Poetic terminology, Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning

1. WELCOME!
English IIIA Week 9
Who is the couple above…the
Schaurers, Melvilles, Lahettas,
Woollams, or someone else?
Write your guess in on the whiteboard.
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2. Use your arrow tool All the time.
It is my
passion
Do you like
writing/reading
poems about love or Sometimes..it’s
other okay
strong emotions?
Are you kidding?
Who has time to
read or write
poetry? Too
sappy!

3. Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning
 Who are they?
 What did they do?
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4. Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning
 Her 1844 Poems made her one of the most popular writers in the land, and
inspired Robert Browning to write her, telling her how much he loved her
poems. Kenyon arranged for Browning to come see her in May 1845, and
so began one of the most famous courtships in literature.
 Six years his elder and an invalid (she injured her spine in a fall), she could
not believe that the vigorous and worldly Browning really loved her as much
as he professed to, and her doubts are expressed in the Sonnets from the
Portuguese which she wrote over the next two years. Love conquered all,
however, and Browning married Elizabeth.
 No female poet was held in higher esteem among cultured readers in both
the United States and England than Elizabeth Barrett Browning during the
nineteenth century Victorian poetry movement.
 Public sympathy for Robert after her death (she was a much more popular
poet during their lifetimes) surely helped the critical reception of his
Collected Poems (1862) and Dramatis Personae (1863). His influence
continued to grow, however, and finally lead to the founding of the Browning
Society in 1881.
 From: VictorianWeb.net
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5. Guided Notes
 Elizabeth and Robert are from what time
period?
_________
 What is a common theme of their poems?
____
Which poet was more famous while living?
_________
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6. So how did these two lovers express
themselves through poetry and how can you
express yourself through poetry?
 Our focus today:
 Look at how they describe a universal theme of
love in their own unique way. Also note how
they use poetic devices that we studied last
week.
 Also, look at how they tailor their poetry to their
audience (each other).
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7.  from “Sonnets from the Portuguese” By Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-
1861) Let’s watch this performed by a student on video
XLIII
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 candlelight.
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 7

8. New terms
 A sonnet is a poem with 14 lines. There are different types of
sonnets. “How Do I Love thee..” (Sonnet 43) is a sonnet. You can
write a sonnet in this week’s dropbox.
 Let’s look back at it. It has two quatrains (or groupings of four
lines of poetry). What are the rhyme schemes on the
quatrains?
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9. By Robert Browning (1812-1889)
"Life in Love"
Escape me?
ever---
eloved!
hile I am I, and you are you,
o long as the world contains us both,
e the loving and you the loth
hile the one eludes, must the other pursue.
y life is a fault at last, I fear:
seems too much like a fate, indeed!
hough I do my best I shall scarce succeed.
ut what if I fail of my purpose here?
is but to keep the nerves at strain,
o dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall,
nd, baffled, get up and begin again,---
o the chace takes up one's life ' that's all.
hile, look but once from your farthest bound
me so deep in the dust and dark,
o sooner the old hope goes to ground
han a new one, straight to the self-same mark,
shape me---
ver
emoved!
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10. Let’s talk about “Life in Love”
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11. Theme
 What is it? “lesson” about life…universal idea…often not
stated, but inferred – look for repeated ideas
 Examples from Sonnet XLIII: "Sonnet 43" expresses the
poet’s intense love for her husband-to-be, Robert
Browning. So intense is her love for him, she says, that it
rises to the spiritual level (Lines 3 and 4). She loves him
freely, without coercion; she loves him purely, without
expectation of personal gain. She even loves him with an
intensity of the suffering (passion: Line 9) resembling
that of Christ on the cross, and she loves him in the way
that she loved saints as a child. Moreover, she expects
to continue to love him after death.
 Examples from “Life in Love”…the chase!
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12. Class Discussion
 Which poem do you prefer?
 Elizabeth’s (green check)
 Robert’s (red x)
 Why did you choose the one you did?
The way it was written or the content of
the poem or both? Explain on the mic!
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13. Quiz question #1
Parallelism deals with a relationship
between two or more lines.
A. true (green check)
B. false (red x)
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14. Answer - #1
Parallelism deals with a relationship
between two or more lines.
A. true
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15. Quiz question #2
Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning were:
A. husband and wife (hands)
B. father and daughter (red x)
C. brother and sister (green check)
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16. Answer - #2
Robert Browning and Elizabeth
Barrett Browning were:
A. husband and wife
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17. Quiz question #3
"Life in Love" and Sonnet XL111
both:
A. look at the relationships found in
romantic love (hands)
B. deal primarily with nature (red x)
C. offer advice to new lovers (green check)
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18. Answer - #3
"Life in Love" and Sonnet XL111
both:
A. look at the relationships found in
romantic love
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19. Quiz question #4
"Life in Love" and Sonnet XL111
both have structure rhyme
scheme; however, they are not the
same rhyme scheme.
A. true (green check)
B. false (red x)
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20. Answer - #4
Life in Love" and Sonnet XL111 both
have structured rhyme scheme;
however, they are not the same
rhyme scheme.
A. true
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21. Quiz question #5
What is the rhyme scheme of the following
lines of poetry:
"My life is a fault at last, I fear:/
It seems too much like a fate, indeed!/
Though I do my best, I shall scarce
succeed.
But what if I fail of my purpose here?”
A. AABB (green check)
B. ABCA (red x)
C. ABBB (hands)
D. ABBA (smiley)
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22. Answer - #5
What is the rhyme scheme of the
following lines of poetry:
"My life is a fault at last, I fear:/
It seems too much like a fate,
indeed!/
Though I do my best, I shall scarce
succeed.
But what if I fail of my purpose
here?”
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23. Web Tour
http://www.poets.org/
•http://galleryofwriting.org/galleries/316820
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26. We are DONE!
 Remember to finish strong…complete the
Haiku Quiz and Dropbox 5.2 Poetry
Assignment.
 Are you proctored? If not, call your
teacher today! 888.326.8395
 Thanks for your participation!
 Our sessions continue for Quarter Four.
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27. Nature poetry
Haiku
From the Japanese culture, we have an example of Haiku.
Traditional Haiku consists of three lines.
The first contains 5 syllables; the second contains 7
syllables; the third contains 5 syllables. The typical
subject for Haiku poetry is an instant in time which occurs in
nature.
Think about the split second when the rain drops on a leaf or the
instant when a bird spreads its wings just before launching into
flight. These are typical moments captured by a Haiku.
Spring morning marvel
lovely nameless little hill
on a sea of mist
Have you ever written a Haiku? You can write one in our
dropbox! 27