If you ask anyone to tell you what it was she wrote, 99% will name her most famous work, “How Do I love Thee?” The poem written for her husband, Robert Browning. Before we get to Robert though, we must begin with who Elizabeth was, before he even came along.
Elizabeth was raised in a wealthy home, on a 500 acre estate in England. Her high I.Q. and interest in the literary arts, led her to read many Greek and Roman epics, as well as British classics, and other literary masterpieces. She was fluent in three languages, and her desire to learn never ceased, and included an equal obsession with religious knowledge. Though she came from a wealthy family, Elizabeth suffered many tragedies in her life; including the death of her mother when she was 22; lifelong problems with illness and injury; and the death of her favorite brother, whose loss she never truly recovered from. After her brothers death, Elizabeth became, by all accounts, a complete invalid. She had received a spinal injury years earlier and was also taking opium for a nervous disorder, but why she became permanently disabled is not known. This caused her to sink into reclusiveness and solitary, seeing only her close friends and family members for the next few years, and concentrating solely on the writing of her poems.
Throughout these tragedies, the one constant was her poetry. Her first printing, via her father, was at the age of 13. By 1844, her book “Poems,” had been released to wild acclaim, and made her one of the most popular poets in England. Although she was enjoying wonderful critical success, Elizabeth still remained in her house, disabled, and reclusive.
Among the many readers of her book, “Poems,” was Robert Browning, an educated man himself, and six years younger than she, he first wrote to Elizabeth to express his extreme delight in reading her book. This began a courtship through letters, that would lead to one of the most
