Sonnets from the Portuguese

of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s penultimate poem of Sonnets from the Portuguese is quoted: “How do I love thee?”( “Sonnets from the Portuguese”). It is said “Browning’s masterpiece, Sonnets from the Portuguese, went through a complete cycle of literary reception, first being overpraised as “the noblest [sonnets] ever written,” then undervalued as overly emotional effusions, and eventually accepted as a major work. (“Sonnets from the Portuguese”) which essentially means that this was one of the…

Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry, ‘Sonnet’s from the Portuguese’ are shaped through their historical, social and personal context. Both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Barrett Browning accentuate the perceptions of reason through the transformative and obsessive love within the Victorian Era and the Post War Jazz Age. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry, ‘Sonnet’s from the Portuguese’ explores the spirituality and transformative nature of love within…

Love Sonnets or a Work of Feminism? Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese is a collection of poems of a personal telling of her love for Robert Browning. In the 19th century, women were not given the same rights or treated the same as men. This set of poems was a woman confessing her love for a man, rather than a man confessing his love for a woman, which was very different from the usual writing of the time. Sonnets are a form of poetry used for love, usually a man…

representing their epoch, shaped not by an immanent time but rather by the play of divergent temporalities that reflect and develop the values, ideas and attitudes of their context. Evident in Elizabeth Barrett-Browning’s collection of poems ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ from the Victorian era, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920s modernist novel ‘The Great Gatsby’, composers espouse the values and ideas of their time to explore notions of intertextuality within their social and personal concerns.…

significantly according to time and textual features employed. Composers select their particular form to best express their ideas on significant issues such as love and emotion, which must be inherently influenced by their own context. The ‘Sonnets of the Portuguese’ by Elizabeth Barret Browning (EBB) were initially private, personal reflections and a poetic documentation of her courtship with Robert Browning during the Victorian period. ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a longer text…

The concept of “Victorian restraint” is present in many works during the Victorian Era, reflecting the commonly held religious beliefs or morals in England at the time. The idea was that people, especially women, should refrain from anything immoral, taking control of themselves in the face of temptation. Much of this had to do with sexual immorality, so it was also unacceptable for women to talk about such temptations regarding love and sex. In fact, for a woman to think about such things might…

exciting life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning consisted of many struggles beginning with her childhood all through the time that she passed away. Best known for her poetry, some of her most prominent influences included John Milton and William Shakespeare. From a young age, she was advanced in reading and writing, completing her first book at age twelve (Biography.com Editors). The life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning were characterized by her unique education, suppressed lifestyle, and…

The Victorian Period is marked by Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901. The Romantic Period preceded the Victorian Period and served as a transition period between 20th-century literature. The salvaging of themes in classical literature and medieval literature were repurposed into the writings of the English Victorian Period. The Victorian writers displayed well-established styles of writing from previous eras, while at the same time pushing original customs to new and interesting directions…

characteristics and mannerisms, created by one’s childhood, upbringing and past experiences. A close comparative study of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s 1920’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s (EBB) 1846 collection of sonnets titled ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese’ enables the exploration of society’s evolving values and concepts. Both texts highlight the character’s ability to represent or challenge the attitudes held by society during the time, enabling the responder to gain a…

challenge the established values of their time. The Great Gatsby through narrative text style, and Barrett Browning’s poetry through Petrarchan sonnet form, both portray individuals who not only challenge accepted values of their time but may also adhere to certain values. Despite the immensely dissimilar contexts the texts are derived from, we are able to compare challenged or accepted values within them as the share particular themes such as love and gender roles. The novel, The…