Sonnets from the Portuguese
Subtitle: illuminated by the Brownings' love letters
By: edited by Julia Markus & William S. Peterson.
Contributors: Markus, Julia, 1939-; Peterson, William S.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Ecco Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Hopewell, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 93
Subjects: Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 1806-1861 -- Correspondence.; Love poetry, English.; Poets, English -- 19th century -- Correspondence.; Sonnets, English.; Love-letters.
Description: "I love your verse with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett...and I love you too," Robert Browning wrote in January of 1845, thus initiating the most celebrated literary correspondence of the nineteenth century. For the next twenty months, he and the world-renowned poet Elizabeth Barrett exchanged letters and confidences.

During their courtship, Elizabeth privately wrote a series of forty-four sonnets to Robert. Later, the sonnets were collected and called Sonnets from the Portuguese, after the folktale lovers Caterina and Camoens, who loved from afar. This new edition of Sonnets from the Portuguese presents the poems in an entirely new context. The large page size allows the sonnets the stature they deserve, and each poem is accompanied on the facing page with relevant excerpts from the love letters.