Sonnets from the Portuguese

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Description

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850) is a collection of sonnets by English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Written between 1845 and 1846, Sonnets from the Portuguese is a series of love poems written by Browning to her husband, the prominent Victorian poet Robert Browning. Although Elizabeth was initially unsure of the poems, Robert encouraged their publication, suggesting she title them to make readers believe they were translations and not personal declarations of love between the couple. Using the sonnet, Browning adopted a traditional form made famous by Shakespeare while staking a claim for herself as one of nineteenth century England’s premier poets.

Filled with references to the Greek pastoral poet Theocritus and the tragic figure Electra, as well as invocations to God, Sonnets from the Portuguese immerses itself in biblical and classical tradition while remaining deeply personal and authentically romantic. Sonnet “XV” addresses the inherent tragedy of love, the depth of sadness with which a lover beholds another with “Too calm and sad a face,” overwhelmed with the knowledge that with love comes “the end of love, / Hearing oblivion beyond memory.” In sonnet “XXVIII,” Browning reflects on the distance between lovers kept apart: all she has of him are her letters, “all dead paper, mute and white!” And yet, “they seem alive and quivering” in her “tremulous hands,” a living reminder of the man she longs to be with. “XLIII,” the most famous sonnet of the collection, begins “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” and records the poet’s confession of a love more powerful than “the passion put to use / In [her] old griefs…” Not only has her lover brought her such joy, he has also given her a love she “seemed to lose / With [her] lost saints,” a love strong enough to transcend religious faith entirely, a love that is destined to last, and to be even “better after death.”

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.

Sujets

• Themes
• Subjects
• Poetry
• Erotica
• Love
• Robert Browning

Informations

• Publié par: Mint Editions
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781513272764
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Sonnets from the Portuguese
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
 
 
Sonnets from the Portuguese was first published in 1850.
This edition published by Mint Editions 2020.
ISBN 9781513267760 | E-ISBN 9781513272764
Published by Mint Editions®
minteditionbooks.com
Publishing Director: Jennifer Newens
Design & Production: Rachel Lopez Metzger
Typesetting: Westchester Publishing Services
 
I NDEX OF F IRST L INES I. I thought once how Theocritus had sung II. But only three in all God’s universe III. Unlike are we, unlike, O princely Heart! IV. Thou hast thy calling to some palace-floor V. I lift my heavy heart up solemnly VI. Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand VII. The face of all the world is changed, I think VIII. What can I give thee back, O liberal IX. Can it be right to give what I can give? X. Yet, love, mere love, is beautiful indeed XI. And therefore if to love can be desert XII. Indeed this very love which is my boast XIII. And wilt thou have me fashion into speech XIV. If thou must love me, let it be for nought XV. Accuse me not, beseech thee, that I wear XVI. And yet, because thou overcomest so XVII. My poet, thou canst touch on all the notes XVIII. I never gave a lock of hair away XIX. The soul’s Rialto hath its merchandize XX. Belovëd, my Belovëd, when I think XXI. Say over again, and yet once over again XXII. When our two souls stand up erect and strong XXIII. Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead XXIV. Let the world’s sharpness like a clasping knife XXV. A heavy heart, Belovëd, have I borne XXVI. I lived with visions for my company XXVII. My own Belovëd, who hast lifted me XXVIII. My letters! all dead paper, mute and white! XXIX. I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud XXX. I see thine image through my tears to-night XXXI. Thou comest! all is said without a word XXXII. The first time that the sun rose on thine oath XXXIII. Yes, call me by my pet-name! let me hear XXXIV. With the same heart, I said, I’ll answer thee XXXV. If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange XXXVI. When we met first and loved, I did not build XXXVII. Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should make XXXVIII. First time he kissed me, he but only kissed XXXIX. Because thou hast the power and own’st the grace XL. Oh, yes! they love through all this world of ours! XLI. I thank all who have loved me in their hearts XLII. My future will not copy fair my past XLIII. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways XLIV. Belovëd, thou hast brought me many flowers
 
I
I thought once how Theocritus had sung
Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,
Who each one in a gracious hand appears
To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:
And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,
I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,
The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,
Those of my own life, who by turns had flung
A shadow across me. Straightway I was ’ware,
So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move
Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair;
And a voice said in mastery, while I strove,—
“Guess now who holds thee!”—“Death,” I said, But, there,
The silver answer rang, “Not Death, but Love.”