How do I love thee? (Elizabeth Barrett Browning born 200 years ago today)

One of the most famous of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poems, "How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count the Ways," was from her renowned collection of published poems, a volume titled "Sonnets from the Portuguese."

"Sonnets from the Portuguese" was published in 1850, and its contents and subject matter chronicled the courtship and marriage of Elizabeth Barrett to fellow poet Robert Browning. Not only is "Sonnets" Browning's most famous work, it is also considered one of the most widely known collection of love poems in the English language since William Shakespeare.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in England on March 6, 1806. The daughter of a plantation owner, she was somewhat of a child prodigy, and as such, began writing at an early age. As a young teen, she contracted what many believe to be tuberculosis, and as a result, was treated as an invalid by her parents. However, being very well-educated for a woman at that time, she had a creative outlet: writing. She anonymously published her first poem at age 14 and a collection of poems and prose by the time she was 20.

Elizabeth's father moved the family to London in the early 1830s - a change that dealt a great blow to her health. It was during this time that she began submitting poems to various periodicals and publications. As more of her writing was published, she started making a name for herself and drew interest from her contemporaries. Fellow poet Robert Browning wrote a fan letter, and a relationship grew out of their frequent correspondence.

In 1845, she met her future husband face-to-face, and a courtship ensued. Despite her overbearing father and health issues, the couple eloped in 1850 and moved to Italy where they began a family. She died June 29, 1861, and is buried at the English Cemetery in Florence, Italy. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is considered one of the most important literary figures in Victorian England. Her contemporaries included Charles Dickens, Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Makepeace Thackeray, and her husband, Robert Browning. Despite her physical hindrances, her morphine dependence, and her introverted nature bordering on agoraphobia, she lived a coherent, creative life and has earned a place in literary history. George Pickering, in his book "Creative Malady," chronicled the illnesses of many creative geniuses including Barrett Browning and found her works unaffected by her obvious limitations.

Celebrate Barrett Browning's 200th birthday by learning more about her life. Margaret Forster's "Elizabeth Barrett Browning: a Biography" sheds new light on her subject's life and relationship with her father as well as her dealings with her illness. "Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning" by Julia Markus focuses on the beautifully dramatic love story of these two poets, chronicling their growing relationship in light of the political events of that time. Markus uses much of Barrett Browning's unpublished letters and documents to fuel this biography. "The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning" has been published in a Cambridge Edition and includes excellent background information for each collection of poems.

The romance of Robert and Elizabeth Browning was also immortalized in the 1934 movie, "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" which starred Norma Shearer, Charles Laughton, Fredric March, and Maureen O'Sullivan.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints!---I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!---and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

"Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning" by Julia Markus focuses on the beautifully dramatic love story of these two poets, chronicling their growing relationship in light of the political events of that time.>>>>

I really enjoyed this book. It is an amazing love story.

I know I'm gonna get flamed for this, but one of only two listenable Yoko Ono songs was "Let Me Count the Ways" on "Milk and Honey". John Lennon & Yoko Ono planned to do "Grow Old With Me" and "Let Me Count the Ways" for Double Fantasy with full orchestration and five part harmony, but didn't have time to do them right before the album was due. Then, alas, Lennon was killed. We are left with the home piano/beatbox demos released on the "Milk and Honey" album. Both songs are beautiful, and yes, Yoko sings hers.

5 posted on 03/09/2006 9:57:43 AM PST by MikeD (We live in a world where babies are like velveteen rabbits that only become real if they are loved.)

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