Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Beautiful Death

Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning began writing poetry at age 11. Her work was an escape from her strange undiagnosed suffering from a mysterious, lifelong illness that intensified at age 15. Barrett Browning was prescribed laudanum for her chronic pain and developed a lifelong habit. She was also inundated with grief as she faced the loses of her mother and brother.

Her husband, Robert Browning, was a fellow poet who fell in love with the published works of Elizabeth Barrett. Robert Browning rescued Elizabeth from her sick room after secretly courting and marrying her against her father’s wishes. Together the Browning’s moved to the warmer climate of Italy, where Barrett Browning flourished in her creation of poetry, which is still cited every Valentine’s Day today. Her most famous poem is “How do I love thee?”.

As Elizabeth Barrett Browning died in her husband’s arms (at age 55), she told him tenderly how much she loved him. Drawing her last breaths, Browning asked how she felt and she replied with her final word, “Beautiful”.

Cut and paste the links to read Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s most famous poem of love, https://poets.org/poem/how-do-i-love-thee-sonnet-43 .

Her poem, Died - https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/died-0

Her poem, Grief - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47646/grief-56d2283e927df .