There's No Escaping Love

Love follows us everywhere. At school, at home, in the movies, on television, in a book-it's all over the place. The question is: Can two people really love one another deeply and unequivocably? The answer: Yes, and two poets, Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning, prove that in their poetry. Alfred Tennyson, quite possibly one of the most romantic people ever, fell in love with a woman named Emily Sellwood. It was love at first sight. He knew he wanted to wed Emily. Due to his financial crisis, he was unable to marry her in 1838. For over 20 years, he never laid eyes on another woman, and she never laid eyes on another man. Finally in 1850, three years after his success with the book length poem, The Princess, he was able to wed Emily. The poem, The Bugle Song, was written to tell Tennyson's story of his love for Emily. The use of such strong and vivid words like "shimmer" and "echoes" show that Tennyson's feelings for Emily were constantly present and echoed through the night for all to hear and see. How romantic :) Robert Browning, even more romantic than Tennyson, corresponded with a woman, Elizabeth Barrett, by letter before marrying her in September of 1846. They fell in love with each other via letters. Now wouldn't you like to get a HANDWRITTEN letter from the person you love? It would melt every woman's heart. Anyway, though, Browning's poem, How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, demonstrates how much love there was in his life. The narrator's love for his horse and what's around him just shows the amount of love Browning had for Elizabeth. I mean, how can someone write about something so moving and lovely and not indeed have love in his life? Obviously, Browning was head over heals for her. Poetry-a way in which poets express their love for others. Tennyson and Browning do just that. It's beautiful, it's touching, it's moving. Who wouldn't want someone like Tennyson or Browning in their life? Love, well, it's everywhere, and when someone writes about it, we all fall madly in love with the poem. Honestly, though, how can you not? Until we meet again, xoxo Brunette

Daily Thoughts From a Blonde...

Although I'm not really familiar with different writing styles in poetry, I find the styles of Alfred Tennyson and Robert Browning to be very different, yet both equally appealing.

Tennyson was an extremely significant writer during his time period and was even named poet laureate in 1850 after writing In Memoriam and becoming friends with Queen Victoria. Until his marriage to Emily Sellwood, Tennyson's life was somewhat depressing with the death of his father in 1831 and also his best friend, Arthur Hallam, in 1833. Tennyson's main writing style was narrative poetry, which can be seen in much of his work, including The Bugle Song and Idylls of the King. Narrative poetry was meant to tell a story in a sophisticated and flowing manner, which was helpful for Tennyson to express the sadness and happiness he felt throughout his lifetime. For example, The Bugle Song was written to tell Tennyson's story about his love for Emily Sellwood and how although he couldn't initially support her financially, he would always love her. I enjoy narrative poetry because it is the author's life and feelings masked into a poetic form of literature.

Browning, also an important poet during the same time period, had a very different style of writing for his poetry. Browning's life was not filled with as many hardships as Tennyson's, however he had some relating to his wife's illnesses which appeared in some of his poetry. Browning's main style of writing is known as dramatic monologue, meaning that there is an audience implied, there is no dialogue and it speaks through an assumed voice. This writing style is exemplified in his poem, How They Brought Good News From Ghent to Aix. Although this poem also tells a story as in narrative poetry, it is presented in a different manner, especially with the use of iambic pentameter. The use of iambic pentameter makes the poem flow and matches the beat of running horses.

The question is: which one is the best choice? To this, I can give you no answer. Both of the poets get their point across in different manners and both are appealing to listen to.