Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
Sonnets from the Portuguese: XVI
1And yet, because thou overcomest so,
2Because thou art more noble and like a king,
3Thou canst prevail against my fears and fling
4Thy purple round me, till my heart shall grow
5Too close against thine heart henceforth to know
6How it shook when alone. Why, conquering
7May prove as lordly and complete a thing
8In lifting upward, as in crushing low!
9And as a vanquished soldier yields his sword
10To one who lifts him from the bloody earth,
11Even so, Belovèd, I at last record,
12Here ends my strife. If thou invite me forth,
13I rise above abasement at the word.
14Make thy love larger to enlarge my worth!
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: A Selection from the Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. First Series. New Edition. London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1886. 1: 181-202.
First publication date:
1850
RPO poem editor: Marc R. Plamondon
RP edition: 2007
Recent editing: 2:2007/11/24
Composition date:
1846
Form: sonnet
Other poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
