And love is fire. And when I say at need
I love thee . . . mark! . . . I love thee—in thy sight
I stand transfigured, glorified aright,
With conscience of the new rays that proceed
Out of my face toward thine. There's nothing low
In love, when love the lowest: meanest creatures
Who love God, God accepts while loving so.
And what I feel, across the inferior features
Of what I am, doth flash itself, and show
How that great work of Love enhances Nature's.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning is well known for her beautiful romantic sonnets, and her marriage to fellow poet Robert Browning. However, Barrett Browning’s influence is, perhaps, her most important legacy; in her time, she was recognized by both Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson as a significant source of inspiration.

Despite a lifetime struggle with chronic illness, Barrett Browning was a successful and prolific author of poetry and prose, and was a candidate for poet laureate in 1850, following William Wordsworth’s death.

Check out our other features on Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.