Elizabeth Barrett Browning
1806–1861
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was an English poet, born in County Durham, and one of the most respected poets of the Victorian period. Her secret courtship with the poet Robert Browning ended in their elopement to Italy in 1846; they lived in Florence until her death.
Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850), written during the courtship, includes Sonnet 43, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways”. Her verse novel Aurora Leigh (1856) and her poems on social injustice, such as “The Cry of the Children”, were widely read and admired in her lifetime.
Best-known poems
-
Sonnets from the Portuguese
I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wish'd-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears … -
How Do I Love Thee
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight … -
A Musical Instrument
What was he doing, the great god Pan,
Down in the reeds by the river?
Spreading ruin and scattering ban, … -
That England
From “Aurora Leigh”
WHOEVER lives true life, will love true love.
I learned to love that England. Very oft, … -
The Prospect
Methinks we do as fretful children do,
Leaning their faces on the window-pane
To sigh the glass dim with their own breath’s stain, …
All poems (40)
A 4
C 2
D 1
G 2
H 3
I 1
L 1
M 1
O 1
P 1
R 1
S 12
- Song of the RoseIF Zeus chose us a King of the flowers in his mirth,
- Sonnets from the PortugueseI thought once how Theocritus had sung
- Sonnets from the Portuguese, 14If thou must love me, let it be for nought
- Sonnets from the PortugueseVI. Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall standGo from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXIV. If thou must love me, let it be for naughtIf thou must love me, let it be for naught
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXLIII. How do I love thee? Let me count the waysHow do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXVIII. I never gave a lock of hair awayI Never gave a lock of hair away
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXXI. Say over again, and yet once over againSay over again, and yet once over again,
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXXVIII. My letters! all dead paper,… mute and white!My letters! all dead paper,… mute and white!—
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXXXIX. Because thou hast the power and own’st the graceBecause thou hast the power and own’st the grace
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXXXV. If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchangeIf I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
- Sonnets from the PortugueseXXXVIII. First time he kissed me, he but only kissedFirst time he kissed me, he but only kissed
T 8
- TearsThank God, bless God, all ye who suffer not
- That EnglandFrom “Aurora Leigh”
- The Cry of the Human“there is no God,” the foolish saith,
- The Deserted GardenI MIND me in the days departed,
- The ProspectMethinks we do as fretful children do,
- The Romance of the Swan’s NestLITTLE Ellie sits alone
- The Sleep“He giveth his belovèd sleep.”
- Two SayingsTwo sayings of the Holy Scriptures beat
