She is blessing him and praising him for greatness. She speaks of him as having a perfect name, as well as celestial wings and head. She speaks of him as being so holy that she can hardly contain herself.
"Sleep, sleep my Holy One!
My flesh, my Lord! - what name? I do not know
A name that seemeth not too high or low,
too far from me or heaven;
My Jesus, that is best! That word be given
By the majestic angel whose command
was softly as a man's beseeching said,
When I and all the earth appeared to stand.
In the great overflow
of light celestial from wings and head
Sleep, sleep my saving one!" (The Virgin Mary to the Child Jesus, 1838)
Within this poem, it is revealed once again that Elizabeth had a deep influence of spirituality at the time in her life, specifically of Christianity which is shown here. Did God come to her when she was locked up in her room? It seems as if she has an overflowing amount of words to speak of spirituality. It's almost as if she's posessed by the spirit. As well as having vast knowledge of the Holy Bible at the time, Browning also possesses knowledge of Greek religions and spiritual ideas. In the poem A Drama in Exile, Browning writes pre-occupied by the idea of combining incidents from the Christian story into an epic Greek tragedy. It is at this place in the poem where where Lucifer exists, and Adam and Eve have just been shunned from the garden.
"Rejoice in the clefts of Gehenna,
My exiled, my host! Earth has exiles as hopeless as when a Heaven's empire was
lost
Through the seams her shaken foundations,
Smoke up in great joy! With smoke to your fierce exultations deform and
destroy!
Your lurid revenges,
And darken the face
Of white heaven and taunt them with changes
From glory and grace" (A Drama in Exile, 1843)
Here she combines the two spiritual ideas of Christianity and Greek theology. Ironically though, she portrays Lucifer to be joyful that he finally conquered good. Could this be a result of Barrett's frustration with herself or with the world? It is certain that she is knowledgable and quite interested in Christianity, but her true beliefs are questionable in this literary work. Despite Barrett's different ideas regarding religion and spirituality, it is definite that writing of spiritual types is what brought her through the difficult time in her life.
Poetry written by Barrett during her middle-aged years consisted of works focused on the topic of love. Due to her engagement to Robert Browning in 1844, and a marriage following a year later, many fresh ideas arose on the topic of love and happinness. Love is obvious when one writes on the topic of love, and Lady Geraldine's Courtship proves just that. The piece recalls the fantasy story of a woman, Lady Geraldine, and her courtship with a man she has an encounter with.
"She has voters in the Commons,
She has lovers in the palace
And, of all the fair court-ladies,
few have jewels half as fine.
Oft the prince named her beauty
`Twixt the red wine and the chalice.
Oh, what was I to love her?
My beloved, my Geraldine?" (Lady Geraldine's Courtship, 1844)
The fact that Barrett writes a tale of another woman in love, and the
experiences she encounters, gives
the reader an idea of what Barrett's feelings were at the time she was in love.
The poem is filled with
romance, dreams and fantasies, many of which could have paralleled Barrett's
life also.
Printed in 1847, and simply entitled "Love," Barrett expresses her deep thoughts on love in the poem. She speaks of `soul's choice and conscience,' and `life in perfect whole' as if it, or he, means the world to her.
"But when a soul, by choice and conscience, doth
Throw out her full force on another soul,
The conscience and the concentration both
Make mere life, Love. For life in perfect whole
And aim consummated, is Love in sooth,
As Nature's magnet-heat rounds pole with pole." (Love, 1847)
Barrett speaks of love so deeply, it's almost as if she is one with her writing. She talks so deeply of souls in love, and a perfect life, it is obvious that she is in deep love with Robert Browning. It's this deep desire and passion that she has for him at this time in her life which inspires her to write the simple poem, Love.
Perhaps Barrett's most famous piece, Sonnets from the Portuguese, describes her doubts regarding Robert's love for her. He proffessed to love her so much, she could hardly grasp the idea, and was in great disbelief.
"Say over again, and yet once over again,
That though dost love me. Though the word repeated
Should seem `a cuckoo-song,' as though dost treat it,
Remember, never to the hill or plain,
Valley and wood, without her cuckoo-strain
Comes the fresh Spring in all her green completed." (Sonnets from the
Portuguese, 1850)
The poem's title is often mistaken for a translation of Portuguese poems, which it is not. Robert's pet name for Barrett was `my little portuguese.' The poem shows Barrett's love for her husband Robert, but also the doubt she experiences when she begs Robert to tell her of his love repeatidly. Sonnets from the Portuguese is a key piece of literature at the special time of love in Barrett's life. She has the ability to express her feelings on paper with such talent and style.
The later part of Barrett's life consisted of poems which reflected her passionate views on political and social issues. The piece, The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point, expresses Barrett's beliefs opposing slavery.
" I am black, I am black,
And yet God made me, they say
But if he did so smiling back."
(The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point, 1850)
The poem is written from the point of view of a black person during the terrible days of slavery. Barrett expresses her compassion for those who were treated so horribly by placing herself in the shoes of a black person within the poetry.
Casa Guidi Windows displays Barrett's opinions regarding Italian rights to independance from the Austrians. She expresses her compassion for them by artistically expressing her political views.
"Dazed Naples, Hungary fainting `neath the thong,
And Austria wearing a smooth olive-leaf
On her brute forehead, while her hoofs outpress
The life from these Italian souls, in brief.
O Lord of Peace, who are Lord of Righteousness,
Constrain the anguished worlds from sin and grief,
Pierce them with conscience, purge them with redress,
And give us peace which is no counterfiet!" (Casa Guidi Windows, 1851)
Barrett, at this time in her life felt quite a strong pity towards the Italians. The later part of her life she begins to develop such wisdom and knowledge about social and political issues, racism being one of them, and is greatly admired by many for stepping out of her comfort zone.
A work which expresses Barrett's social opinions even more bluntly is her piece titled Aurora Leigh. The poem reveals the silent struggles women face due to the overpowering male dominance in society. It is a story of a female writer struggling to become a successful poet in a hectic literary world.
"A harmless live, she called a virtuous life,
A quiet life, which was not life at all,
Between the vicar and the county squires,
The lord-lieutenant looking down sometimes
From the empyreal, the assure their soulsw
Against chance vulgarisms, and, in the abyss,
The apothecary looked on once a year,
To prove their soundness of humility.
The poor-club exercised her Christian gifts
Of knitting stockings, stitching petticoats,
Because we are of one flesh after all." (Aurora Leigh, 1857)
Barrett wrote this poem to express her exact feelings towards the world, and the oppression of herself and other women writers. During her lifetime, men were the dominant figures in society, and to become a famous woman was quite the task. Barrett however, overcame this challenge and went on to be a worldly known female poet for her talent in writing.
Though Barrett had many hardships throughout her childhood and adult years, literature seemed to have brought her through it all. Dispite illness, death and depression, Barrett prevailed and learned to express her many emotions through writing. Through her poetry she was able to share her feelings with others, and help many people express their thoughts also. She will forever be remembered as the strong woman with the exceptional ability to put emotions onto paper.
