Analysis and Summary of Three Criticisms from Appendix D.6-D.9:Poems Before Congress

Summary of “From [Henry Fothergill Chorley], “Poems before Congress,” The Athenaeum 1690 (17 March 1866): 371-71

            This criticism begins by discussing how Elizabeth’s poetry has shifted at this time, from mere “poetry” to more “political” issues (351). Chorley states that, “It must be remarked that Mrs. Browning’s Art suffers from the violence of her temper. Choosing to scold, she forgot how to sing” (351). Chorley then goes on to discuss that Elizabeth’s poem(s) at this time seem to “curse” England and degrade the very way in which she and her fellow Englanders live. Chorley feels that Elizabeth’s poems are not truthful and that they do not (were not) representing truthfully what was occurring in England at the time—the current political issues, but instead were merely her assumptions of “vain-glory” (352). The last lines of Chorley’s criticism is rather interesting because although he has claimed that Elizabeth’s poetry really has no true political representation and that she is writing nonsense, Chorley seems to claim that Elizabeth is still one of the best, if not the best, poetess that England has ever seen. “For all this, Mrs. Browning is here, as before, a real poetess—one of the few among the few,--one who has written, in her time, better than the best of English poetesses…--and roves the same on this occasion, by taking to is extremity the right of “insane prophet” to lost his head,--and to lose his tongue” (352).
It seems that Chorley is claiming that Elizabeth’s poetry is still great because although it may be based upon her own assumption she has managed to stir even the best of prophets by her works. 

Summary of “From “Mrs. Browning’s New Poems,” The Atlas (24 March 1860): 231-33

            Within this criticism the beginning discusses how individuals have been able to find refuge in Elizabeth’s poetry, especially within the last year with all of the political issues that had been occurring within Italy. “…[People] have found a noble utterance in these rough, yet in sort harmonious, verses by the greatest poetess our language has yet produced—a writer who unites the strength of a man’s intellect to the largeness of a woman’s heart” (353). The criticism then goes on to point out that it is obvious that many people, especially those who are experiencing some “jealousies” of Elizabeth’s work, will criticize these works harshly and not find the power in the poems written by Elizabeth Browning. “They [negative critics] will assert that these songs of freedom are harsh and rugged, for they will make no account of that exaltation of soul which may well cause a verse to stagger now and then, as it causes the human voice to break and fail when it would speak” (353). The criticism continues to discuss that these negative critics will have foolish cries against Elizabeth’s poems because they feel that her works are “anti-English,” however the author of this criticism claims that this does not seem to be the case behind Elizabeth’s works at all (353). The criticism concludes by stating that although “it is unpleasant to hear a lady even “making believe” to curse her own country” no one can deny that her [Elizabeth's] poetry is truly some of the greatest that England has ever experienced (353).

Summary of “From [William Edmondstoune Aytoun], “Poetic Aberrations,” Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine 87, 534 (April 1860): 490-94

            Within this criticism Aytoun discusses the strong belief that a woman should NOT interfere with any political affairs. Aytoun then goes on to discuss that women are fair (soft) and that they [all women] are too soft and too much like angels to take part in such a masculine subject matter. “We love the fair sex too well, to desire that they should be withdrawn from their own sphere, which is that of adorning the domestic circle, and tempering by their gentleness the asperities of our rude nature, to figure in the public arena, or involve themselves in party contests…” (354). Aytoun discusses that a woman’s place is within her home, where she can display her softness and provide for her comforting hand to her family. Aytoun then claims that a woman that begins to obsess herself within politics begins to lose this womanly touch. “Then they resemble, to our shuddering fancy, in spite of all their charms, not angels, but so many tricoteuses in the gallery of the National Convention” (354). The criticism continues to discuss that not only do women who assert themselves into politics lose their womanly touch; they also begin to lose the impression of men because no man wants to be with a woman who adds conflicting political views to his own (354). Aytoun feels very strongly that although Elizabeth’s earlier works were very well received, her new works are not worth receiving at all and that Elizabeth has essentially fallen into bad poetry because she has begun to express her political views.
There is also a portion of the criticism, towards the end, that Aytoun discusses that Elizabeth’s claim that an angel told her to write these poems was very untruthful. Aytoun states that, “We are always sorry to be under the necessity of contradicting a lady, but we are decidedly of opinion that no angel desired the gifted authoress to do anything of the kind” (355). Aytoun believes that an angel would not encourage Elizabeth to write such poems, but would have instead discouraged her from every doing anything of the sort. The criticism concludes with the idea that it is really not Elizabeth’s, or any woman’s, duty to curse anyone and that if Elizabeth wishes to have a suitable future that she needs to take these poems as a lesson.

Analysis of the three criticisms

            I found it very interesting that there was really only one truly positive criticism about Elizabeth’s poems within this section of the text. I also found it interesting that even within the positive criticism the author notes that it is not appropriate for a woman to even “make believe” that she is cursing her own country (From 353). This has brought me to question if the critics of Elizabeth’s poems are truly criticizing her work or if they are merely criticizing her gender?
            I know that I have made this claim about the critics of Elizabeth’s poems before; however, I can only wonder what the critics would have said about these poems if they were written by a male figure?  If a male figured had cursed his country because of the wrongful doings that it [the country] was partaking in, would people stand behind him in his claim? If a male figure would have written about America and the wrongful acts that Americans were committing by partaking in slavery, would more people stood behind the poem?
            My answer is yes. I feel that the fact that Elizabeth was writing about a masculine subject, politics, simply fueled the fire of the negative critics. Within both of the negative criticism that were viewed neither one focused truly on Elizabeth’s work. Both of these criticisms’ focus was one Elizabeth’s sex. It was not stated that no man or no human should take part in these acts, but that no woman should take part in these acts. The critics of this time seem to have felt strongly about the fact that a woman has no place in the political world and even the world outside her home.  “We love the fair sex too well, to desire that they should be withdrawn from their own sphere, which is that of adorning the domestic circle, and tempering by their gentleness the asperities of our rude nature, to figure in the public arena, or involve themselves in party contests…” (Aytoun 354).
            These claims by English critics also cause me to wonder if the poems written about America were also  being criticized on the same aspect. Although Americans probably were thrown for a loop by the fact that someone was calling them out on their actions towards slaves, I don’t think that the fact that a woman was the one writing these claims helped the situation(s) what so ever.
            It seems that Elizabeth Browning was a threat to the male figures within England and even the United States. It was not that Elizabeth was a bad poetess or that she was not writing about the political issues correctly that offended her readers; it was that she was challenging the status quo of society that offended them. Elizabeth was not only taking a step forward, over the boundaries set by men, for herself, but she was also taking a step forward for all women, all across the world, of all different races.
Although this is not mentioned within any of the criticisms, I feel that the fact that Elizabeth was challenging the status quo is part of the reason that many, if not all, of her characters/ narrators in her poems are females. By creating her characters/ narrators as female figures it shows that ALL women have a voice and that they all have the right to use that voice whenever the occasion arises. A great example of this is within Elizabeth’s poem, “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point.” Within this poem the character/ narrator of the poem is not only a woman, but she is also a black slave.  This is showing readers that not only do white women have a voice and that they should have the right to use it, but that black-slave women also have a voice and they too have the right to use them.
            Unfortunately, many readers, especially the male readers, were not able to accept these poems for the beauty within the texts. “They [negative critics] will assert that these songs of freedom are harsh and rugged, for they will make no account of that exaltation of soul which may well cause a verse to stagger now and then, as it causes the human voice to break and fail when it would speak” (From 353). The beauty is hidden beneath the sex of its author and because of this the beauty was lost within the poems because critics could not see past the power of the sexes.

Works Cited:

Aytoun, William E. ""Poetic Aberrations," Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine 87, 534 (April 1860): 490-94." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 353-56. Print.

Chorley, Henry F. ""Poems before Congress," The Athenaeum 1690 (17 March 1860): 371-72." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 351-52. Print.

"From "Mrs. Browning's New Poems," The Atlas (24 March 1860): 231-33." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 352-53. Print.

© [Mykenzie Fox] [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ], [2013]. Unauthorized use and/ or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/ or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Mykenzie Fox] and [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

An Analysis and Summay of three works from Appendix C: Trans-Atlantic Abolitionism and Responses to EBB's Anti-Slavery Poems

Summary of “The Fugitive,” by Martha Hempstead

At the beginning of Appendix C there is a brief description of Elizabeth Browning’s poetry that is going to be viewed within this section. This description also goes on to explain two poems that had been selected, from other authors, to build upon Elizabeth Browning’s focus during this time, which happened to be abolitionism. “The Liberty Bell selections both reveal how she drew on the conventions of abolitionist writing and accentuate the relatively radical nature of her [Elizabeth’s] contributions” (Stone 331). One of the poems selected from The Liberty Bell is Martha Hempstead’s, “The Fugitive.” Within this poem Hempstead has written about a runaway slave, who is a woman. Within the poem we discover that she has run away from her master because she has borne a child whom is of her master’s flesh. However, the master does not want this child nor does her want her. Her master had just gotten married and came to believe that she must be sold. “From his sight she must be sold, Nor longer there remain; He had need, beside, of all the gold, Which her beauty would obtain” (Hempstead 336). At the end of the poem Hempstead talks about how a chase has begun to find the missing slave and in the end her, the slave’s, hiding place was found. This poem is very interesting to read after reading Elizabeth Browning’s “The Runaway Slave.” Both of these poems seem to have a reoccurring theme within them and both seem to draw strongly upon the foulness of slavery.  It has been noted that Elizabeth may have been creating her slave within her poem as a woman because of Hempstead’s idea of a “Slave Mother” (Chapman 52).  It is a rather interesting idea to look at because it seems that a woman’s view, especially a slave woman’s view, is not one that is recognized very often or at all during this time. Although it is not directly mentioned within Elizabeth’s poem, as it is in Hempstead’s, the idea that the main character of Elizabeth’s poem is a woman is definitely hinted at throughout the poem. This is a take that I can see Elizabeth using within her poem because I do feel that Elizabeth is someone who is not only very unconventional, but she also wants women’s voices to be heard by male figures. Not only is her poem and Hempstead’s, proclaiming that women have a voice against slavery, but that slave women also have a voice against the ways that they are being treated.

Summary of The Literary World on “Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave” and “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” (1851)

This criticism of Elizabeth’s poem is very interesting because the author of the criticism feels that Elizabeth’s poem is not worth reading. At the beginning of the criticism the author talks about how the “Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave” poem is a “tribute” to the great nation, but that there is another, Elizabeth’s poem, that cannot be received “without dissent” (The 342). The criticism goes on to express how it is thought that Elizabeth is basically scrutinizing all Americans for the act of slavery. The author feels that not all Americans can be blamed for slavery, however, because not all Americans are actively involved in slavery. The author of this criticism states, “…The American is not responsible for it [slavery]; it is purely a local institution: if there is any complaint to utter it should be addressed, respectively, to the citizens where slavery exists…” (The  342). The criticism also goes on to express the discontent that he/ she has with the fact that Elizabeth is a “foreign mind” to the problem at hand and that she should not have any place in writing about something that she has no hand in (The  342).

Summary of Charlotte Forten on “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point” (1854)

This criticism was very interesting because it is almost as if Forten was writing in her journal. The beginning of the poem discusses how “Rose” was to set off to go to the Anti-Slavery Convention and how Forten was to go tomorrow, and that she was rather excited about attending it (Forten 343). The criticism about Elizabeth’s poem is rather short, but Forten expresses her love for Elizabeth’s writing(s) within the criticism. '“The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point,” by Elizabeth B. Browning; how powerfully it is written! how earnestly and touchingly does the writer portray the bitter anguish of the poor fugitive as she thinks over all the wrongs and sufferings that she has endured, and of the sin to which tyrants have driven her…” (Forten 343). The end of the criticism goes on to express Forten’s appreciation for Elizabeth’s poem and her belief that it is written perfectly to display the life of a runaway slave.

Analysis of the two criticisms and the poem, “The Fugitive”

It is very interesting to look at these two criticism and see how different they are. I am not fully aware of the gender of the author of the criticism from The Literary World; however, I would like to assume that the author is a male. That may seem a little bias, and I am sorry for that, but during this time many American male figures did not see the problem in slavery; especially if that male figure resided in the South. The author of this criticism felt very strongly that Elizabeth’s poem was not written correctly and that she had no right to write such a horrendous poem that scrutinized the American’s for their ways. This is almost like some of the other criticism that have been written about Elizabeth by male critics. The fact that Elizabeth has a voice against slavery is very threatening. To me I feel that behind what is written within this criticism the critic has deeper feelings against Elizabeth, feelings that reside against her gender.

Although it is not directly mentioned within this criticism, I feel that a woman viewing Elizabeth’s poem may have more sympathy or understanding towards it because Elizabeth is woman writer who wants to express her beliefs on a very masculine subject. The second criticism is a great example of this as it is written by a woman. Although a woman of the South may not take to Elizabeth’s poem as enthusiastically as Forten did, many woman of this time may have enjoyed Elizabeth’s poem(s) because they were written by someone who was representing their [the women’s] voice as a whole. It is very interesting how the two criticisms clashed against one another. Forten believed very strongly that Elizabeth’s poem was written perfectly to display the abuse and mistreatment that slaves were enduring, yet the other critic did not believe that Elizabeth’s poem was being written in an appropriate manner.

The fact that, unlike Hempstead, Elizabeth is an outside looking-in; I can see where the problems may have aroused in American readers. However, I can’t help, but wonder if Elizabeth wanted this reaction from her American readers. Even today if we are in a situation that is bad, we do not want to listen to an outsider who is telling us so. Americans did not want to listen to an outsider telling them that their actions were sinful and that the slaves, of all people, had feeling and had dislike for their owners for treating them the way that they did. Hempstead and Elizabeth not only took a step forward for women, but they also took a step forward for abolitionist writers. Although it was not seen at this time the fact that the poems at hand could arouse the readers, in any way, may it be anger or happiness, the important thing was that it aroused them. Although those against Elizabeth’s poem may have not fully agreed with her views and admitted to their wrong-doings, Elizabeth’s poem did bring into question their actions. They, the reader, had to question their actions in order to be aroused with anger or happiness by her poem, and I think that this was Elizabeth’s full intentions within her poem, “The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point.”

                And thus I thought that I would come
                                And kneel here where ye knelt before,
                And feel your souls around me hum
                                In undertone to the ocean’s roar;
                And lift my black face, my black hand,
                Here, in your names, to curse this land
                                Ye blessed in freedom’s evermore.

                                                                (Browning 193)

Works Cited:

Browning, Elizabeth B. "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected         Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 190-204. Print.

Chapman, Alison. Victorian Women Poets. N.p.: Brewer, 2003. 52. Web. 19 Oct. 2013.

Hempstead, Martha. "The Fugitive." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 333-36. Print.

Forten, Charlotte. "Charlotte Forten on "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point" (1854)." Elizabeth Barrett   Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 343. Print.

Stone, Marjorie, and Beverly Taylor. Elizabeth Barrett Browning- Selected Poems. Ontario: Broadview    Editions, 2009. 331. Print.

"The Literary World on "Hiram Powers' Greek Slave" and "The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point" (1851)." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems. Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario:  Broadview Editions, 2009. 342. Print.

© [Mykenzie Fox] [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ], [2013]. Unauthorized use and/ or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/ or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Mykenzie Fox] and [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

An Analysis and Summary of Dolores Rosenblum's article, "Casa Guidi Windows and Aurora Leigh The Genesis of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Visionary Aesthetic"

Summary

At the beginning of this article Dolores Rosenblum discusses the uniqueness within Elizabeth Browning’s writings. During a time period where most poets were males, Elizabeth was doing something risky with her poetry because she was creating works that were unconventional and different for the time. Rosenblum states that she [Elizabeth], “…Identifies women as originators rather than as reflecting mirrors for the male poet’s search for self-tendencies, and secondly, makes a claim for poetry as deeply revolutionary as that of the Romantic poet” (61). Elizabeth was setting the stage for women poet’s around the world, she was over stepping the boundaries that had been set for her, and was creating works of art on her own terms, not on the terms of a man. This idea is written about in the first portion of the article, but is indirectly seen throughout as well.
            The main focus of this article is Elizabeth Browning’s poem Casa Guidi Windows. Throughout this article Rosenblum discusses how Elizabeth has used Casa Guidi’s window as a way to foreshadow or has created a “window” into her poem Aurora Leigh. The use of women and children within her poem Casa Guidi is what creates the link between the two poems and the purpose behind them both.

            The article then moves on to discuss the context(s) in which Casa Guidi was written. Casa Guidi was based upon, written about, the political turmoil that was occurring in Italy during this era. Unfortunately, however, because Elizabeth was a woman this poem was not viewed very well by critics. There were claims that because this poem was written by a woman and was being written about political views, a rather masculine subject,  it was irrelevant. There were also claims that this poem was a focus on just Elizabeth’s views, a window into her views parse, and due to this Elizabeth was merely, “…Blurring the vision of the present” (65). These views are rather interesting to take into consideration when we look at the prior explanation that Rosenblum gave about the form(s) in which Elizabeth was using to write her poems. It brings us to question if critics were not approving of this poem because of its political background or if they were not approving of the poem because it was written by a woman who was not and did not follow the “normal” forms of writing, the male forms of writing? The article enhances this idea, that Elizabeth’s poem(s) was (were) merely being judged because of the sex of the author. Rosenblum states that some critics claimed that “…Casa Guidi Windows [is considered to be] “a political poem written by an unknowledgeable and hysterical female” (62). This theme, that women are not fully acknowledged for their work or for anything for that matter, continues later on within the article.

            There is also a point within the article that Rosenblum discusses the ideas of death or being dead. It is rather interesting that death/ the dead are mentioned within Casa Guidi because death is used in many of Elizabeth’s poems. Rosenblum believes that Elizabeth is using death within Casa Guidi as representation of a rather courageous act. There are points within Casa Guidi that Elizabeth makes the assertion that the dead would be more apt to take charge and stand up and fight against the political problems than those who are living are. Rosenblum states, “As neither leaders nor people have acted courageously or wisely, she can exempt from complicity on the dead themselves, who now become the “seeds of life’” (64). By this Rosenblum is stating that Elizabeth felt that the dead were the ones who would, if still alive, be the “seeds of life,” the ones that would stand up for what they believed in and start something new. While those that were living were conforming to meet society’s needs/ beliefs, Elizabeth felt that the dead would have rose up against society. It leads us, readers, to question if Elizabeth is using death as a courageous act? Meaning that she is using this idea that, those who are dead are courageous, within Casa Guidi?
            The last portion of the article seems to be the most important. This portion of the article discusses the use of motherly figures within Casa Guidi. Motherly figures, like death, are represented a lot within Elizabeth’s poetry; however, in Casa Guidi the motherly figure is presented in a rather different way. Within Casa Guidi Rosenblum claims that there is a twist in the meaning/ context in which Elizabeth had written the poem; this twist Rosenblum terms as the double vision of the poem. While many believed that Elizabeth’s main intention was to write solely about the political turmoil that was occurring at this time, Rosenblum believes otherwise. The use of women is so unconventional within Elizabeth’s poem that it seems that Elizabeth is actually trying to write about the turmoil(s) that women are facing in society. Although Elizabeth is not blunt about this purpose, it can be assumed that she is using the women within the poem as a way to represent women in the day to day life. This double vision, once found, becomes the sole purpose behind the poem and the political context(s) just become the extra addition to the poems historical meaning.

Analysis: The Use of Women in Casa Guidi

            Elizabeth wrote this poem at a time where women did not have voice within society. Women were not active members of the world and they definitely were not alive in the eyes of their male companions. Elizabeth wrote at a time where women were merely seen as pieces of property. To most people of this time women were dead to society.
            This idea of “women being dead” becomes a theme throughout Casa Guidi. It is interesting to look at each of the motherly figures that are represented within Elizabeth’s poem because each of them are dead in some way, whether they are dead figuratively or physically, their death is apparent within the poem. Rosenblum claims that within Casa Guidi that there is a “… exclusion from society; on the symbolic level, the woman who had been set beyond the boundaries of signification altogether” (65). Each of the women within the poem, even the poem itself which is thought to represent a woman as well, is cast away from society because she/ they have overstepped a boundary in some way. It is because of this that they all end up dead within the poem.

            “And how they called her childless among mothers,

            Widow of empires, ay, and scarce refrained

            Cursing her beauty to her face, as brothers

                        Might a shamed sister’s,--“Had she been less fair

            She were less wretched,”—how, evoking so” (Elizabeth 238-39).

This description/ claim on page 239 is the first woman that we see within Casa Guidi. Although this woman is not physically dead, she is figuratively dead within society. It is apparent that this woman has overstepped her boundaries within society and because of this society has turned on her. The claim about her beauty shows the views that society has of her now that she has carried out such an act. Although the woman is very beautiful they, society, believe(s) that because of her acts she is now ugly inside and it should carry into her beauty on the outside as well.

            The next woman that we see within the poem is Juliet. Juliet is another woman who has overstepped the boundaries set for her within society. Although it was made clear to Juliet that she could not be with Romeo she chose to anyways; however, in the end this choice is the culprit behind her death. The poem talks about Juliet lying in her “violet trough,” which can be interpreted into her violet tomb (Elizabeth 239). Juliet’s death is both physical figurative. There is also a death that has occurred for her figuratively within society because she chose to be with Romeo.

            The next woman that we see within the poem is night itself. On page 241 we see Elizabeth refer to the night as “she.” Although it is not declared within the poem that the claim that night is representing a woman represents a form of death for women, it could be claimed that it does. The night is continually dying with the rising of the sun. If women represent night, then it may be assumed that men represent the day. The males have dominance over women, as the sun has dominance over the night, and they continually destroy women’s “light(s)” within society. Women do not have a voice and they have no power within the eyes of men and because of this they are associated with the night or the dark.

            “Outface the whistling shit and hissing waves,

            Unit she felt her little babe unborn    

            Recoil, within her, from the violent staves

                        And bloodhounds of the world.—at which, her life

            Dropt inward from her eyes and followed it

            Beyond the hunters. Gabribaldi’s Wife

            And child died so. And now, the sea-weeds fit

            Her body, like a proper shroud and coif” (Elizabeth 268).

This is the final woman that we see within Casa Guidi. It is interesting that it is not just the woman who dies this time, but also her child. Much like the other women within this poem the wife of Gabribaldi has overstepped a boundary in the eyes of society. Gabribaldi’s wife is the unconventional women; she does not live in the “typical” way, and more than likely will not mother her child in the typical way either. The death of the child in this scene seems to signify something greater than just the death of women. It seems to signify the idea that as you kill the mother, either physically or figuratively, you kill her child/ children as well. It adds a brutal twist to what the hands of society are doing to its women and children. It is the idea that they are killing them without a second thought or care in the world.

            If we look at the poem itself and use the idea that Rosenblum touches on within her article, that the poem/ narrator is a woman also, then we can see another death within the poem as a whole. It is again a figurative death, but here we see the narrator never leaving Casa Guidi, she only watches the world through her window. This woman is not alive within society because she is not ever able to interact with those who are apart of the outside world. With this interpretation we cannot help but ask if this is Elizabeth herself? Could it be that Elizabeth, a woman who was accepted, by some, to be one of the best women poets of her time, felt dead to society?
I suppose this is one of the beauties of Casa Guidi. Although we can assume that this interpretations of women was intended by Elizabeth and that the woman looking through the window may be Elizabeth herself, we will never truly know all the secrets that lie behind the text of Casa Guidi Windows.

Works Cited:

Browning, Elizabeth B. "Casa Guidi Windows." Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Selected Poems.      Ed. Marjorie Stone and Beverly Taylor. Ontario: Broadview Editions, 2009. 237-71.     Print.

Rosenblum, Dolores. "Casa Guidi Windows and Aurora Leigh The Genesis of Elizabeth Barrett   Browning's Visionary Aesthetic." Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature 4.1 (1985): 61-68.          Print.

© [Mykenzie Fox] [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ], [2013]. Unauthorized use and/ or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/ or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [Mykenzie Fox] and [http: // COUNTGISMOND.blogspot.com/ ] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.