During the early nineteenth century, feminists were first coming out into the political forefront. Among them, Elizabeth Barrett Browning emerged as one the greatest woman writers of all time. She wrote of "social reform, for the rights of lower classes and women, and for the cause of Italian freedom (Chew 1403)." While many aspects and circumstances of life affected her work, she was also able to effect society in many ways.

Elizabeth Barrett was born on March 6, 1806 in Durham, England. Her first published work was The Battle of Marathon, which she wrote at the age of only 12. "It was an epic of sorts consisting of 4 books (Untermeyer 798)." When she was only "15 years old she injured her spine and was confined to her London house on Wimpole Street (Untermeyer 798)." She remained confined in her room for six years and during that time she kept bust by writing poetry and letters. Between her fathers refusal to allow any of his children to marry and her beloved brother's tragic death from drowning she became a recluse.

She remained a recluse until she was almost 40. "On May 20, 1845 she allowed Robert Browning to visit her after a protracted correspondence (Untermeyer

The type of sonnet that Elizabeth wrote in was called the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet. "The Italian form is distinguished by its bipartite division into the octave and sestet" (The Sonnet). Charles Gayley notes: "the octave bears the burden; a doubt, a problem, a reflection, a query... a cry of indignation or desire, a vision of the ideal. The sestet eases the load, resolves the problem or doubt, answers the query, solaces the yearning, realizes the vision" (The Sonnet). In Elizabeth's sonnet XLIII, the octave is a query: "How do I love thee?" In the sestet it answers the question with: "I love thee with the passion put to use...I love thee with a love I seemed to lose."

Though many of her poems were political, she is most known for Sonnets from the Portuguese. Made up of 44 sonnets, she declared her love for Robert Browning. "They are the finest love poems in our language" (Anderson and Hicks 299). She wrote them during their courtship, but did not show him until they were married. They were titled thus because Robert called her "the little Portuguese" because of her dark complexion.

Due to the way she was brought up by her overbearing father it is felt that it helped to shape her view on the issue of women's rights

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Approximate Word count = 835
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)