Born: March 6, 1806 (Durham,England
Died: June 29, 1861 (Florence, Italy)
Famous For/Known For:
English poet during the Victorian era.
A Little About Elizabeth Barrett Browning:
Born Elizabeth Barrett. Her father Edward owned sugar plantations where the family’s primary wealth came from.
Browning was educated at home where she read many works by William Shakespeare.
By the age of twelve, Browning had already written her first book of poetry.
A lung disorder at the age of fourteen caused Browning to take morphine for the rest of her life. A year later she experienced a spinal injury.
In 1820, Browning published her first book, The Battle of Marathon, that was bound and released by her father.
From 1826 – 1838, she continued to publish her work.
In 1844, it was her collection titled Poems that caught the eye of established poet Robert Browning. He decided to write to her and twenty months later, with nearly 600 letters exchanged between them, they eloped in 1846. Elizabeth’s father never spoke to her again.
In 1850, Browning published and dedicated, Sonnets From The Portuguese, to her husband. This collection contained 44 love sonnets that were written in secret during their courtship.
Browning was known for writing some of the greatest sonnets in history, such as, How Do I Love Thee?(Sonnet 43) and If Thous Must Love Me…(Sonnet 14)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning died from declining health at the age of 55.
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