that is dedicated to the poet’s husband, Robert Browning. It expresses her happiness that he came into her life and changed her outlook as he did.
‘Sonnet 8’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, also known as ‘What can I give thee back, O liberal,’ is a Petrarchan sonnet. It explores the poet’s relationship with her new lover, Robert Browning.
‘The Best Thing in the World’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a twelve-line poem that is contained within one block
‘The Cry of the Children’ was published inAugust 1843 in Blackwood’s Magazine. In it, Browning explores the horrors of children’s
‘The Deserted Garden’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a long, image-rich poem in which the poet thinks back on what
‘The Forced Recruit’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning tells the very real story of a brave Italian man who was forced to fight against his country.
‘To Flush, My Dog’ is a memorable example of how writers depict love for their canine companions. The speaker in
‘Void in Law’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning depicts the scuffle many Victorian women endured after getting married. The woman has been left alone with no real resources by a husband who prefers to spend time with his mistress.