Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Gender differences in poetry

1. Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to answer a crucial question: is there any difference between men and women writings within Victorian poetry?

To answer this question I have decided to study two illustrative poems written by two well-known poets: Sonnet from the Portuguese XLIII –How do I love thee?, written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Meeting at Night written by Robert Browning.

Both authors broke old models and created new forms in their poetry. That is the main reason why they are considered a good example of innovative and creative poetry in Victorian era.

2. Victorian period

Before going deeper into the study, it is important to bear in mind some relevant aspects of the Victorian age that will lead to better understanding of the paper.

As pointed out in (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era), Victorian era was a long period so many things happened throughout this time. Certainly, there were changes in politics, economy, religion, science, industry and culture. Moreover, the consequences of the previous revolutions –American and French Revolutions- took place during the Victorian age. Furthermore, due to the industrial progress, socialism appeared which changed women role completely.

Regarding literature, writers realizes of social responsibility. Consequently, they will start to write following a particular purpose and thinking of the effect their production will have on the reader. In fact, that is what Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are going to do in their works.

Added to that, it should be mentioned that we are talking about a time when people read, write and learn more about English society. In addition, they begin to be interested in learning about other cultures and other countries.

2.1. The New Woman

First of all, we need to know that women’s role[1] was changing little by little since the Romantic period. They started to exist socially and to be more independent, but we cannot forget that they had to fight very hard to achieve their social recognition. In fact, it was during the Victorian period when women’s work started to be appreciated, considering them as artists.

Briefly, changes were taking place in a faster way than ever so it was difficult for people to adapt to them. Actually, it is the New Woman and her impact on society who will push forward changes in society.

3. Gender division in Victorian poetry.

During the Victorian era, there was a clear consolidation of the notion of separate spheres for middle-class men and women. Men took responsibility for the public world and women had to carry out their duties intelligently and thoroughly, in order to secure the happiness and the comfort of the family and the household. Furthermore, manly aggressiveness ensured the prosperity not only of the family but also the nation, while womanly spirituality provided support for both men and their heirs.

Therefore, women poets were expected to represent the domesticity, refinement and purity. But little by little, woman’s situation changed. Fortunately, as we have already said, writing became a professional work for them and they achieved an important earning power. Moreover, it allowed them to pursue their career at home, without any obvious abdication of domestic responsibilities.

In this sense, Elizabeth Barrett Browning showed practical solidarity with what was know as “the Woman’s Cause” by collecting signatures for the Langham Place[2] group’s petition for married women’s property reform, as I read in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_feminism. Moreover, she will take the woman poet, her body and her life, for her subject matter.

However, the dominant Victorian concepts of manliness, including self-restraint and superiority to women, were constantly put under pressure from the representation of androgynous masculinities in Tennyson’s poetry, feminized masculinities in Arnold’s, and perverse masculinities in Swinburne’s. Therefore, the hegemonic view of genders itself gradually shifts throughout the mid- and late nineteenth century.

4. Two Victorian poems

How do I love thee? -Sonnet XLIII-

(From Sonnets from the Portuguese)

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
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints!---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!---and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Meeting at Night

I.

The grey sea and the long black land;

And the yellow half-moon large and low;

And the startled little waves that leap

In fiery ringlets from their sleep,

As I gain the cove with pushing prow,

And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

II.

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;

Three fields to cross till a farm appears;

A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch

And blue spurt of a lighted match,

And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,

Than the two hearts beating each to each!

By Robert Browning

5. Contrasting both poems…

The first poem above presented belongs to a collection of love sonnets named Sonnets from the Portuguese, which is considered one of the most famous works written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861). This sheaf of love poems was first published in 1850. They were inscribed to her lover Robert Browning, during the dubious period of her courtship and betrothal.

To understand her poetry, it is necessary to know some of her most relevant biographical data[3]. On one hand, we must have into account the double and tragic loss that Elizabeth Barrett suffered: her mother died when she was 22 and she also lost her favourite brother Edward. This lost affected her and she never fully recovered. On the other hand, her retired life because of her invalidity condition also affected the way she wrote.

Sensibility and intuition; understanding and interpretation of human life as well as the high courage with which she faced what appeared are not only some of the outstanding characteristics that define her personality but also the reason why she has become one of the most admirable female poet in British history.

As I have already said, Sonnets from the Portuguese is a collection of forty-four love poems which contains the most private and personal part of Elizabeth Barrett. In particular, Sonnet XLIII How do I love thee? is the most famous poem from this collection and Elizabeth dedicated it to his fiancé Robert Browning.

The writer gives us to understand that the person whom she is referring to in her poem is his beloved Robert Browning, as it was written between 1845 and 1846, the period of their courtship.

Regarding Robert Browning’s poem, Meeting at Night, and before commenting on it, we must know that it is included in his Dramatic lyrics. They were first published as Bells and Pomegranates, No. III, in 1842. In 1845 this poem, together with another one called Parting at morning appeared under the general title Night and Morning: the first was I.-Night, and the second II.-Morning.

After setting the poem, it is also important to mention some aspects of Robert Browning’s career as a poet and playwright. As it is said in Browning, Poetical Works 1833-1864, his career falls into three periods: from the publication of Pauline in 1833 to that of Sordello in 1840. In these two poems, and in Paracelsus (1835), Browning is concerned with the meaning of human life, and in particular with the problems that confront a poet or intellectual as he strives to find his true role in society. Certainly, his poetry has been criticized because of its difficulty and obscurity. As an example of it, we find his long poem above mentioned Sordello (1840). However, the publication of the long black-verse poem The Ring and the Book (1868) allowed him to achieve really significant recognition. Actually, nowadays Robert Browning is renowned mainly thanks to his dramatic monologues[4]. Added to that, his conversational language and his open social and optimistic attitude make him a modern poet.

Now we must concentrate our attention on Robert Browning’s poetical text, Meeting at Night. It must be acknowledge that it presents several interpretations. As far as I am concerned, it can be read not only as a literal story but also as a symbolical one. Therefore, the literal text would be the following: a man who is steering his boat at night across the sea towards land in order to encounter his lover. However, I maintain that when writing this poem Browning was not interested in such a simple description of a sailor meeting his lover. I believe that Browning is seizing the opportunity of an innocent story to occult the description of a sexual encounter between two lovers. We should turn our attention to the fact that at this time it was completely taboo to talk about sex so what Robert Browning did was to camouflage the real message into a naive narration. In short, here we have a clear example of an allegory about sex.

In contrast with Robert Browning’s poem, Elizabeth Barrett’s How do I love thee? offers a more cautious poem, in which she expresses her own esteem’s feelings in a more affectionate and tenderness way. Sonnet XLIII is a poem that does not underneath any scandalous issue. It is just the clear expression of the author’s most deep and intense love. We can assert that Elizabeth Barrett writes of what love really is and the different ways of how to love.

She expresses an unlimited love towards her beloved (lines 3 and 4). In fact, Elizabeth Barrett hesitated before publishing this sheaf of sonnets as they were too personal. She confesses, in the poem, that she needs him from dawn to dusk (lines 5 and 6). Browning is so sincere when writing these words that she demonstrates how deep and intense her love is for her husband. She brings her soul out into the open. It is a real love; a free and a pure love. Actually, she even claims that she loves him with an intensity of the suffering (l.9) and in the way she loved saints as a child (l.10). In addition, she assures that she will love him above all and even “better after death” (l.14). Briefly, this sonnet contains her most interior and private feelings.

Furthermore, despite that it is a love poem, as Meeting at Night, Elizabeth Barrett Browning does not mention any sexual element or any kind of excitement produced by the affection she feels towards her beloved. It is true that we are talking about a time in which women had to be reserved and maintain her reputation, being faithful to her husband. In fact, the concept of faithfulness in Victorian age was present in everyone’s home. It formed part of women’s commandments so it was not only frowned upon to see a woman talking about sex but also forbidden. They were considered the weaker, more innocent sex. As Elizabeth Lee holds in a document of The Victorian Web (http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/sextheory.html), Victorian women, in contrast with men, were described by many critics as follows:

“She had little to no sexual appetite, often capturing all the sympathy and none of the blame over indiscretions. Men represented the fallen, sinful, and lustful creatures, wrongfully taking advantage of the fragility of women.”

On the other hand, I find interesting to compare the different form of presenting the beloved figure. In Victorian era, there was a clear division of power between women and men. Although it was a period of changes and improvements, especially for women, who achieved most of their rights, it was still a period of male power. In fact, we can appreciate it in many male’s writings such as Robert Browning’s Meeting at Night, as we will see later on. The presence of male characters in Victorian poetry seemed fundamental. Certainly, most of the poem’s characters are men. In particular, we observe it in most of Robert Browning’s poetry, and again, in Meeting at night.

To compare with, we observe how Barrett Browning, in Sonnet XLIII How do I love thee?, praises the figure of man using a wide range of resources. For instance, the repetition of the same structure “I love thee” in almost all lines put male’s figure in a higher position and gives the poem strength, making the topic clearer. Moreover, using comparisons and metaphors, the writer also emphasizes man’s figure. For example, in line 7 she claims: “I love thee freely, as men strive for right”. Besides, expressions such as “I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life” (l. 12-13) in which the author expresses her most sincere affection shows that the man –her beloved- is really important in her life. In short, man becomes the protagonist of her poem.

On the contrary, if we look at Robert Browning’s poem, Meeting at Night, we scarcely appreciate woman’s presence. In fact, it is male’s figure the centre of the poem. Woman seems not to exist. It is really shocking if we think about the situation: the writer is presenting an encounter between two lovers and instead of praising woman’s beauty and giving details of her qualities and personality, he merely disregards her presence. Consequently, the reader is not able to feel any connection to her. He treats woman as if she was a mere object without soul, personality or thoughts. All these facts make difficult an important task when reading a poem: to feel connected with the character if it is a woman.

Despite male authors tried to express the feelings and emotions of female characters in their poetical texts, they created weak women. For example, in Robert Browning’s poem the female character is represented just as a “voice less loud” (l. 11) which supports the idea of the hierarchical position of men upon women.

Alfred Lord Tennyson is another male author that shows the weakness of women in his poems and makes evident the presence of man, as Robert Browning does in Meeting at Night and other poems. Similarly, after reading a poem such as Marianna[5] by Tennyson, we feel that the presence of man is essential for the existence of women or, what is more, that women do not have a personality as they cannot live without men presence. It seems as if they were on a second position. In the same way, in Browning’s poem My last Duchess[6] woman does not ever speak because she is already dead. Then, in most of his poems we can appreciate the control that man exerts upon woman as he is who talks and who controls the situation. In contrast, woman remains in silent, she is not given the chance to speak which creates a distance between the reader and the female described in the poetical texts. It is important to bear in mind that it can lead to confusion as a silent woman seems not to have thoughts and capacity to express her feelings and opinions, which, fortunately, it is not the case.

Now, it is time to analyse the poems according to their metrics and versification. One the one hand, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem, Sonnet XLIII How I love thee?, consists of 14 lines, divided into two parts and its rhyme scheme is this: from lines 1 to 8 ABBA, ABBA; then from lines 9 to 14 CD, CD, CD. It could be said that it is a Petrarchan sonnet as it also rhymed ABBA, ABBA in the first eight lines; but the remaining six lines were CDE, CDE; CDC, CDC or CDE, DCE. Therefore, the first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet are called an octet; whereas the remaining six lines are called a sestet. The octet and sestet have special functions in a Petrarchan sonnet: the octet presents the theme of the poem; while the sestet offers a solution if there is a problem, provides an answer if there is a question or simply presents further development of the theme. In this case, in Browning’s “Sonnet XLIII”, the octet introduces a question How do I love thee that is followed by an immediate answer where the poet expresses her love feelings and her religious and political ideals; and the sestet continues answering the initial question intensifying that love with passion and deep emotions. Moreover, it is an iambic pentameter since we find five feet per line –10 syllables divided into unstressed and stressed syllables-.

On the other hand, Robert Browning’s poem, Meeting at Night, is organized into two stanzas of six lines each one. Its rhyme scheme is abccba –ring rhyme-, and its form is narration. In the first stanza, it is described how the speaker has to manage through the dark sea in order to reach the land. Therefore, in the second stanza, the speaker has already reached the beach and encounters his beloved.

Regarding rhetorical figures that can be found in both poems, it is important to mention, for example, the presence of anaphora in Elizabeth Browning’s poem. Therefore, the repetition of the same expression “I love thee” in eight lines and “I shall but love thee” in the final line, gives strength to the poem and emphasizes the theme. In addition, we appreciate a constant use of alliteration in nearby words: “thee, the” (l. 1, 2, 5, 9, 12); “thee, they” (l. 8); “soul, sight” (l. 3); “love, level” (l. 5); “quiet, candle-light”(l. 6); “freely, strive, right” (l. 7); “thee, they” (l. 8); “purely, praise” (l. 8) “passion, put” (l. 9); “grief, faith” (l. 10); “my, my” (l. 10); “love, love” (l. 11); “with, with” (l. 12);”lost, love” (l. 12); “lost, saints” (l. 12); “smiles, tears” (l. 12); “smiles, all life” (l.13); “shall, love” (l. 14); “but, better” (l. 14) and “but, better, after” (l. 14). All this contributes to the musicality of the poem.

Similarly, in Robert Browning’s poem we also find alliteration. For instance, the repetition of the sound /l/: “startled little waves that leap” (l. 3) which could be associated with the rowing of the speaker at night; the repetition of the sounds /∫/, /s/ and /t∫/: “quench its speed in the slushy sand” which could be interpreted as the unexpected stop of the boat in the sandy beach. In addition, we observe the repetition of the sounds /t/ and /p/ in line 9: “a tap at the pane”.

It is now time to consider the linguistic resources that both poets have used in order to organize their poetical texts. On the one hand, I would like to underline Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s work and the method she has used to structure a so deep-involved piece of poetry. The kind of expressions and verbs she uses has been carefully chosen in order to transmit an extreme sensation of love and passion. For example, the continuous repetition of the verb “love”, which appears in almost all lines, intensifies her feelings and reinforces the theme. Furthermore, nouns such as “breath” (l. 12), “smiles” (l. 13), and “tears” (l.13) are also terms that express personal feelings. In addition, the pronoun “thee”, which is repeated along the poem, becomes an affectionate term used to designate the person beloved.

I would like to underline an expression that has attracted my attention: “my old griefs” (l. 10). My own view of this is that the writer is referring to her own personal sufferings; that is, the lost of her mother and her favourite brother Edward as well as her bad health and invalidity condition.

Another aspect that can be found along the poem is the presence of religious allusions: “grace” (l. 4), “faith” (l.10), “saints” (l.12) and “God” (l. 13). We have to bear in mind that Elizabeth Barrett Browning became engrossingly interested in the so-called “spiritual manifestations” and was very credulous concerning them. She believed in the direct message of God to every human soul. Consequently, most of her poetry is impregnated with references to God or other religious elements.

On the other hand, Robert Browning’s poem, Meeting at Night, presents another different structure. Here, the author uses a descriptive language. That is, there are several adjectives describing the situation, the objects that surrounds the speaker, the feelings, etc. For example, “grey” (l. 1); “long” (l. 1); “black” (l. 1); “yellow” (l. 2); “large” (l. 2); “low” (l. 2); “startled” (l. 3); “little” (l. 3); “fiery” (l. 4); “slushy” (l. 6); “warm” (l. 7); “scented” (l. 7); “quick” (l. 9); “sharp” (l. 9); “blue” (l. 10); “lighted” (l. 10); “loud” (l. 11). Therefore, the poem acquires a narrative form.

However, an aspect that has attracted my attention is the lack of a main verb in the second stanza. It could be an intentional mechanism since it supports the lover’s purpose and goal.

In addition, if we analyze Robert Browning’s poetical text, we find that allegory is the dominant trope. The author uses allegorical language in order to convey a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. Besides, he conceals a taboo issue. Therefore, there are many elements that occult a symbolic meaning. For instance, “the cove” (l. 5) could be interpreted as the vagina and “prow” (l. 6) could be seen as a phallic symbol since the author uses some suggestive words such as “fiery” (l. 4) and “quench” (l. 6) that are more appropriated to talk about a sexual relation. That is, using “fiery” the writers seems to express a passionate desire which is “quenched” with that sexual encounter. In other words, behind that sailor who is navigating to meet his beloved, which would be the literal story, there is a sexual meeting represented by these erotic images and phallic symbols. Moreover, the following lines could also contain a symbolical meaning:

“A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch

And a blue spurt of a lighted match”

Second stanza (Lines 9 and 10)

Personally, I understand them as the lost of virginity and man’s ejaculation. In this sense, “a tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch” would be the moment in which woman loss her virginity and “a blue spurt of a lighted match” would be the instant in which man ejaculates, where “blue spurt” would represent man’s semen and “a lighted match” the orgasm, the climax. Therefore, these lines, together with the last two lines would reflect the pleasure’s culmination of the two lovers:

“and a voice less loud, thro’ its joys and fears,

Than the two hearts beating each to each!”

Second stanza (Lines 11 and 12)

All these interpretations seem unthinkable in such a period since, as it is said in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_Era: “the Victorian society preferred to avoid talking about sex”. In addition, sexual activities were strictly under control by church laws. For example, “sexual relations at times of penance and on religious days were forbidden. Sexual relations were solely for the purpose of reproduction; therefore the church opposed sexual relations for the intentions of solely obtaining pleasure”. However, Robert Browning sets all these restrictions aside and dares to create a poem in which he presents the most scandalous and inconceivable topic hidden into an “innocent” poem.

Furthermore, it is also important the presence of imagery in Robert Browning’s poem. For instance, in line 7 the poet suggests “then a mile of warm sea-scented beach”. Here, the author plays with the olfactory sense since it could be considered as a metaphor of woman’s aroma, represented by the “sea-scented beach”. Then, if I understand the writer rightly, the “beach” could be a metaphor representing the woman. What is more, I find some personifications along the poem. For example, in line 3 “the startled little waves that leap”. Here, the author attributes a personal quality –startled- to an impersonal object –waves-. In the same way, “in fiery ringlets from their sleep” (l. 4) can be interpreted as a personification too.

To finish with the analysis, I would like to underline the archetype of time that is present in Robert Browning’s text. In fact, we find references both to distance and time throughout the poetical text, showing that he is measuring the time until he encounters his love. For example, in the first line “the long black land”; “I gain the cove with pushing prow” (l. 5); “and quench its speed” (l. 6); “then a mile of warm sea-scented beach” (l. 7); “three fields to cross” (l. 8).

6. Conclusion.

The only possible conclusion to be drawn from all this is that, although many improvements took place during the Victorian era, and women achieved many of their rights, there was still much more work to do. In fact, while women were considered to be the weak sex, men were who assumed the responsibility for the public world and they were also the ones who brought prosperity to the family.

However, we must value Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s efforts to situate women in an equal position as men, and her courage to confront social difficulties since her, as many other women, had to fight against social injustices by the simple fact of being a woman.

We also must remember that Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett were married so it influenced many of their works and created a great expectation between Victorian readers, as everyone likes romantic stories. Therefore, the publication of some of Elizabeth Barrett’s love letters influenced the way in which people read her poems, especially, her collection of sonnets Sonnets from the Portuguese as they were constantly related to her personal love story. In fact, Elizabeth Barrett Browning is often remembered after her marriage with Robert Browning and the poem that she dedicated to him How do I love thee?. However, we must value her long career as a poet and her strength breaking old rules of woman’s insignificancy and expressing her own feelings and sentiments openly.

I think How do I love thee? is a wonderful piece of poetry in which we appreciates the most sincere and passionate words of a woman expressing her feelings of love without any shame to undress her soul. Reading it, you can enjoy how her heart pours out its emotions and the simple words’ echo when reading it is sublime. On the other hand, I admire Robert Browning’s bravery to create a so involved piece of poetry, challenging the sexual morality of the Victorians, using allegory to occult a sexual encounter between two lovers.

7. Bibliography.

· Jack, Ian. Browning, Poetical Works 1833-1864. London: Oxford University Press (1970).

· Forster, Margaret. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a biography. London: Vintage (2004).

· E. Scudder, Horace. The Complete Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. New York: Buccaneer Books Cutchogue (1993).

· F. Loucks, James. Robert Browning's poetry : authoritative texts criticism. New York: W. W. Norton (1979).

· Lionel Trilling, Harold Bloom. Victorian prose and poetry. New York: Oxford University Press (1973).

· Chevalier, Jean& Gheerbrant, Alain. Diccionario de los símbolos. Ediciones Herder. Barcelona. (1999).

· Hayter, Alethea. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Harlow : Longmans, Green & Co. (1969).

8. Webgraphy.

· Lee, Elizabeth. Victorian Theories of Sex and Sexuality. The Victorian Web. http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/sextheory.html. (Access date, 7/01/08)

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_era (Access date, 2/01/07)

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_era (Access date, 27/12/07).

· http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/ebb/index.html (Access date, 28/12/07).

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_monologue (Access date, 29/12/07).

· http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2164.html (Access date, 30/12/07).

· http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/288.html (Access date, 30/12/07).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_feminism (Access date, 30/12/07).

http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93708.html (Access date, 2/01/08).

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[1] More information on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Victorian_era (Access date, 27/12/07).

[2] The Langham Place group is the first identifiably feminist organization to promote women’s rights in England. More information in http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/93/93708.html (Access date, 2/01/08).

[3] We can read more about the author in http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/ebb/index.html (Access date, 28/12/07).

[4] It is a new type of poem which was developed during the Victorian period. The poem itself is performative and seeks some effect. For more information visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_monologue

[5] Poem available on http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/2164.html (Access date, 30/12/07).

[6] Poem available on http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/288.html (Access date, 30/12/07).