E570100J. Aurora Leigh (New York, 1857).
The Universalist Quarterly, January 1857, p. 104.
As reprinted in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 23, 364.
This poem is deserving of more than a passing notice, for nothing short of elaborate statement and extended extracts can convey an adequate conception of its extraordinary merit. Without the stiffness and obscurity which critics have charged upon former effusions of the same poetess, “Aurora Leigh,” we must think, is the greatest poem written by a living female. Intelligible to all who have insight as well as sight, it abounds in criticisms which surprise, as much by the research, as by the power of imagination, which they evince. Such command of language is almost a marvel. Words are used with perfect precision—with the nicest discrimination of meaning. “Aurora Leigh” should be the study of all who would know the flexibility and intensity of the English language. It must be a study to be appreciated. Mrs. Browning has always ranked high among living female poets. Till something better than “Aurora Leigh” is produced, she must lead the van.
E.
Reviewed:
Aurora Leigh (EBB), New York: C.S. Francis & Co., 1857.
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