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An Apprehension

By Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Topics: classic

If all the gentlest-hearted friends I know     Concentred in one heart their gentleness,     That still grew gentler till its pulse was less     For life than pity, I should yet be slow     To bring my own heart nakedly below     The palm of such a friend, that he should press     Motive, condition, means, appliances,     My false ideal joy and fickle woe,     Out full to light and knowledge; I should fear     Some plait between the brows, some rougher chime     In the free voice. O angels, let your flood     Of bitter scorn dash on me! do ye hear     What I say who hear calmly all the time     This everlasting face to face with God?

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"If all the gentlest-hearted friends I know..."

Exploring the themes of classic, Elizabeth Barrett Browning delivers a powerful performance in "An Apprehension"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"If all the gentlest-hearted friends I know..." by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

About Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861) was one of the most prominent English poets of the Victorian era. Her "Sonnets from the Portuguese" are among the most famous love poems in English, and her verse novel "Aurora Leigh" addressed women's roles in society and art.

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"God, God!     With a childs voice I cry,     Weak,..."

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