Introduction
Elizabeth Browning and Emily Dickinson are the most famous poets of the 19th century. While the masculine society insisted that women were not capable of doing poetry, Browning and Dickinson emerged as the refutation of this statement. Elizabeth gained popularity with her works on the abolition of slavery and child labor. Emily was significantly influenced by Browning, as the latter was perceived as a powerful woman. The majority of Browning’s poems feature the theme of religion and contain allusions to characters from the Bible. Dickinson explored death significantly, and there is a strong connection between her depictions of how death may come and the notion of apocalypse discussed by Browning.
About the Poets
Both women were prominent poets among American and British readers. However, Dickinson gained fame only after her death because almost no poem was published when she was alive. Emily lived a lonely life, and all her friendships with other people were based on the exchange of letters. Browning, on the other hand, was a public person and a strong opposition to slavery and child labor (Stone, 2019). Her poems were not only praised by the literary society but were also considered by the government (Stone, 2019). At first glance, Emily and Elizabeth are two completely different persons with distinct characters. However, under closer inspection, their poems are similar and refer to the same topics – struggle, death, apocalypse, and the meeting with God.
Comparison
Dickinson was fascinated by illness and death, partially because she had to witness her mother struggle with a variety of chronic diseases until she passed away. This unfortunate event in her life influenced Emily and withdrew her from the public world into seclusion, where she wrote her poems. Death became Emily’s partner when she was living in isolation – in “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” the poet personifies death as if it was a real character. The poem is about the inevitable meeting with God, whether it is caused by premature death or a global apocalypse. It can be considered that the death poems of Emily are religious and can be compared to Browning’s Aurora Leigh, where the primary themes are Christian imagery and the apocalypse. Both women were Christians and expressed a strong interest in religious themes. Browning even drew characters from the Hebrew Bible and incorporated them into her poems.
“Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and other poems by Dickinson can be looked at from a different perspective and compared to Browning’s works about child labor. Emily believed that a loss of passion for life brings the person closer to suicide. In “The Cry of the Children,” Browning describes the feelings and the pain of young individuals who are forced to work under harsh conditions. A soul that is no longer willing to live can be depicted as a child who is forced to work against their will.
Conclusion
The 19th century marked a significant period for female artists and poets. Browning and Dickinson were proof that women have the capacity for doing art and poetry. Both poets were religious, and most of their works featured allusions to death, the inevitable meeting with God, mental and physical struggle, and apocalypse. However, Browning became famous during her lifetime, while Dickinson’s poems were revealed only after her death.
Reference
Stone, M. (2019). “Woman’s Powers” and Emily Dickinson’s “Queens”: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Charlotte Brontë, and George Eliot in 1861–1862. Women’s Writing, 26(2), 168-183. Web.