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Poemas Escolhidos das Irmãs Bronte

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As irmãs Brontë são principalmente conhecidas pelos seus romances: O Monte dos Vendavais de Emily, Jane Eyre de Charlotte, e The Tenant of Wildfell Hall de Anne. Mas escreveram também poesia. Este livro contém uma selecção dos melhores poemas das três escritoras.
De Charlotte (1816-1855), inclui «Pressentimento» e «Paixão» e dois poemas sobre a morte das irmãs, entre outros. De Emily (1818-1848), considerada a melhor poetisa das três, inclui «Fé e Desalento» e «Minha Alma não É Cobarde». A poesia de Anne (1820-1849) é representada por diversos poemas, entre eles, «O Penitente» e «Se Isto For Tudo».
Embora o trabalho de Emily seja o mais destacado, a poesia das três irmãs partilha inteligência, consciência e profunda emoção.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1848

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About the author

Anne Brontë

677 books3,995 followers
Anne Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family. Anne's two novels, written in a sharp and ironic style, are completely different from the romanticism followed by her sisters, Emily Brontë and Charlotte Brontë. She wrote in a realistic, rather than a romantic style. Mainly because the re-publication of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall was prevented by Charlotte Brontë after Anne's death, she is less known than her sisters. However, her novels, like those of her sisters, have become classics of English literature.

The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. In Elizabeth Gaskell's biography, Anne's father remembered her as precocious, reporting that once, when she was four years old, in reply to his question about what a child most wanted, she answered: "age and experience".

During her life Anne was particularly close to Emily. When Charlotte's friend Ellen Nussey visited Haworth in 1833, she reported that Emily and Anne were "like twins", "inseparable companions". Together they created imaginary world Gondal after they broke up from Charlotte and Branwell who created another imaginary world – Angria.

For a couple of years she went to a boarding school. At the age of 19 she left Haworth and worked as a governess between 1839 and 1845.

After leaving her teaching position, she fulfilled her literary ambitions. She wrote a volume of poetry with her sisters (Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, 1846) and two novels. Agnes Grey, based upon her experiences as a governess, was published in 1847. Her second and last novel, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, which is considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels, appeared in 1848 and was an instant, phenomenal success; within six weeks it was sold out.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is perhaps the most shocking of the Brontës' novels. In seeking to present the truth in literature, Anne's depiction of alcoholism and debauchery was profoundly disturbing to 19th-century sensibilities. Helen Graham, the tenant of the title, intrigues Gilbert Markham and gradually she reveals her past as an artist and wife of the dissipated Arthur Huntingdon. The book's brilliance lies in its revelation of the position of women at the time, and its multi-layered plot.

Her sister Emily's death on 19 December 1848 deeply affected Anne and her grief undermined her physical health. Over Christmas, Anne caught influenza. Her symptoms intensified, and in early January, her father sent for a Leeds physician, who diagnosed her condition as consumption, and intimated that it was quite advanced leaving little hope of recovery. Anne met the news with characteristic determination and self-control.

Unlike Emily, Anne took all the recommended medicines, and responded to the advice she was given. That same month she wrote her last poem, " A dreadful darkness closes in", in which she deals with being terminally ill.

In February 1849, Anne decided to make a return visit to Scarborough in the hope that the change of location and fresh sea air might initiate a recovery. However, it was clear that she had little strength left.

Dying, Anne expressed her love and concern for Ellen and Charlotte, and seeing Charlotte's distress, whispered to her to "take courage". Conscious and calm, Anne died at about two o'clock in the afternoon, Monday, 28 May 1849.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
Profile Image for Pink.
537 reviews598 followers
December 14, 2017
Let's play a game. Can you guess the Bronte sister from the title of the poem?

I'll make it easier and give you three examples from each of them.

a) Faith and Despondency
A Death Scene
The Prisoner

b) The Wife's Will
The Letter
Mementos

c) The Student's Life
The Doubter's Prayer
Lines composed in a Wood on a Windy Day

I've picked some pretty representative titles, so if you're at all familiar with their novels, it should be easy to spot who they belong to.

In this collection I learned that I hated Charlotte's poetry, found Anne's a little boring and adored Emily's. Which is how most people would rate their poetic work. I skimmed through the second half of this collection, in favour of picking up Emily's complete works of poetry. Still, this is an interesting read for any Bronte fan wanting to see where it all started.
Profile Image for Carmo.
728 reviews572 followers
November 8, 2020
Poemas melancólicos e introspectivos, onde as irmãs desabafam a sua insatisfação com as agruras a que a vida as sujeitou, e as levou a criar uma idealização com a morte como uma forma de escapatória, de descanso e alívio.
Paralelamente, a leitura de obras do romantismo poderá ter tido a sua influência nestes poemas sombrios.
Profile Image for Dafne.
238 reviews38 followers
February 8, 2018
Desiderato. Cercato, in lungo e in largo; finalmente trovato. Queste sono le fasi che ho attraversato durante la ricerca di questo libro.
Ho amato e amo tuttora i romanzi delle sorelle Brontë e, pur non essendo una lettrice di poesie, ho fortemente desiderato leggere questo volume perché, da loro grande estimatrice quale sono, non potevo di certo lasciarmi sfuggire un volume contenente le poesie da loro scritte prima, durante e dopo la pubblicazione dei loro celebri romanzi.
Ancor prima di iniziare a leggerlo, sapevo che avrei amato anche questo libro e così è stato.
Questo volume raccoglie le poesie di Anne, Charlotte ed Emily, conosciute ai più per i loro romanzi. Alcune delle poesie presenti in questo volume, furono pubblicate sotto il nome di Currer, Acton ed Ellis Bell, nella raccolta di poesie che vendette solo due copie; dopo averle lette non posso ancora capacitarmi come abbia potuto vendere così poco, perché sono poesie molto belle e dolorose allo stesso tempo (detto da una persona che non ama leggere poesie assume – credo – un significato più forte).
Le poesie delle tre sorelle Brontë, come i loro romanzi, sono cupe, intensamente emozionali, gioiose, malinconiche, colme di tormento; ci permettono di vedere e conoscere le loro personalità nascoste; sentire la solitudine (una delle muse delle sorelle), le paure, l’amore, le speranze, la fiducia, i desideri, la nostalgia, l’amore per la natura, la presenza della morte.
Poesie affascinanti che si leggono scorrevolmente, fanno immergere totalmente il lettore nella brughiera, selvaggia e aspra, dello Yorkshire, nelle sue valli solitarie colme d’erica in estate o di neve in inverno, che ha influenzato e modellato lo spirito di queste tre sorelle.
La maggior parte delle poesie di Anne ed Emily appartengono al ciclo di Gondal (ciclo composto sin dalla più tenera età dalle due sorelle in contrapposizione al ciclo di Angria creato da Charlotte e Branwell); Gondal è un’isola creata dall’immaginario delle due sorelle in cui ambientavano poesie e racconti in prosa, di cui ci sono rimaste solo le poesie e non le parti in prosa (se mai ci siano state queste parti, perché, in caso contrario, è veramente un peccato che siano state distrutte o scomparse).
Le poesie appartenenti a questo ciclo narrano di protagonisti che hanno a che fare con castelli, passaggi segreti, campi di battaglia, celle sotterranee, amori contrastati, gelosie e tradimenti. Durante la lettura, mi sono ritrovata spesso a voler conoscere maggiormente il suddetto ciclo, la sua ambientazione e i suoi antefatti, per assaporare meglio queste poesie che hanno molto spesso un tocco di tristezza, disperazione, pena e solitudine.
Anne, però, non ha scritto solo versi appartenenti solo a questo ciclo, ma anche su altri soggetti in cui rivela tutte le sue abilità di scrittrice e poetessa. Delle tre sorelle Anne è quella che mi è piaciuta di più. Le sue poesie (una è presente anche all’interno del suo primo romanzo) raccontano l’amore, il dolore, la nostalgia, la natura, la religione, la fiducia in un mondo migliore; sono quelle più semplici, più facili da leggere, più emozionanti, più intense, più coinvolgenti, che più mi hanno commosso. Ho sentito il suo dolore per un amore perduto, la sua forte fiducia verso Dio, il suo amore per la natura, la nostalgia di casa.
Leggerle mi ha permesso di comprendere ancora di più quanto del carattere di Anne ci sia nella protagonista della sua opera prima, Agnes Grey e nella sua vicenda (un romanzo che è molto autobiografico in tutto e per tutto), e quanto questa giovane donna, tramandata ai posteri come una ragazza timida e mite, sia in realtà una donna forte, con un carattere d’acciaio, molto dotata per la poesia, che possiede anche una dote di sarcasmo e ironia.
Ci sono molte belle poesie fra quelle da lei composte, le mie preferite sono: Notte, Te ne sei andata, Frammento, Sogni, Quanti anni da quando te ne andasti, La confessione.
Le liriche di Charlotte, più che poesie sono delle vere e proprie novelle; se fossero state scritte in prosa potrebbero essere dei racconti gotico – romantici, con protagoniste donne appassionate e uomini superbi, poiché possiedono tutti gli elementi del genere.
In questi componimenti la narratrice inglese parla eloquentemente di passione e sentimenti senza riluttanza, rispecchiano e comunicano come lei vede se stessa e la sua vita. Le poesie possiedono e riflettono la forza, la passione, l’immaginazione, il rimpianto, l’amarezza, che saranno presenti anche nei suoi romanzi.
Charlotte mi ha un po’ deluso in queste poesie ma, secondo il mio modestissimo parere, lei è più portata per la prosa (tecnica affinata sin da piccola nella creazione del ciclo di Angria) che per la poesia. Da questa lettura ne esce una Charlotte ancora acerba ma in cui si riesce ad intravedere tutto il talento posseduto, che, in seguito, esploderà nei suoi romanzi.
Tra le sue poesie che mi sono piaciute di più: Frances, Stanze, In morte di Emily Jane Brontë, In morte di Anne Brontë (in queste ultime due si avverte tutto l’amore che nutre per le due sorelle prematuramente scomparse).
Quella che tra le tre è sempre stata considerata la più dotata per la poesia è Emily, e questo è sicuramente vero. Solo quando ho preso in mano questo volume, ho appreso la quantità di poesie che Emily ha scritto sin dalla più tenera età; sono 188 e la maggior parte, come ho già detto parlando di Anne, appartengono al ciclo di Gondal, ma non solo.
Le poesie di Emily, pur essendo meno personali rispetto a quelle delle sorelle, rivelano il suo amore per la natura, la brughiera selvaggia e la sua casa, cui era legatissima. Parlano di morte, solitudine, dolore, di prigionieri, di amori contrastati, di amori oltre la morte, ma soprattutto di amore per la natura; una natura tenebrosa, selvaggia, tempestosa, di cui la brughiera è protagonista onnipresente, ritratta per lo più in autunno e inverno, che riflette lo stato d’animo e i sentimenti dei protagonisti agitati da irrefrenabili passioni. Nelle sue poesie rivivono in miniatura il mondo e lo stile “selvaggio” presente nel suo unico romanzo, “Cime tempestose”; possiamo scorgere tutto il fascino della figura di questa giovane donna, il suo stile inconfondibile, la forza e la sua viscerale passione per la natura.
Dalla lettura di queste poesie emerge una donna fiera, orgogliosa, solitaria, indomabile, amante della libertà e della natura.
Ci sono molte belle poesie, soprattutto tra quella che hanno come tema i paesaggi naturali; le poesie che mi sono piaciute di più, sono: Stelle (la mia preferita fra quelle scritte da lei), Dimmi dimmi fanciulla ridente, La nebbia è dolce sulla collina, Stanze, Il mio consolatore, Parla di me, R. Alcona a J. Brenzaida (Rimembranza).

Ho letto queste poesie nell’arco di otto mesi; ne leggevo poche alla volta, a piccole dosi.
Questa raccolta è importante, perché leggendole si può notare l’influenza di altri scrittori nel loro stile e l’evoluzione che quest’ultimo ha subito, dai componimenti facenti parti degli juvenilia fino alle opere più mature.
Sono liriche intense, pervase di cupa nostalgia, di dolore per la perdita dei cari che le tre hanno subito durante la loro esistenza (tema onnipresente in sottofondo in ognuna di loro), di solitudine, che colpiscono per la loro forza e la loro malinconia.
Poesie scritte per lo più di notte (protagonista di molto liriche), il momento di massima ispirazione, in cui la mente, l’immaginazione è più libera; in cui i sogni, i tormenti e rimpianti riemergono in tutta la loro forza.
Spesso mi ha colpito un’intera poesia, una sola strofa o magari una singola frase. Ognuna di queste ti ricorda un’esperienza vissuta, un sentimento provato, un paesaggio visto o visitato; riescono a colpirti per la loro semplicità, regalano intense emozioni, sono attinenti ai sentimenti che senti, alle sensazioni che ti regalano.
Hanno il potere di riuscire a farci conoscere il vero io di queste tre autrici più di quanto le numerose raccolte di lettere o biografie in circolazione non possano mai fare; ci regalano una visione dei pensieri, del dolore provato, delle personalità e dei sentimenti delle tre sorelle Brontë.
Questo volume di poesie è da tenere sempre accanto a sé, a portata di mano, per leggere e rileggere questi componimenti meravigliosi.

PS: vorrei aggiungere solo altre due righe per parlare di questo volume. È un’ottima edizione, con testo originale a fronte, dotata di un’introduzione e di una cronologia esauriente, di un’interessante postfazione e, più di tutto, dotato di un completo ed esaustivo apparato di note per ogni poesia.
Veramente un’edizione stupenda che spero sia ristampata al più presto.

Notte

Amo l’ora silente della notte
perché un sogno felice nasce allora
rivelando alla mia vista incantata
ciò che il mio occhio sveglio non adora.

E può il mio orecchio udire anche la voce
che da tempo la morte ha soffocato;
l’afflitta solitudine in un grato
impeto di speranza si tramuta.

Fredda giace da anni nella tomba
la creatura che amavo contemplare;
soltanto il sogno a notte come viva
può farla dolcemente ritornare.
Profile Image for Fátima Linhares.
959 reviews340 followers
April 11, 2021
De nada serve chorar;
Condenados à separação,
Podemos guardar
Lembranças no coração;

Podemos sempre acreditar,
Ao mais íntimo ser fiel,
E com coragem e desdém desafiar
O mundo a ser cruel

Suas loucuras não tememos nós,
Enfrentaremos a realidade;
Cada dia deixará em nós
Um ledo sorriso se saudade


Eu não sou grande coisa a analisar poemas e poesia em geral - num teste de português em vez de chamar quadra ao poema disse que era uma quadrilha, por isso. :D

O que posso escrever é que gostei dos versos das três irmãs. Escrevem de uma forma muito bela sobre a vida, a natureza, o amor e a morte. A maioria dos poemas são tristes e melancólicos, mas também muito belos. Um livro para de vez em quando retirar da estante, abrir numa página à sorte e reler.
Profile Image for francesca.
50 reviews24 followers
October 18, 2025
Anne ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Charlotte ⭐️⭐️
Emily ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Profile Image for Iza Brekilien.
1,589 reviews132 followers
October 21, 2020
Recently, I read Emily's poems and I didn't like them very much. Didn't hate them either, but I didn't feel drawned to them. Strangely enough, they were the ones I prefered in this particular book.

It's not the book I would recommend to those who have never read the Brontës, but if you have, if you know their lives, this will be interesting. You can spot particular themes that you can also find in their novels, you can find echoes of their lives and know who or what they are writing about. And on a second reading, I even loved some of them. This edition was particularly moving because they were annotated by Charlotte, who took to doing this work after losing her siblings.

So, for a first reading : no. But if you're interested in British poetry, Victorian literature or simply the Brontês : yes !

PS : This is the first book they ever published and only sold... two copies !
Profile Image for Jess.
381 reviews421 followers
July 8, 2019
The first outing of the Brontë sisters as writers does indeed read like a first outing - Poems was published with the sole intention to establish a name for themselves before risking a work of fiction. But the sisters (or brothers?!!) remained unknown despite the poetry… actually, probably because of the poetry. Regardless of some very favourable reviews, only two copies were sold.

It’s quite evident why; there’s the odd gem here and there, but the overall collection is lukewarm. However, this volume is fascinating from a biographical perspective - for a seasoned Brontë fan it would be fairly easy to guess the author of each poem from either the style or content. Charlotte’s almost sentimental and fanciful poetry was more enjoyable than I had anticipated, especially since she is hailed as the least competent composer of the three. Emily’s was clearly darker and denser but, dare I say it, a little samey. Anne’s pieces are generally described as ‘boring’, but I thoroughly disagree - ‘charming’ would be a far more accurate epithet. Just because she generally chooses to focus on the twee rather than the sublime (like Emily, for example) or explicit passion (Charlotte) does not necessarily mean that she is less competent and deserves dismissal. The eloquent delineation of her religious doubt especially is compelling, but I can appreciate that the topic itself feels archaic and difficult to connect with in a far more secular society. Charlotte however did give a highly insightful commentary to the posthumous collection of her sisters’ poetry which serves to clarify some of Anne’s anxieties as well as Emily’s progressively outlandish compositions. It is also worth mentioning that many of Emily and Anne’s poems were originally written as part of their fantasy saga and were ‘degondalised’ for publication, so I recommend reading those in their intended format (ie. as juvenilia) rather than in this volume alone.

Probably not the best place to start with the Brontës; prioritize their novels first, then come back to this to see how it all began and appreciate their astounding growth as writers.
Profile Image for sfogliarsi.
434 reviews371 followers
September 30, 2024
Contavo di leggere questa antologia da anni, e finalmente eccola qui tra le mie mani... e divorata!❤️‍🔥
Le sorelle Brontë sono tra le mie scrittrici preferite per quanto riguarda la letteratura inglese, ho letto tanti loro romanzi ma le poesie mi mancavano, infatti ero curiosa di leggerle proprio per scoprire questo loro lato creativo, legato alla loro penna.

Le sorelle Brontë: il dono della parola alata
Tre sorelle, tre stili diversi
Tantissime poesie, lunghe e lunghissime
Antologia dettagliata e curata con introduzione, cronologia e bibliografia
Antologia scritta a sei mani e sotto l'identità maschile
Charlotte divenne Currer, Emily fu Ellis ed Anne fu Acton
Questa raccolta poetica non ebbe molto successo quando erano in vita, infatti, vendette solo due copie

📌Prima sezione: le poesie di ANNE
Poesie lunghe, dai tratti lunghissime, parlano di vari argomenti e momenti quotidiani della scrittrice, tra famiglia, dolori, rimpianti, la casa e le sorelle.
📌Seconda sezione: le poesie di CHARLOTTE
Poesie molto più brevi, sono rare quelle lunghe e i temi sono diversi; si leggono soprattutto i temi della natura (come tramonto, bosco, mattino, aurora, inverno, sera, la rosa). Strazianti le poesie dedicate all sorelle morte prima di lei...!
📌Terza sezione: le poesie di EMILY
Questa è la sezione più corposa dell'intera raccolta poetica. Qui è possibile trovare poesie lunghe e intense...! In ogni caso, anche questa sezione mi è piaciuta molto!
Profile Image for Tiff (fictionaltiff).
333 reviews15 followers
December 14, 2017
First, my favorite poem:
My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring, Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.

The long withered grass in the sunshine is glancing, The bare trees are tossing their branches on high; The dead leaves beneath them are merrily dancing, The white clouds are scudding across the blue sky

I wish I could see how the ocean is lashing
The foam of its billows to whirlwinds of spray;
I wish I could see how its proud waves are dashing, And hear the wild roar of their thunder to-day!

--------------------------------------------------
Brontë fans should be sure to check this book of poems out. This is the Brontë sisters' very first published book and it was originally collaborated together among the sisters to be published, but later after her sisters passed away, Charlotte revised it with some unseen poems that she had discovered, realizing she wanted her sisters to have the fame they deserved.

I really enjoyed this and felt like I could identify with the more spiritual poems. A lot of passages also gave an inside view to the gloomy side of the Brontë sisters.
Profile Image for Duane Parker.
828 reviews501 followers
December 14, 2017
This volume of poetry containing poems from all three Bronte sisters was first published in 1846. It sold two copies. Not discouraged, they continued to write (thank goodness) and the following year saw the publication of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Agnes Grey. The following year Emily died (Dec 1848) and six months later Anne died (May 1849). If these sisters had lived to even age 50, it staggers the mind to think what they may have contributed to the world of literature. As it is, the few volumes they produced rank as some of the greatest novels ever written
If you had to rank the sisters based on their novels, it would probably be Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. As for their poetry, I would rank them Emily, Anne, and Charlotte. But I'm certainly not an expert on judging poetry. Like every volume of poetry I've read, some I liked, some I didn't. Rereading this volume was interesting because poetry, I believe, gives us a view into the writers thoughts and personalities. And when it comes to writing sisters, it doesn't get any better than the Brontes.
Profile Image for Rebecka.
1,243 reviews102 followers
November 29, 2013
This is my kind of poetry. Ultimately depressing and easy to follow (at least most of it). This book has motivated me to finally pick up The Brontës: A life in letters, that I bought perhaps 10 years ago but never actually opened. The Brontë sisters' poetry should really be read with some context, I think. Reading about their lives while reading their incredibly sad poems gives you the ultimate experience of gloom and doom. They all died remarkably young and led very lonely lives. They all wrote love stories, yet Charlotte was the only one who actually managed to get married. She was the one who survived all the illness that killed off the rest of the family - only to die from pregnancy instead. And the father outlived them all, his wife and 6 children.

It's reads more like someone tried to write a really depressing family saga - and went a little bit overboard.

I only refer to the sisters here because Branwell isn't really an impressive fellow. His poems are included in this volume, but they are stilted and show signs of trying way, way too hard to write pretty verse (in archaic English). Anne's poems in particular are very simple - and much more powerful by comparison. Emily is forever my favorite, and hers are simply very pretty, as are Charlotte's, who had the most to write about since she lived the longest. All the sisters write about death, death, death (all their siblings kept dying right and left so no wonder) and loneliness - but I have no idea what Branwell wrote about. Can't remember a single one of his poems.

Why isn't the Brontë poetry mentioned more often?
Profile Image for Moushmi Radhanpara.
Author 7 books26 followers
August 29, 2020
"If life must be so full of care,
Then call me soon to thee;
Or give me strength enough to bear
My load of misery."

The Bronte sisters are one of the finest. I must be honest, that I did not like all of these poems but those were very few and perhaps it was because of me lacking the intensity and depth needed to understand.

And the rest, all of them are too good. Spiritual, strength, love, emotion, care, faith, hope and so many more feelings, all brim through these pieces. Some of my favourites are 'A prayer', 'Stanzas', 'Views of life', 'If this be all', 'Frances'.

Each piece brings to the readers a new feeling and makes one wonder the intricasies of life. The poetry is as good as their prose and one can't not read them if they are a fan of victorian literature.
Profile Image for Ana Rita Silva.
268 reviews28 followers
January 3, 2022
não poderia ter escolhido um livro mais adequado para este início de ano.

deixo-vos um excerto de um dos meus poemas preferidos ("Monólogo do professor") da autoria de Charlotte Brontë:

"Às vezes penso que um coração apertado
Me faz assim chorar quem está ausente,
E mantém o meu amor tão arredado
Dos amigos e das amizades do presente;
Às vezes penso que é só um sonho
Que acalento tão ciosamente,
Pois cada pensamento meu, risonho,
Parece esfumar-se para sempre:
E então, este estranho mundo, mundo cão,
Torna-se palpável e real;
E cada som, cada visão
Levam meu espírito, afinal,
A render-se à dor, tão vã e desolada"
Profile Image for Kailey (Luminous Libro).
3,602 reviews543 followers
March 19, 2021
I got 64% of the way into the book and decided to DNF it for now. About 90% of the poems are about death. They are very gloomy, all about suffering and despair and darkness. It was making me depressed, so I decided to DNF it.

The poetry is good. Some are almost genius. There were several poems that really touched my heart. The Brontës certainly have a way with words. So many of the phrases are beautifully crafted.

These poems are very emotional and wild and raging like a storm. But they can also embrace a little detail, a look, or word, or the simple comfort of a hearth.

Some of my favorite poems in this book were "Memory" by Anne Bronte, and "Stars" and "To Imagination" by Emily Bronte, and "Mementos" and "The Missionary" by Charlotte Bronte.

I also really liked a few lines in the poem "Gilbert" because they talk about the piano, and I'm a pianist.
"Some soft piano-notes alone
Were sweet as faintly given,
Where ladies, doubtless, cheered the hearth
With song that winter-even."


Favorite lines from "Mementos":
"The book-shelves were her darling treasure,
She rarely seemed the time to measure
While she could read alone."


"The Missionary" was especially inspiring because I grew up overseas as a missionary kid. It talks about forsaking everything for the sake of your faith and helping others, and being glad to suffer if it means that you can steadfastly do your duty. I found it very moving, like a trumpet call to faith!

Favorite lines from "Stars":
"Ah! why, because the dazzling sun
Restored our Earth to joy,
Have you departed, every one,
And left a desert sky?
All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And, with a full heart's thankful sighs,
I blessed that watch divine.
I was at peace, and drank your beams
As they were life to me;
And revelled in my changeful dreams,
Like petrel on the sea."
Profile Image for Serena.
Author 2 books104 followers
December 14, 2017
The Brontës by Pamela Norris is a collection of selected poems from not only the Bronte sisters, but also certain poems from their brother Patrick Branwell Brontë. According to the introduction, Patrick Bronte was a good poet, but did not reach the level of sophistication of his sisters. Emily Brontë, according to Norris, is the most accomplished of the poets in terms of grasping meter and other components of poetry. Anne Brontë is the most accessible, and readers often find it easier to emotionally connect with the poet. Charlotte Brontë‘s poems often resemble her novels with their passionate women and abrasive men, but Norris says her narrative style can often overwhelm the poem and obscure its meaning.

The collection begins with a selection of poems from Charlotte, and many of these poems are bogged down in narrative, poetic prose, but the meaning of the poems are not completely obscured. In fact, the selection of poems offer a sense of longing and despair topped with a current of optimism and rays of hope. In “Mementos,” Charlotte alludes to the precious nature of material objects, which even though tied to loved ones, is now moldy and dusty — long forgotten.

Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2010/12/t...
Profile Image for Flavia .
268 reviews143 followers
August 17, 2020
Poesie di Anne 4/5
Charlotte 3/5
Emily 4/5

Bellissime le poesie sul mondo di Gondal. Immagini vivide di mondi e personaggi affascinanti.
Profile Image for kavreb.
224 reviews12 followers
August 13, 2024
(Disclaimer: I actually listened to the audiobook version, “The Poetry of the Brontes: Volume I & II”, but it has no cover here so let's skip that)

Such a nice collection of poems for falling asleep, almost incapable as I was lying in bed following the logic of any single one as the quietly emotional delivery of each narrator aided me in succumbing to the long-yearned sleep.

Kidding aside, perhaps it's just the audiobook format of it that made it so easy for my mind to wander, and the words of the poems to wander as well, parallel, but rarely intersecting. Or perhaps it is the authors after all, and their writing, as even staring into the distance in a park concentrating, I just couldn't, especially as there were a few poems that I liked enough to have the potential to one day appear amongst my favourites (such as Charlotte’s Life & Regret, Emily’s Song, and Anne’s If This Be All), and listened to with avid interest, catching almost everything.

But as it was still just a few, for now I'll keep the grade. Perhaps one day I will re-listen, exchange the grade with my mind at ease, there's always time to change it, the thing that never mattered anyway.

Though having already tried to re-listen, now their words just grate as well. Proceed at your own discretion.
Profile Image for Elsa.
36 reviews
February 8, 2026
Vital and deeply deeply human. These poems delve right to the bone and marrow of the sisters’ existence - their grief, despair, hope, faith, yearning, and a love for home. I found something to love by each of them; their styles were distinct and personal.

Emily’s poems especially, with their vast simplicity, were stunning - my favourites were ‘The Prisoner’ and her last poem before dying, ‘No Coward Soul is Mine’. To see that she ended her life on this solid rock of confidence, having waded in the miry misty moors of the soul for so long, was beautiful. ❤️

Genuinely, wow.
Profile Image for Mel Shield.
55 reviews
April 13, 2024
Always difficult to rate a compilation, poetry the more so.

Opted to read this as slow ongoing expansion of poetry (love writing it, not sold on reading it), and because I was won over by Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, so why not check out the sisters' poetry.

I much preferred Emily to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Anne.

A couple of pleasant poems, around a dozen that I enjoyed, and a whole host of religious and gloomy leanings (Anne the more so).
Profile Image for Robert.
827 reviews44 followers
January 26, 2024
O, insipid verse!
Exclamatory marks struggle in vain
To make passion from mediocrity.
Endless iambs bore the reader,
Not music but flat drum-beat.
Imitatory ramblings innovate not,
Nor speak originally but instead
Conventionally cover well-mapped territory,
Waste readers' time and printers' ink
But - Shhsh! - Don't tell anybody!
Profile Image for Philip Battle.
76 reviews
October 5, 2019
....famously known for only selling one single copy on its release. This self published book of poems is essential reading for any Bronte fan. Emily is without doubt the most talented of writers. A spellbinding FIVE STARS!
Profile Image for Marlee.
2,017 reviews
February 27, 2021
Poetry isn’t normally my choice for reading. I read this collection because I love these authors, and this book was gifted to me. I really enjoyed the poetry. Beautiful and yet simple enough for someone like me, who doesn’t spend a lot of time on poetry.
24 reviews
October 21, 2024
Some of Emily and Anne’s poems are exceedingly good. I was not such a big fan of Charlotte’s, although it is not fair to compare her to her sisters. All three of them are geniuses of the written word.
Profile Image for Kaity ♡.
793 reviews
May 19, 2023
Beautiful words on faith, death, and the emotions from love and loss from these melancholic three. Emily’s were my favorite. ❤️
Profile Image for Adam E..
125 reviews6 followers
June 14, 2022
A collection of poetry by the Bronte sisters. They published these works under pseudonyms. The poems deal with darkness, love and religion. My favorite poem is entitled, The Prisoner, by Emily Bronte.
Profile Image for hawk.
484 reviews86 followers
November 8, 2022
read as separate volume 1 and 2 (read 2 before 1 🙃)

interesting to have the 3 siblings together 🙂

a few poems/turn of phrase caught my ear, but alot passed me by (*).

I think the poems that struck me most were those to siblings that had died by those remaining.


(* aware this could have been in part the readers, and the recording having a kinda echo. accessed as a library audiobook)
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