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"Destruction of the Roehampton Estate," Adolphe Duperly (1833); Portrait of Elizabeth Barrett Browning from The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (London,1889-90)

"Destruction of the Roehampton Estate," Adolphe Duperly (1833); Portrait of Elizabeth Barrett Browning from The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning (London, 1889-90)

In the scope of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's (hereafter EBB) poetic ouevre, five poems can be identified as addressing, whether overtly or obliquely, the ongoing issue of slavery. Each piece marks a particular moment in EBB's ideological trajectory, moving from her juvenilia, represented in “The African” (early 1820s), to apprenticeship poems like "The Appeal" (1833), to her much-discussed mature works “The Runaway Slave of Pilgrim’s Point” (1848), “Hiram Powers’ Greek Slave” (1850), and “A Curse for a Nation” (1856). By contextualizing these particular pieces both within their respective historical moments and our own contemporary perspectives, this COVE edition seeks to explore the nuances of power relations inherent in ongoing issues of race, gender, and class, seen in both the dynamics inherent in EBB's positionality as a white woman descended from a plantation-owning family, writing about the plight of enslaved people, and the broader system of racial inequity that persists into the present.

Timelines, Galleries, and Maps

Manuscript, Page 1 | Gallery Image

Page 1 of Richard Barrett's manuscript.
Accession #: n.d./137

Transcript: Austin was a creole negro slave, & lived on his master's property in the
Island of Jamaica. His good conduct had secured him the confidence
of several successive overseers, & he became the head-driver or black
overseer of the estate. His authority over… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

Casa Guidi | Place

The home of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning in Florence, Italy. After EBB was disinherited by her father upon her marriage to Browning, the couple moved to Italy in 1846 and settled at Casa Guidi in 1847, where they lived until EBB's death in 1861. The Brownings' son, Pen, was born here in 1849, and the house was visited by many writers, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret…

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Hiram Powers's Studio | Place

Comprising a section of the former Annalena convent, this studio doubled as a dwelling for Hiram Powers, a well-known 19th-century American photographer and sculptor, from 1839 until 1852. During this period, Powers created some of his most famous works, including the Greek Slave, Fisher Boy, and Eve Tempted. The building consisted of…

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"The African," Page 26 | Gallery Image

Page 26 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
No more – they could not feel such misery. . . . . . . .
And she is here – and that cold thing is he – !
And fast, and faster from her throat,
The sob convulsive heaves –
And loud, and louder it… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 25 | Gallery Image

Page 25 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
But oh! what quick, light timid step
O’er the green sod is heard,
And rushing thro the plantains deep
A female form appeared:
And as in haste she passes by
Phrenzy glares wildly from her eye –
Oh Affa, Affa! it is thou
Sweet child of… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 24 | Gallery Image

Page 24 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Yes Austin thou has met thy foe –
As that wild, warlike din may shew –
Of muttered threats, and weapons crashing
Shout on shout, & blow on blow
Thy whole soul from that dark eye flashing – !
And Orenzebe might withstand
The glorious vigor… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 23 | Gallery Image

Page 23 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
"Should all that kindness be forgot
"And vanish like the morn of day?
"Old man, Heaven, – Nature answers nay!
"My hope, my strength. . . . ."
"Oh tell me where—"

‘My strength, the Christians strength, is there?"
He raised his hand to that… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 22 | Gallery Image

Page 22 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Towards that Heav’n of love he glanced
That sky of happiness and rest
With reverence, faith, & hope, refined
By patient grief, and modest grace
At once fired, fortified, resigned –
And Heav’n reflected on his face
Beams mildly from his… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 21 | Gallery Image

Page 21 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
"I knelt. . . . . . . . and. . . . and. . . &, at his feet —
"Nay Austin frown not so in scorn –
"'Twas dreadful thus alone to die
"Unhoused, deserted, & forlorn
"And not for life, even once t’ entreat! . . .
"He spurned me – – Austin… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 20 | Gallery Image

Page 20 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
"And oh! that frown, itself a storm
"Still scowls upon me terribly!" . . .

"Whose frown, what foolery is this?"

"Yes, hear me Austin, it was his,
"The terror of the forests,… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

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