Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning :: Biography Biographies Essays

Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning As I looked through the literary works we have covered this stipulation I noticed that there were only two strong females we have studied that seem to play a strong part in the outgrowth of British Literature. Emily Bronte and Elizabeth Barrett-Browning were strong, influential figures in the literary world. Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights can be credited with the title of the first Romantic novel of its time and her poetry was besides redefining the poetry of the era. Unintentionally, I believe, Emily set a new standard for writing. Her use of nature, an undefined hero and heroine, the unusual structure of narrators, and her portrayal of the supernatural powers within the game all contribute to her literary groundbreaking, trend setting style. Her poetry is also unique in that it has a personal flair not typically seen in previous poets. It is a very personal reflection of what she is enduring at the moment. That interpre tation, however, is not entirely clear without the historical context. A elflike while, a little while, The noisy crowd are barred away I can sing and I can smile A little while Ive a holyday (WH 296) could be interpreted as any number of things without the subscriber being fully aware that at this point in her life Bronte was a detain in a job she hated far from her beloved home and family. She was a governess. In that light it makes her poem makes complete sense she needed to make up away from the children she was responsible for. Several of her other poems were also born of this time in her life and reflected her homesickness. Elizabeth Barrett-Browning too wrote about her life but I adage her work as more direct and open than that of Bronte. Without the historical knowledge of Brontes life at the time of her writing her poems are beautiful but the ratifier cannot fully appreciate the emotive elements behind the words. Barrett-Brownings works were much clearer as to their intent and even without a working knowledge of her relationship with Robert Browning the reader can fully appreciate the powerful dramatic emotions flowing through her words. Her most famous sonnet How do I love thee?