Elizabeth Browning's Life Experiences and Their Manifestation in Her Poems

Introduction

Elizabeth Browning was a poet and a writer since her childhood all through to her death. She had immense love for her literary works that no calamity would dissuade her from her passion, not even death of loved ones or her health issues. She authored many poems some of them being Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point and The Cry of the Children which typify occurrences in a person's life. Indeed, these two poems borrowed elements and reflected on her personal life.

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Life Experiences

Elizabeth Browning was a renowned poet who lived between the years of 1806 to 1861. She was the oldest daughter in a family of 12 children. Her family made most of its fortunes from their sugar plantations in Jamaica. Elizabeth was schooled at home, which enabled her to become an avid reader and writer. Elizabeth was heavily exposed to classical works by authors such as John Milton and William Shakespeare while she was young. Perhaps, the occurrence was a great influence on her resolve to begin writing and completing her first book of poetry when she was only 12 years old. Since Elizabeth was from a religious family, most of her works explored religious themes throughout her life as an author (Biography para. 3).

Unfortunately, at the age of 14, Elizabeth was diagnosed with lung illness, which subjected her to the consumption of morphine as a mode of treatment for the rest of her life. A year later, she was involved in an accident that resulted in a spinal injury. However, despite experiencing health problems, Elizabeth literary life remain unaffected as she decided to explore authorship to the fullest. For instance, she taught herself the Hebrew language and the Hebrew culture and later on published her first book in 1820 (Biography para. 4).

Sadly, as fate would have it, Elizabeth lost her mother in 1828. Soon after, her father's business became unsuccessful thus prompting him to sell the family estate. Despite suffering these two setbacks, her literary life remained unaffected. Later on, Elizabeth's health continued to deteriorate which forced her to relocate and live with her brother. But sadly, a tragedy occurred as her brother drowned and died, an incident which emotionally and physically shattered her. However, despite the occurrences, she continued publishing her works. Elizabeth met and went through a courtship with an established English poet Robert Browning who they sired a child together. Nevertheless, Elizabeth's father was against the marriage to the point that he never spoke to his daughter again (Biography para. 5). Notably, other than authoring religiously themed poems she incorporated politics into her works when she relocated to Florence, Italy.

The Cry of the Children

Agony is reflected in both Elizabeth's life as well as her poem The Cry of the Children. Elizabeth faces numerous instances of agony in her life. The first instance of pain was when she suffered from a lung disease and later the spinal injury. She then suffered after her mother passed away, an event that coincided with the loss of her father's vast estate due to financial hardships. Her last instance of pain was when her brother drowned and died leaving her emotionally and physically shattered. Similarly, her poem describes examples where the characters go through painful experiences. The poem discusses how young children as exposed to child labor and undergo gruesome experiences. In the poem, agony can be exemplified in the first stanza, on the first and second lines, which state, "Do ye hear the children weeping" and "Ere the sorrow comes with years?" (Browning 156). The poem talks about the burdens and pains that the children go through as child workers instead of enjoying their playtime.

Secondly, Elizabeth talks about death in the poem, which can be reflected in the experiences she went through while growing up. As stated earlier, Elizabeth lost her mother in 1828. Also, while living with her brother, near the Sea of Torquay for a short period, her brother died as a result of drowning. Similarly, in her poem, she discusses the premature death of children, which is a consequence of laboring under gruesome experiences. For instance, in stanza four, line one to three, the author writes, "True," say the children, "it may happen," "That we die before our time" and "Little Alice died last year" (Browning 156) Elizabeth laments how Alice, a child worker died. She states that Alice died before her time. The statement implies that she would have lived longer had it not been for the child labor. Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point

Elizabeth experienced opposition to her love and marriage to Robert Browning who was also a writer. The opposition emanated from her father who was very much against their marriage that he never spoke to Elizabeth again. The love between Robert and Elizabeth began after Elizabeth's work drew Robert's attention. They exchanged over 600 letters in 20 months and later eloped in 1846. Her experience of her love for a man being opposed can be reflected in the way she authored an account of a woman being denied love as her man was taken away from her in the poem Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point. In stanza twelve, line one, the author describes the extent to which the woman was in love with the man by stating that she sang his name instead of a song. However, the love was opposed by other persons who ensured that it came to an end as they took the man away. The occurrence is exemplified in stanza fourteen, line four and five where the author writes, "They wrung my cold hands out of his,--They dragged him . . . where ? . . . I crawled to touch" (Browning 3).

Elizabeth's experiences with death are also reflected in the poem Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point. Earlier, Elizabeth lost her mother and her brother. In the poem, the main character a black woman kills her child, who she had sired with her slave master, who unlike her, was a white man. The woman hated the child since whenever she looked at it, she saw the face of a white baby who was also condemned to slavery. The woman killed the child with a handkerchief as demonstrated in stanza twenty to twenty-two (Browning 4).

Conclusion

In her poems, Runaway Slave at Pilgrim Point and The Cry of the Children, Elizabeth reflected three significant themes that occurred in her life. These elements included death, agony, and opposition to love. Elizabeth's writings were a demonstration of the experiences she went through while growing up until her demise.

Works Cited

Biography. "Elizabeth Barrett Browning." Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 25 Mar. 2016, www.biography.com/people/elizabeth-barrett-browning-9228932.Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. "The Cry of the Children." (1844): 156-58.

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point. Chapman Hall, 193 Picadilly, 1849.