Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a Victorian poet who wrote about love and social issues. Her most famous work is Sonnets from the Portuguese, which she wrote for her husband Robert Browning. The book by G.K. Chesterton provides an overview of Elizabeth's life and works, including her poetry and letters.
By G.K. Chesterton · First published 1908 · Genre: Literary Criticism, Biography, Poetry · 1,750 words
First lines
The delightful new edition of Mrs. Browning's "Casa Guidi Windows" which Mr. John Lane has just issued ought certainly to serve as an opportunity for the serious criticism and inevitable admiration to which a great poet is entitled. For Mrs. Browning was a great poet, and not, as is idly and vulgarly supposed, only a great poetess. The word poetess is bad English, and it conveys a particularly bad compliment. Nothing is more remarkable about Mrs. Browning's work than the absence of that trite and namby-pamby elegance which the last two centuries demanded from lady writers. Wherever her verse is bad it is bad from some extravagance of imagery, some violence of comparison, some kind of debauch of cleverness. Her nonsense never arises from weakness, but from a confusion of powers. If the phrase explain itself, she is far more a great poet than she is a good one.
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Elizabeth Barrett Browning is listed on Textopian as an essay by G.K. Chesterton, dated 1908 CE.
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- Work type: Essay
- Author: G.K. Chesterton
- Date: 1908 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Criticism, Biography, Poetry, History, Philosophy
- Length: 1,750 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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Similar titles
- Tennyson by Gilbert Parker
- Shakespeare And His Love by Frank Harris
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- Robert Burns by Clarence Darrow
- The Victorian Age In Literature by G. K. Chesterton
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Genres
- Literary Criticism — The work analyzes the literary style, themes, and impact of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry.
- Biography — The text provides insights into the life and personal characteristics of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
- Poetry — The book discusses and critiques the poetic works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
- History — The work touches on historical contexts, particularly the liberal movements of the 19th century.
Tags
poetry · literature · Victorian · feminism · romanticism · biography · criticism · famous poets · love · art · influence · gender