Brownings: Poems (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets)

Rating:
Summary: The Brownings Aren't My Favorites, but...
Review: I love this little volume, and by "little" I mean its physical size, not its contents.

The Brownings aren't my very favorite poets (Pablo Neruda is), but, being a romantic, I do love the poetry of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and some of their work certainly ranks among my "top ten."

The Brownings are probably as famous for their marriage as they are for their poems and Peter Washington doesn't neglect this fact in this compilation. While the poems aren't really autobiographical, the book concludes with a selection of letters written from Robert to Elizabeth and from Elizabeth to Robert. Yes, these are love letters, but don't except anything graphic. Remember, the Brownings were Victorians and, despite their great love for each other, neither was tremendously open in their correspondence.

The poems, themselves, are arranged with a specific design in mind. Washington first showcases the poems of Robert Browning, then those of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. These are all love poems, to be sure, but they aren't all love poems from Robert to Elizabeth or from Elizabeth to Robert. The Brownings did have passions other than each other and, while these poems do detail much of the Brownings' love for each other, the book also contains poems about their passion for nature, religion, childhood and even poetry, itself. Also quite beautiful are the poems that explore the Brownings' passion for Italy. (They lived, after their hasty marriage, in Florence, in Casa Guidi, and, if you ever find yourself in Florence, you can visit their apartment yourself.)

Although the Brownings had one child, Elizabeth, whose health was quite a bit weaker than Robert's, died many years before him. It's natural, I think, that some of Robert Browning's poems show a maturity, wisdom and even sadness that are lacking in Elizabeth's.

Most people who don't know (or care for) the Brownings' poems intimately, are at least familiar with Elizabeth's great SONNETS TO THE PORTUGUESE (these poems are based on Elizabeth's and Robert's love affair). Peter Washington has included these poems in their entirety and I think it was a wonderful choice. Had he left them out, or only included excerpts, I think many people would have chosen another volume...a volume that did include the poems in their entirety.

As lovely as SONNETS OF THE PORTUGUESE are, I don't think they are Elizabeth Barrett Browning's best work. AURORA LEIGH is actually a better poem and Washington has wisely included it as well.

Even those readers who have some familiarity with the work of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning might find some of these poems unfamiliar. Washington has chosen to accent the lyrical and the romantic in this volume rather than the better known works. Still, I don't see how any poetry lover could fail to be impressed with the selections.

I love the volumes in the "Everyman's Pocket Library Series." They are small and compact in size, yet they are filled with grand, glorious poems. Their size makes them easy to carry in a briefcase or purse, when traveling, and, they make wonderful "I'm thinking of you" gifts as well. I take mine almost everywhere, especially when I'm traveling and I love giving them as gifts. They are intensely personal and very beautiful.