Aurora Leigh, Annotated Bibliography Example

Isaacs, Jason. “Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Women’s Issues, and Aurora Leigh”. The Victorian Web. 1992. Web. 1 April, 2013

Isaacs reveals the feminist political views of the Victorian poet and the revolutionary thoughts that appear in a moralistic and sociological form. The author also concludes that many references are made to gender roles in the contemporary Victorian society. Another important angle Isaacs examines the poem is the difference in the imagery compared to male authors’. He states that Barret Browning uses gynocentric imagery throughout the narrative poem.

Zonana, Joyce. “The Embodied Muse: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh, and Feminist Poetics”. Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature. Vol 8 No. 2 pp 240-262

Zonana focuses on the double role of the woman artist; both muse and poet. The author re-examines the feminist interpretations of the poem and questions the relationship of the author and the muse; should it be an external or internal aspect of the self.

Thomas, Katharina. “Feminism in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “Aurora Leigh”: Developing a Concept of the Female Artist. Auflage, 2008.

Thomas states that in the poem Aurora manages to reconcile work and love; creating a new concept as a female artist; making a connection between the two. The importance of the statement lies in its comparison with other feminist approaches looking at the role from the gender perspective.

Wallace, Anne. “Nor in Fading Silks Compose”: Sewing, Walking, and Poetic Labor in “Aurora Leigh” ELH, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Spring, 1997), pp. 223-256The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Wallace concludes that while the female voice in the poem is recognizable, the poem is indeed a patriarchal discourse. The author also concludes that writing indeed is represented as a “work” in the poem; however, it is “walking and writing” instead of the domestic labor females are usually associated with.

Chouiten, Linda “Irony and gender politics in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh” Nordic Journal of English Studies. Vol. 11. No 3 p. 1-16

According to Chouiten, the irony of the poem lies in self-reflection and the structure. The departure from the cultural and moral norms and the agony over them creates irony in the poem, in which the opposition lies between gender politics and the younger self of the narrator.

Laing-Cox, Taryn. “‘… singing at a work apart …’:The Search for a Feminine Poetic Voice in Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Aurora Leigh” Alternation 16,2 (2009) 221 – 240 ISSN 1023-1757

Laing-Cox argues that Barrett Browning goes further than going against gender norms; she also creates a new literary tradition. The author examines the impact of the poem on future female and feminist literature.

Byrd, Deborah. “Combating An Alien Tyranny: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Evolution As A Feminist Poet” In: Browning Institute Studies. An Annual of Victorian Literary and Cultural History: 13 (Victorian Literature and Culture) Ed. Auslander Munich, Adrienne. 1986. p. 23-54,

The author examines the poetic trait of Elizabeth Barrett Browning in the light of her life, connections with other poets and education. The article provides an insight into the motivations and philosophies of the poet.

Kaplan, Cora. “Aurora Leigh” In: Feminist Criticism and Social Change: Sex, Class and Race in Literature and Culture, Ed.Newton, Judith. Taylor and Francis. 1985. p. 134-

The author focuses on the fact that Barrett Browning goes against taboos of the society by engaging in a discourse that is reserved for male members of the bourgeois society. Kaplan also brings in the female solidarity perspective into her argument, reflecting on the scenes among the poor. There is indeed a connection created by the poet between female characters; independent of their social status.

References

International Committee of Women Leaders for Mental Health. Online. http://www.cartercenter.org/health/mental_health/intl_women.html

O’Hagan, M. (2009) Leadership for Empowerment and Equality: A proposed model for mental health user/survivor leadership. International Journal of Leadership in Public Services Volume 5, Issue 4, December 2009.