Elizabeth Barrett Browning Accomplishments

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a very prominent poet during the Victorian Era (1837-1901). Browning differed from many other women because she wrote about social and political issues that a typical woman would not address. She openly addressed and challenged the position of women during this time period, which was not something that was common. Consequently, not only was the content of her poetry significant, but she greatly impacted the works of other poets, such as Robert Browning, through her own works.
The Victorian Era was unlike the previous era, the Romantic Era, which focused in romanticising the realities of life, because it focused on the hardships that society faced and challenged previous traditions. According to Josh Rahn, in
According to Simon Avery’s article, “Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Style, Subject and Reception” Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poems mainly consisted of ballads, lyrics, and narratives which incorporated the use of religion, social opinions and historical events. Browning was known for consistently testing the boundaries of style and subject matter. For instance an example of this would be her very first poem The Battle of Marathon, which illustrated the complex battle between the Ancient Greeks and the Persians. The way that Browning depicted the war and battle scenes demonstrated her ability to venture new subjects that were not commonly addressed by others. This poem had a profounding effect on the views attributed with Browning because it was bold and it was her first published
Browning’s poems impacted not only society but also the literature of other authors, such as Robert Browning, as stated in John W. Cunliffe’s article “Elizabeth Barrett’s Influence on Browning’s Poetry”. The relationship that prospered between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning was of benefit to both authors. Primarily because, Mr. Browning was the sole influence of Sonnets from the Portuguese, which consisted of forty-four love sonnets, on the other hand Mrs. Browning pushed Mr. Browning to become more subjective and move away from the dramatic form of poetry. After their marriage Mr, Browning experienced a great reduction of publications, and it wasn’t until after Mrs. Browning’s death that he started to publish again. Once Robert Browning’s published his work again, the immense growth in maturity was vastly apparent. Mrs. Browning was able to enrich Mr. Browning’s intellectual nature both spiritually and emotionally