Love and loss

Authors Avatar

               

         What different views of marriage are shown in the poetry you have read ?

                This assignment is based around the study of a selection of poems all of which have love and marriage as their central theme.  The poems we focused on were when we two parted which was written by Lord Byron, Remember by C.Rosseti, and How Do I Love Thee by E.B Browning.  As well was analysing the language and meaning of each poem; I will also be exploring the form and structure of each poem.

               In the Victorian era, Victorian marriages involved the women to stay at home and look after the house and family, a woman’s reputation was her most precious asset, in that time period.  It seemed liked that husbands owned the Women, and that the women were made to do all the dirty jobs.  Women at this time, were in a different position in society than they are now.  Society was divided long class lines, and there was little opportunity for women to get a good education or improve her position.  Many working class women as servants or did hard physical work.  A women had to do what her father told her to do, this even included arranged marriages where love didn’t matter.  Religion was also much more important at that time period compared to now, which was why Christina Rossetti never got married, due to religious differences.    The three poems that I am studying did not have a typical marriage at that time.  Elizabeth Browning, who loved her partner, but never ever got married due to religious differences.  Christina Rosetti did not marry either as she was ill, and Lord Byron who didn’t have a committed relationship due to affairs with other married women.

Join now!

               The poem How do I love thee, which was written by E.B Browning.  The poet shows her love for her husband, Robert Browning and proves how strong their love for each other is.  The poem is structured as a sonnet, which has 14 lines and has a theme about love.  The poet uses language to help communicate the meaning of the poem, by expressing her love for her husband.  The poet says “If God choose I shall love thee better after death” this suggests she will still love even when she’s dead. ...

This is a preview of the whole essay