Monday, March 16, 2009

Elizabeth Browning published her first book of poetry at age 22. She came close to becoming poet laureate, and was opposed to industrial revolution. Browning's mother died at 20, and it was after this that the girl eventually formed a dependance on  the drug morphine. In 1845 she met Robert Browning and a year later they eloped. She came to write some of the most beautiful love poetry ever written, including: "How do I love Thee?"
Within the the first book, young Aurora Leigh's life appears nothing like that of the Elizabeth Browning.

Aurora Leigh.
There are two uses of the word "live" here, both pertaining to physical and spiritual aspects.
What does it mean to be alive..? Aurora's aunt within the poem dislikes her brother's wife because it was their marriage that her inheritance promise. By marrying a Tuscan woman the brother has become uncommon, in the sense that he has left behind all his lordship responsibilities and inheritances. However his defiance of English life comes to an end by his wife's sudden demise.
This poem too joins the great english epics in the sense that it is a growth of a poets mind, yet, in this case the poet is a woman.

Our minds are palimpsests: We grow in the cultural surroundings we find ourself in, taking on the thoughts and ideas of those who influence us; which as it happens, is usually everyone we come in contact with, in one way or another. Each thing we experience influences us in some way, even if to persuade us to never come in contact with that particular thing again.

Outer Infinite equals a kind of innocence within the poem. And one could make a case here for absolutely adoring mothers spawning geniuses. Aurora, herself,  hungers for that deep unconditional love throughout the world. Like a bird torn from the nest. The phrase "kissing full sense into empty words"... evokes the notion of  bringing a child into language as each child invariably takes from the example set before them. 

Aurora
A girl torn away from everything she loves and yet still making the best of her situations. That's an honorable person. Her cultural surroundings certainly were bleak, yet this individual has not let her heartaches in life overpower her; at least not in the first book. She has had her share of traumatizing experiences, especially with that strange picture on the wall, and then losing the only thing in the world that seemed to give her comfort. Yet, through it all she arrives at her new-found location and refuses to act insubordinately. Perhaps she sees no hope in rebelling, but either way, I admire the characters attempt at contentment. We'll see how long it lasts...


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