From Birth to Death: The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning诗如人生,人生如诗

她出身于富裕家庭，天资聪颖，在诗歌方面才华出众，但幼年时的一次事故使她终年卧床不起。她被各种疾病缠身，过着离群索居的生活。直到有一天，诗人罗伯特·勃朗宁走进了她的生活。自此，她的世界因罗伯特·勃朗宁的爱情和鼓励而彻底改变：她不仅恢复了健康，而且与勃朗宁结婚生子。两个因诗歌而结缘的恋人从此成就了一段诗坛佳话。她在诗中如此表达对罗伯特·勃朗宁的爱：“How do I love thee？ Let me count the ways.”她就是英国维多利亚时代备受尊敬的女诗人伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃朗宁。让我们一起走进她的诗意人生……

Throughout the course of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s life， poetry played the hand of fate. All of the major events that took place in her life seem to coincide with her poetry. Poetry made her famous. It gave her solace and comfort， somewhere to drown her sorrow. It introduced her to her husband and （indirectly） divorced her from her father. Poetry was not only a part of her life but an integral part of her soul.

Creative Beginnings

It all began in Gosforth Church， with the marriage of Mary Graham Clarke and Edward Moulton. Soon after their marriage， Edward Moulton inherited his family’s sugar plantations in Jamaica and took on the name Barrett. Their first daughter was born on March 6， 1806 in Coxhoe Hall， located in Durham， England. She was christened1） Elizabeth Barrett. She was to be the first of twelve siblings： Edward， Henrietta， Arabella， Samuel， Charles， George， Henry， Alfred， Septimus， Octavius， and Mary. （Mary died at the age of three.） Out of the twelve， Elizabeth Barrett was closest to her younger brother Edward， affectionately dubbing him “bro.” He in turn， responded by calling her “ba.” They all resided happily at Hope End near Ledbury in Herefordshire， where Elizabeth Barrett’s father had built himself a country house with Moorish2） windows and turrets.

Elizabeth Barrett’s education began at the age of eight when she first started receiving lessons from her tutor. It soon became obvious that Elizabeth was a proficient learner. She could read Homer in the original before she turned nine years old， and when she no longer had a tutor she taught herself by studying Edward’s lessons and by reading incessantly. But， more importantly， she developed a passion not only for learning， but for poetry as well. There is speculation that she began writing poetry at a very early age， but one of the first documentations of her work is Battle of Marathon， an epic poem contained in four books， written when she was twelve. Her father published it privately3） in 1820. She also began keeping a diary around the age of twelve， entitled Memorandum4） Book Containing Day and Night Thoughts of Elizabeth Barrett. It is composed of around one thousand words and it ranges in subjects discussed from the doctrine of innate ideas to the writer’s own character. To read the diary is to see that at the age of twelve she had already developed the intensity5） that distinguished her mature style.

A Tragic Flaw

As stated by Elizabeth Barrett’s own hand， quoted from her diary， “I am very passionate but impatience is my ruling passion. I can confess without shame and I am willing to repent and I can forgive without malice but impatience leads me into more faults that I can repent.”

Elizabeth was a relatively healthy girl until 1815. Her tragic flaw came into play6） when she grew impatient as she was waiting for someone to assist her in saddling her pony. While trying to saddle the pony， she fell backward， with the saddle landing on top of her. This event changed the rest of her life. For a long time， she was expected to stay bedridden7） after she was diagnosed with disease of the spine8）. This was the first of many illnesses that would plague9） her for the rest of her days.

In 1821， Elizabeth developed a respiratory10） infection that was suspiciously similar to tuberculosis. In letters to a friend， Miss Mitford， she described her illness as continuous coughing and spitting up blood. In the early stages of the disease， she was diagnosed with a nervous disorder by Doctor Coker. He prescribed opium for her. This was an addiction she could not escape； for the rest of her life she was a habitual user. In 1822， she began to work on An Essay on Mind and Other Poems， which was published in 1826. In 1825， “The Rose and Zephyr11）” was published by the Literary Gazette12）. This was a turning point， because this was her first poem that was not published privately by her father. Elizabeth’s literary career was in its infancy.

The End of Hope

In 1827 things took a turn for the worst. The sugar plantations in Jamaica were beginning to fail， and then， in 1828， Mrs. Barrett died， leaving behind eleven children and a grief-stricken husband who had ran their debts higher to keep his ailing13） wife comfortable. After she died， Mr. Barrett lost a substantial amount of money on his sugar plantations due to mismanagement and unrest amongst the slaves. The Barrett family never suffered major financial hardship， but Mr. Barrett sold Hope End in 1832. From there， they moved to Sidmouth and from Sidmouth they moved to 74 Gloucester Place （It is now 95 Gloucester Place）， and finally， they settled at 50 Wimpole Street. One bright point in Elizabeth Barrett’s life during 1827 to 1832 was the fact that she met Hugh Stuart Boyd， a blind scholar who encouraged her in classical studies. In 1833， Prometheus Bound： Translated from the Greek of Aeschylus14）， and Miscellaneous15） Poems was published.

Weakening Health

In 1838， Elizabeth Barrett’s health took a turn for the worst. It is speculated that she might have had tuberculosis of the spine； her prolonged cough also might have been pulmonary16） tuberculosis. In August， Elizabeth went to Torqauy in hopes that her health would return. She also begged her father to allow Edward to stay with her. This was a decision that she bitterly regretted later. He drowned two years later in Babbacombe Bay. Elizabeth never forgave herself for pleading with her father to allow him to stay with her. Elizabeth returned to 50 Wimpole Street in 1841， and her dependency on her father increased.

A Tyrannical Patriarch

After Elizabeth Barrett’s mother’s death back in 1828， Mr. Barrett became even more domineering and tyrant-like. None of his ten remaining children were permitted to marry， and even after the children were well into their twenties， they still had to ask for his approval and permission to have dinner guests.

When Elizabeth Barrett went back to Wimpole street， she lived as a recluse， lying alone in her room， only seeing her family and a select few friends. Barrett now took solace in reading and writing poems.

The Romantic Love Story

Elizabeth Barrett’s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship” was significant because it introduced her to her husband， Robert Browning. She addressed his work in “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship” with the following：

Or at times a modern volume，—Wordsworth17）’s solemn-thoughted idyl，

Howitt18）’s ballad-verse or Tennyson19）’s enchanted reverie20），—

Or from Browning some “pomegranate21），” which if cut deep down the middle，

Shows a heart within blood-tinctured22）， of a veined humanity.

Browning in turn read “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship” and desperately wanted to meet the poetess whose verses struck a chord in his heart. She was an invalid， a recluse and six years older than he， and yet he fell in love with her long before he laid eyes on her. A man by the name of John Kenyon23） arranged the meeting and Mr. Barrett allowed the meeting to take place because he thought of Robert Browning as an admirer of his daughter’s literary work.

Browning professed24） his love to Elizabeth soon after they met. The letter that began the most famous courtship of the nineteenth century opened， “I love your verses with all my heart， dear Miss Barrett.” 574 letters were exchanged in their twenty-month courtship. As their love grew， so did Mr. Barrett’s tyranny over his daughter. He simply had one stipulation25）， as ironclad26） as it was spoken： None of them， male or female， were allowed to marry. The three who did disobey in his lifetime were disinherited. To him they were dead. elizabeth barrett was one of the three， and， true to Mr. Barrett’s word， they never reconciled. On September 12， 1846 Elizabeth Barrett became Elizabeth Barrett browning， the beloved wife of Robert Browning. After their marriage， Browning spirited27） his bride off to Italy where they traveled from Pisa to Rome to Florence. Finally， the Brownings settled in Florence. Their first and only child， Robert Wideman Barrett Browning was born in March of 1849. Italy was a sense of release for Elizabeth. Life was rich and full， and Italy became a place of enlightenment， beauty and strength， whereas England represented sorrow and depression. Elizabeth found interests that she never would have enjoyed had she stayed at the Wimpole address. Her most consuming interests were Italian politics and the area of spiritualism. It was Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s most fervent desire to see Italy unified， and hence， Poems Before Congress came out in 1860.

The Beautiful End of Life

Four years after the death of her father in 1857， Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s health failed her for the last time. She died on June 29， 1861 in the arms of her husband. Her last words were “It is beautiful.” She took her last breath and left the world， leaving behind not only a husband and a son， but a legacy of beloved poetry that will never be forgotten.

在伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃朗宁的生命历程中，诗歌就像是一只命运之手。她生命中所有的主要事件似乎都与她的诗歌不谋而合。诗歌使她出名，给她抚慰，让她获得安逸，为她消愁解忧。诗歌使她和丈夫结缘，并（间接地）使她摆脱了父亲。诗歌不仅是她生活的一部分，更是她灵魂无法割舍的一部分。

创作的开始

这一切要从高斯福斯教堂说起，也就是从玛丽·格雷厄姆·克拉克与爱德华·莫尔顿的婚姻说起。这两人婚后不久，爱德华·莫尔顿就继承了家族在牙买加的一个甘蔗种植园，并开始采用巴雷特这个姓（编注：该姓为爱德华·莫尔顿母亲一方祖先的姓氏）。他们的长女于1806年3月6日在英格兰达勒姆郡的考克斯霍庄园出生，取名伊丽莎白·巴雷特。伊丽莎白以后将成为12个兄弟姐妹中的老大，她的兄弟姐妹包括爱德华、亨丽埃塔、阿拉贝拉、塞缪尔、查尔斯、乔治、亨利、艾尔弗雷德、塞普蒂默斯、奥克塔维厄斯和玛丽。（玛丽三岁时夭折。）在这12个孩子中，伊丽莎白·巴雷特和弟弟爱德华最为亲近，总是亲热地喊他“弟儿”，而他也亲热地称她为“白”。他们都快乐地生活在赫里福郡莱德伯里附近的赫普恩德——伊丽莎白·巴雷特的父亲建造的一所乡村住宅里，住宅带有摩尔式窗户和塔楼。

伊丽莎白·巴雷特八岁时开始接受教育，由一位家庭教师为她授课。很快，伊丽莎白的学习天赋就显露无遗。她九岁之前就已经能读荷马的原著，当不再有家庭教师教她时，她就通过学习爱德华的课程来自学，同时进行持续不断的阅读。但更为重要的是，她不仅酷爱学习，而且对诗歌产生了浓厚的兴趣。有人推测她很小年纪就开始写诗了，但她有据可查的最早作品是《马拉松之战》，这是她12岁时所写的一部四卷本的长篇叙事诗。他父亲于1820年自费出版了这部长诗。12岁左右时她还开始写日记，日记名叫《备忘录：伊丽莎白·巴雷特的日思夜想》。日记有一千字左右，内容涉及广泛，既有关于天赋观念的学说，又有对作者个人性格的描写。通过阅读这本日记我们可以看出，伊丽莎白在12岁时就已经形成了她那成熟风格所特有的艺术张力。

悲剧性的缺点

伊丽莎白·巴雷特在她的日记里写下了下面这段话：“我很有激情，但我身上最具支配性的情绪却是急躁。我可以坦承自己的想法而不觉得丢脸，我愿意为自己的过失而忏悔，我也可以毫无怨恨地宽恕别人。但急躁的情绪让我犯下了太多的错误，甚至都来不及忏悔。”

在1815年以前，伊丽莎白还是一个比较健康的女孩。但有一次，她正等人帮她给小马装马鞍时，她那悲剧性的毛病又犯了——她开始急躁起来。在自己尝试着给小马上马鞍时，她仰面朝后摔倒了，马鞍砸在了她的身上。这一事故改变了她以后的人生。她被诊断出脊椎受损，这样她就必须长期卧病在床。在折磨她此后一生的诸多疾病中，这仅仅是个开头。

1821年，伊丽莎白得了呼吸道感染，这种病疑似肺结核。在写给朋友米特福德小姐的信中，她这样描述自己的病情：持续地咳嗽，吐血。在这一病症的早期阶段，她被科克尔医生诊断为患了神经紊乱症。科克尔医生给她开了鸦片，结果她服用成瘾，再也戒不掉。在以后的生活中，她一直是个瘾君子。1822年，她开始创作《〈论心智〉及其他诗作》，该书于1826年出版。1825年，《玫瑰与西风之神》由《文学报》发表。这首诗的发表是一个转折点，因为这是她的第一首不是由父亲私人出资发表的诗。伊丽莎白的文学生涯由此进入始创期。

希望的终结

1827年，巴雷特家开始走向衰败。牙买加的甘蔗种植园开始歉收。接着，在1828年，巴雷特夫人病逝，丢下了11个孩子和一个伤心欲绝的丈夫——为了减轻妻子的病痛，他已债台高筑。妻子去世后，巴雷特先生的甘蔗种植园也由于经营不善以及奴隶的骚乱而损失惨重。虽然巴雷特家从没有遭受过太大的经济困难，但巴雷特先生还是在1832年卖掉了赫普恩德。他们从那里搬到了西德茅斯，又从西德茅斯搬到了格洛斯特广场74号（现在是格洛斯特广场95号），最后定居在温坡街50号。在1827到1832年这段时间里，伊丽莎白·巴雷特生活中的一个亮点就是遇到了盲人学者休·斯图尔特·博伊德，他鼓励她学习古典文学。1833年，她出版了《被缚的普罗米修斯（译自埃斯库罗斯的希腊作品）以及其他诗作》。

虚弱的身体

1838年，伊丽莎白·巴雷特的健康状况急剧恶化。有人揣测她或许得了脊柱结核；她长期咳嗽也可能是肺结核引起的。8月，伊丽莎白去了海滨之城托基，希望能在那里恢复健康。她还请求父亲让爱德华和她一起住。这个决定后来让她后悔莫及，因为两年后爱德华在巴巴科姆海湾溺水身亡。对于请求父亲让爱德华和自己住在一起一事，伊丽莎白永远都无法原谅自己。1841年，伊丽莎白返回温坡街50号，她对父亲的依赖与日俱增。

专横的家长

自从伊丽莎白·巴雷特的母亲在1828年去世以后，巴雷特先生就变得愈加专横，如同暴君一般。他不允许剩下的十个孩子中的任何一个结婚。即使孩子们都已二十多岁，但他们要想请朋友们来家里吃个饭，还要经过他的批准和许可。

伊丽莎白·巴雷特回到温坡街以后，就过着与世隔绝的生活，整天一个人躺在房间里，只见自己的家人和几个特别要好的朋友。她在阅读和写诗中寻求安慰。

浪漫的爱情

伊丽莎白·巴雷特的诗作《杰拉丁女士的求婚》意义非同寻常，因为这首诗让她结识了她的丈夫罗伯特·勃朗宁。在《杰拉丁女士的求婚》中，她提到了勃朗宁的作品，其中几句如下：

或者有时候是一册现代的诗篇——华兹华斯那思想肃穆的牧歌，

霍伊特的民谣或者丁尼生魔幻的幻想曲——

或者勃朗宁笔下的“石榴”，从中间切开，

露出血红的心脏，那血脉分明的人性。

勃朗宁也拜读了她的《杰拉丁女士的求婚》。他非常渴望见一见这位女诗人，她的诗歌拨动了他的心弦。虽然她身染疾病，离群索居，又比他大六岁，但他还是爱上了她，早在见到她本人之前就爱上了她。一位名叫约翰·凯尼恩的男士安排了他们的会面，而巴雷特先生也同意了他们见面，因为他把罗伯特·勃朗宁当成了喜爱他女儿文学作品的仰慕者。

他们见面后不久，勃朗宁就表达了他对伊丽莎白的爱慕之情。那封开启了19世纪最著名的爱情故事的信笺如此开篇：“我发自内心地喜爱你的诗作，亲爱的巴雷特小姐。”在两人20个月的恋爱过程中，他们一共交换了574封信件。随着他们恋情的加深，巴雷特先生对女儿的专横控制也越来越严。他只有一个规定，铁律如山，雷打不动：不管是儿子还是女儿，谁都不许结婚。那三个在他在世期间胆敢违抗的子女都被剥夺了继承权。对他来说，他们已经死去。伊丽莎白·巴雷特就是这三个子女中的一个，而且巴雷特先生言出必行，他们从此再也没有和解。1846年9月12日，伊丽莎白·巴雷特成了伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃朗宁，成了罗伯特·勃朗宁挚爱的妻子。婚后，勃朗宁就悄悄带着他的新婚妻子去了意大利，他们从比萨游览到罗马，又到佛罗伦萨。最后，夫妻俩在佛罗伦萨定居。他们的第一个也是唯一的孩子罗伯特·怀德曼·巴雷特·勃朗宁于1849年3月出生。对于伊丽莎白来说，意大利是一个让她感觉放松的地方。这里的生活丰富而又充实，意大利对她来说象征着启迪、美丽和力量，而英格兰则代表着悲伤和忧郁。在这里，伊丽莎白找到了她在温坡街永远都无法拥有的兴趣爱好。她最感兴趣的是意大利的政治和唯灵论。看到意大利的统一是伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃朗宁最为强烈的愿望，也正因为如此，才有了1860年《大会前的诗歌》的问世。

美丽的结局

伊丽莎白·巴雷特·勃朗宁的父亲于1857年去世，四年后，她的健康状况恶化——这是最后一次。1861年6月29日，她在丈夫的怀抱里离开了人世。她说的最后一句话是“真的很美”。她吸了最后一口气，离开了这个世界，留下的不仅是她的丈夫和儿子，还有脍炙人口的诗歌遗产，永远为人们所铭记。

1. christen [?kr?s（?）n] vt. 给……取名

2. Moorish [?m??r??] adj. （建筑、家具等）摩尔风格的。摩尔风格为8世纪至16世纪西班牙的一种建筑风格，具有蹄形拱和华丽装饰。

3. privately [?pra?v?tli] adv. 自费地

4. memorandum [?mem??r?nd?m] n. 备忘录

5. intensity [?n?tens?ti] n. 艺术激情

6. come into play：开始起作用；开始产生影响

7. bedridden [?bed?r?d（?）n] adj. 卧床不起的

8. spine [spa?n] n. 脊柱；脊椎

9. plague [ple?ɡ] vt. 折磨，使痛苦

10. respiratory [r??sp?r?t（?）ri] adj. 呼吸系统的

11. Zephyr [?zef?（r）] n. 西风之神

12. gazette [ɡ??zet] n. 报纸

13. ailing [?e?l??] adj. 生病的

14. Aeschylus：埃斯库罗斯（约公元前525～公元前456），古希腊悲剧诗人

15. miscellaneous [?m?s??le?ni?s] adj. 混杂的，各种各样的

16. pulmonary [?p?lm?n（?）ri] adj. 肺部的

17. Wordsworth：即威廉·华兹华斯（William Wordsworth， 1770～1850），

英国著名的浪漫主义诗人

18. Howitt：即玛丽·霍伊特（Mary Howitt， 1799～1888），英国诗人

19. Tennyson：即阿尔弗雷德·丁尼生（Alfred Tennyson， 1809～1892），英国维多利亚时代最受欢迎的诗人

20. reverie [?rev?ri] n. 幻想

21. pomegranate [?p?m??ɡr?n?t] n. [植]石榴

22. tincture [?t??kt??（r）] vt. 染色，着色

23. John Kenyon：约翰·凯尼恩，伊丽莎白·巴雷特的表兄

24. profess [pr??fes] vt. 表示

25. stipulation [?st?pj??le??（?）n] n. 规定；约定

26. ironclad [?a??（r）n?kl?d] adj. （誓约等）严格的；不能改变的

27. spirit [?sp?r?t] vt. 偷偷地（或神秘地）带走