It has been really interesting learning about both
Robert Browning and Elizabeth Browning this semester. While the two had
somewhat similar beliefs, and were of course married, the two individuals seem
to have very different inspirations when it comes to their poetry.
Robert Browning has many poems that seem to represent some sort of religious quest or experience. In many of the poems by Browning he tends to be focusing on the idea of good v. evil and what will prevail. One of my favorite poems that I have read of Browning’s poetry is “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Come.” Within this poem readers are left to decipher whether or not Childe Roland is physically on the journey to the dark tower or if he is figuratively-imagining the journey- on the journey to the dark tower. Personally, when I read this poem I felt that Childe Roland’s journey was that of a religious one and was more so figurative rather than physical. Like many of Browning’s other poems, I felt that Childe Roland was battling between good and evil, and his quest was actually the religious journey between the two powers. Unfortunately, for Childe Roland he did not come to the tower of good—Heaven—but was instead succumbed to the tower of evil—Hell.
Robert Browning has many poems that seem to represent some sort of religious quest or experience. In many of the poems by Browning he tends to be focusing on the idea of good v. evil and what will prevail. One of my favorite poems that I have read of Browning’s poetry is “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Come.” Within this poem readers are left to decipher whether or not Childe Roland is physically on the journey to the dark tower or if he is figuratively-imagining the journey- on the journey to the dark tower. Personally, when I read this poem I felt that Childe Roland’s journey was that of a religious one and was more so figurative rather than physical. Like many of Browning’s other poems, I felt that Childe Roland was battling between good and evil, and his quest was actually the religious journey between the two powers. Unfortunately, for Childe Roland he did not come to the tower of good—Heaven—but was instead succumbed to the tower of evil—Hell.
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(Browning 188)
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This particular versus from the poem is the point
where Childe Roland has made it to the dark tower. The portion of the versus
that leads me to believe that Childe Roland has come to the tower of
evil—Hell—is when Browning writes, “For one more picture! In a sheet of flame”
(Browning 188). Childe Roland at this
point in the poem is being engulfed in flame, like he would be if he had been
placed in Hell instead of Heaven. What is interesting to me about many of
Browning’s poems and their religious connotations, like with Childe Roland, is
that when I first read about Browning and his life, the text mentioned that he
was not really a religious man and that he tended to struggle with whether or
not he believed that there was a higher power. I feel that many of Browning’s
poems are a direct representation of his own struggles in life and how he,
himself, is/ was continually battling between good and evil and the religious
beliefs—whether or not there was or was not a higher power. I feel that because
Browning was unsure himself of whether or not he believed in a higher power and
the battle of good versus evil, that this is what led to many of the
obscurities within his poems. Robert Browning was not very well taken by
readers during his time and many critics wrote of the obscurities within his
poetry rather negatively. To me it seems that the obscurities within his poems came from his own obscurities
within his life. Critics could not comprehend what Browning was portraying
within his work because Browning himself was somewhat unsure of what he was portraying.
However, it was/ is these obscurities that many readers have come to love because
they can place themselves in the place of the listener or even the speaker of
Browning’s poems. Browning's poems leave much of the deciphering to the readers--we decide the fate of many of the poems, which in turn makes us feel a part of the poem's overall story.
Elizabeth’s poems were much more accepted than that of her husbands. While Elizabeth was a religious woman and did believe that there was a higher power, she did not write much about the religious beliefs that she held and the struggle between good and evil. Elizabeth’s writings tended to lean more towards some sort of reform or the portrayal of some event(s) that had been taking place in her life or in society or even the world. Within Elizabeth’s poem “The Runaway Slave,” we experience one of Elizabeth many reforms that she writes about within her poems. This particular poem discusses the abuse that a slave woman experiences within America, as she is rapped by her owner and it later subjected to bare a child that was her master’s. With this particular poem Elizabeth is calling for a reform against slavering and voices--indirectly--her belief that slavery, especially within America, is wrong. Elizabeth also had written poems that were based upon political—specifically the reform against the child labor and the problems within the factories— and religious reform. She also wrote some poems, such as Aurora Leigh, that were more based upon patriarchal reform and the existence/ role of women within the Victorian era. Although many readers loved and appreciated Elizabeth’s poems, there were also some that disregarded her simply because of her sex. Also with many of Elizabeth’s later poems, especially “The Runaway Slave,” Elizabeth began to lose many of her readers because many felt that as a woman she had no right to write of the things that she was writing of. Especially in America, Elizabeth was viewed very harshly because of her Anti-Slavery views. Much like her husband however, much of what critics disapproved of is what led to Elizabeth’s overall success as a female poet in the Victorian era.
While Elizabeth and Robert both write of rather different topics within their poems, both poets are very interesting writers. The two poets write of things that they believe in and things that they have comprehended in ways that most, during the Victorian Era, have not yet comprehended. By viewing the two poets’ works readers are given the ability to perceive things from their [Robert and Elizabeth’s] point of view and interpret things as they did within their own lives. Both Robert and Elizabeth create a world that is unknown or has been ignored by readers and awakens feeling, belief, and interest within their readers in a way that many poets, even today, are unable to do!
Elizabeth’s poems were much more accepted than that of her husbands. While Elizabeth was a religious woman and did believe that there was a higher power, she did not write much about the religious beliefs that she held and the struggle between good and evil. Elizabeth’s writings tended to lean more towards some sort of reform or the portrayal of some event(s) that had been taking place in her life or in society or even the world. Within Elizabeth’s poem “The Runaway Slave,” we experience one of Elizabeth many reforms that she writes about within her poems. This particular poem discusses the abuse that a slave woman experiences within America, as she is rapped by her owner and it later subjected to bare a child that was her master’s. With this particular poem Elizabeth is calling for a reform against slavering and voices--indirectly--her belief that slavery, especially within America, is wrong. Elizabeth also had written poems that were based upon political—specifically the reform against the child labor and the problems within the factories— and religious reform. She also wrote some poems, such as Aurora Leigh, that were more based upon patriarchal reform and the existence/ role of women within the Victorian era. Although many readers loved and appreciated Elizabeth’s poems, there were also some that disregarded her simply because of her sex. Also with many of Elizabeth’s later poems, especially “The Runaway Slave,” Elizabeth began to lose many of her readers because many felt that as a woman she had no right to write of the things that she was writing of. Especially in America, Elizabeth was viewed very harshly because of her Anti-Slavery views. Much like her husband however, much of what critics disapproved of is what led to Elizabeth’s overall success as a female poet in the Victorian era.
While Elizabeth and Robert both write of rather different topics within their poems, both poets are very interesting writers. The two poets write of things that they believe in and things that they have comprehended in ways that most, during the Victorian Era, have not yet comprehended. By viewing the two poets’ works readers are given the ability to perceive things from their [Robert and Elizabeth’s] point of view and interpret things as they did within their own lives. Both Robert and Elizabeth create a world that is unknown or has been ignored by readers and awakens feeling, belief, and interest within their readers in a way that many poets, even today, are unable to do!
Works Cited
Browning, Robert. "Childe Roland to the Dark
Tower Came." Robert Browning's Poetry. Ed. James F. Loucks and
Andrew M. Stauffer. New York: Norton Critical Edition, 2007. 181-88. Print.
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