The Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning

by Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is an incredibly talented Victorian poet. She addressed the subject of feminism while also creating some of the most iconic love poems that remainfundamental to the appreciation of poetry. Her fearlessness and independence shows through her work and is more relevant now than ever before. Arcturus Publishing continues to broaden its spectrum of publications with this essential collection of classic poetry.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

224 pages, paperback

Published May 15, 2019

Reviews

[alex. · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved

[Karen Butman]

I am trying to broaden my literary genre horizons so I undertook to reading poetry. Last year, I read a book on nature poetry from many poets from many centuries. This year, I have chosen a collection of selected poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning being the first. What I have learned is that she knew a lot of Biblical doctrine which I found interesting. Also, a vast knowledge of Greek mythology and the use of a very large vocabulary. I found many of the poems to be, rather than a pleasure, but a work, a job. To fully understand them would have required me to have a book of Greek mythology and a dictionary handy to even begin to understand. And it also required a lot of thought. I had neither the time, desire nor inclination to spend that amount of time on a poem. Several were quite good. I like to read for pleasure and for learning (ie historical fiction is my go to for that). I cannot say reading her poetry was a pleasure and I did not give it the time to make it a learning experience. Someone once said that poetry was lost on them. I think I understand now. But, I am moving on to Emily Dickenson. So, we shall see if I find a poet I like. I know poets are held in high regard in many countries. I appreciated the work they have put into their works to rhyme and have a certain cadence but....

[Glendon Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

EBB is one of those authors I ran into during my undergrad and did a presentation on and felt a sort of connection with from them on. I had collected a few of her anthologies over the years, and this was the shortest so it felt like a good start.

This definitely felt less like a homecoming than some of the other books I had picked up after my degree. In part, this is due to Barrett Browning's focus; I had written on her political poetry, which I still very much like, but much of this collection is more romantic and religious in nature. It's also much more lyrical than I remember; her poetry has a very musical quality that encourages this sense of lightness, the words practically dancing off the page. It's very whimsical and delightful but kind of goes against the sadness that sits in a lot of her poetry. I'm certain that if I took the time to really slow down and study it, I would discover so much to love in her works once again. It does feel very much like she is putting on this clever illusion of simplicity while actually doing something deep. It's just not the kind of poetry I have the bandwidth for here and now.

[Savannah Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
probably one of my favorite, if not *the* favorite, poetry collections i have ever read. some poets click with you, and some don’t– barrett’s writing style clicked with me. i loved her long verse poems and the stories she woved into them. with that all being said, the majority of the poetry in this collection was either a major hit OR a major miss for me. since i’m not religious, her religious poetry didn’t have much of an impact on me at all. if you are a very religious person however, I recommend this collection to you!

in short, you love it or you hate it, and you might feel both of those things about this book at once!

[Kyra · Rating 3 out of 5]

One fact about me is that, when it comes to poetry, I am not the biggest fan of long poems, which is something Elizabeth Barrett Browning has the tendency to do. However, another thing about me is that I am an absolute sucker for imagery in any form of writing… and she nails it on the head. I enjoyed so many of these poems, regardless of their length because of her vivid imagery and language. And when even the imagery couldn’t quite fascinate me to a point where length was disregarded, she would switch up the formatting of the poem or break the stanzas up at the right moment, which proved to be quite the refresher.

[Jacob Cronin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, there isn't much to say about this book. I took a while to read it, going in spurts of a couple minutes and reading the poems out of order. I still haven't grown a liking for poetry, but I'm trying, so note that my ranking doesn't really mean much outside of my own information. I don't have a strong opinion on this poetry collection, but I haven't had one on any poetry collection I've read so far.

[Kenneth Bennion · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite collection in this series so far. Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) wrote about newborns and the grave, young love and deep loss, cities giving way to nature giving way to the divine. She deserves her place among the great 19th century poets!

I dog-eared at least 15 of E.B.B.'s poems, such as:
The Soul's Travelling
The Weakest Thing*
The Cry of the Children*
The Prospect
A Child's Thought of God
A Denial
My Heart and I*
De Profundis*

[Adam Roll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of this in one day and loved almost every poem. Her rhyme schemes are endlessly interesting and musical. Topics are pretty race for two hundred years ago. I highly recommend this to anyone who thinks other peoples poetry shouldn't rhyme. Avoid rhyme if you like, but the convention is utilized for a good reason, and with good effect, here.

[Audrey Nester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Barrett Browning always stuns me with her writing! I love the way she uses nature as an inspiration for comparisons and life cycles. While there were some poems that I didn't fully get or find interesting for me personally, she always has poems that I feel the narrator's feelings and beliefs coming through. I also quite enjoy the rhythm she creates with her writing.

[Jackie]

It's been since I have come across poetry, but reading these were quite enjoyable. Her poems explore love, femininity, loss, and mother. Her words tell us inspiring, sometimes tragic, stories through rhyme and meter.

[mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked 50% of this collection A LOT

[Stephanie Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. I am really starting to enjoy reading poetry books.

[Mad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some nice passages, but too religious for me.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful collection of her poetry.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely little book of poetry! I really want to learn more about Elizabeth Barrett Browning and what the stories behind these poems were.

[Haafsaaaaah · Rating 5 out of 5]

and why don't we love like this anymore?? write a poem dedicated to me with flowery metaphors about my beauty ethan

[Ashton Harat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A selection of incredible poems by my second-favorite poet. Includes all the Sonnets to the Portuguese. Great collection!

[Chelsea Roles · Rating 4 out of 5]

'You see we're tired, my heart and I.
We dealt with books, we trusted men,
And in our own blood drench'd the pen,
As if such colours could not fly.
We walk'd too straight for fortune's end,
We lov'd too true to keep a friend;
At last we're tired, my heart and I.'

[Nancy Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a change of pace. Poetry. If you love love, this is for you.