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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.

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"The African," Page 15 | Gallery Image

Page 15 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
And muse on vengeance which should last!
And oft across the scowling brow
As torturing in thought his foe
A with’ring smile of hatred passed –
As the quick light’ning dashes
From the black mist… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 14 | Gallery Image

Page 14 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
The pure drops from that large black eye
Pace down the sad cold cheek, she knows not why.
But where’s the unrelenting Chief
Who rent that heart with agony –
Who deadened eyes like those with grief
And snapt her joys. . . oh where is he?

He… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 13 | Gallery Image

Page 13 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Unutterable things it spoke . .
It told that Affa’s heart was broke!

Canto second
Years passed – the light swift foot of time
Swiftly o’er that… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 12 | Gallery Image

Page 12 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Above the rolling deep
With its wild numbers breaks
The sleep of misery!
Slowly from those opening eyes
Unclosed the lovely lid. . .
As clouds pass from th’ ethereal skies
Which that soft azure hid!
And in a tremulous voice, & low –
… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 11 | Gallery Image

Page 11 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
That haughty soul which dared to sigh
For life? – Ah no – for liberty!

Night fades in silent gloom away
And rising o’er those dark blue seas
Swept lightly by the gentle breeze
Shines the young orb of day.
And the pure depths of air, are… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 10 | Gallery Image

Page 10 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Still thy soul His anger braveth
Still unatoned thy failings lie
Thou know’st not yet the Lord who saveth
Who only makes it sweet to die!
Thou know’st Him… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 9 | Gallery Image

Page 9 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
But ah! there is no way to save,
No pitying tear to thee is given,
No pure inhabitant of Heaven
Will bless thee with a grave!
Where are thy Gods? and do they now
Desert thee in the hour of need
To whom thy knees were wont to bow
For whom thy… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 8 | Gallery Image

Page 8 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
Around his form her soft arms throwing,
And clinging to that loved embrace,
She hid, in desperate grief, her face
Upon the breast, those woes bestowing –
Till o’er her soul, subdued by sorrow,
A gleam of Hopes gay sunshine flew,
Such as… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 7 | Gallery Image

Page 7 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
"My wages were contempt, and scorn
"And then . . . . a blow!—am I awake?
"A blow! and doth the tyrant live! – – . .
"Nay, Affa thou may’st well forgive
"The transport of thy Brother’s breast
"When e… more

Posted by Emily Crider on

"The African," Page 6 | Gallery Image

Page 6 of EBB's manuscript of "The African."
Accession #: EBB MSS, D0015.1

Transcription:
[blank page]

Posted by Emily Crider on

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