Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born on March 6, 1806, in Durham, England, the first of twelve children. Her father was a plantation owner with large estates in Jamaica. She grew up in Herefordshire where her father had

Insufficiency

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61)

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 W  hen   I attain to utter forth in verse 
 Some inward thought, my soul throbs audibly 
 Along my pulses, yearning to be free 
 And something farther, fuller, higher, rehearse, 
 To the individual, true, and the universe, 
 In consummation of right harmony: 
 But, like a wind-exposed distorted tree, 
 We are blown against for ever by the curse 
 Which breathes through Nature. Oh, the world is weak! 

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Poets Book of Days

March 6

Elizabeth Barrett Browning born, 1806

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Poetry Trivia

Question:

Whose famous last words were "Either this wallpaper goes, or I do"?

Answer

Oscar Wilde, according to some sources. One wonders about its veracity given his deathbed conversion back to Catholicism; a priest remained with him during his last hours. Another deathbed quote attributed to Wilde; having asked for a glass of champagne, he said: "Alas, I am dying beyond my means."

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