Sonnets from the Portuguese

"Sonnets from the Portuguese" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a collection of love sonnets written in the Victorian era. Composed during the mid-19th century, this poetic work explores the profound emotions and complexities of romantic love, encapsulating Browning's deep feelings for her husband, poet Robert Browning. The collection stands as a testament to the intensity of her affection, merging personal and universal themes of love, longing, and devotion. The sonnets themselves unfold a rich tapestry of Browning's emotional journey, where she expresses vulnerability and strength in her affection. Through vivid imagery and poignant reflections, the poems reveal her struggles between love and fear, the desire for connection, and the aftermath of past sorrows. Central figures in the collection are the poet and her beloved, navigating the nuances of their relationship, underlining both the sanctity and the burdens of love. The series culminates in expressions of deep commitment and the transcendent quality of love, culminating in the renowned sonnet "How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways," which eloquently encapsulates the depths of her passion and devotion. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work received renewed attention following the feminist scholarship of the 1970s and 1980s, and greater recognition of women writers in English. Born in County Durham, the eldest of 12 children, Elizabeth Barrett wrote poetry from the age of eleven. Her mother's collection of her poems forms one of the largest extant collections of juvenilia by any English writer. At 15, she became ill, suffering intense head and spinal pain for the rest of her life. Later in life, she also developed lung problems, possibly tuberculosis. She took laudanum for the pain from an early age, which is likely to have contributed to her frail health.