Political Poems: 'The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim's Point' by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
<p>Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s deeply disturbing 1847 poem about a woman escaping slavery and killing her child was written to shock its intended white female readership to the abolitionist cause. Browning was the direct descendant of slave owners in Jamaica and a fervent anti-slavery campaigner, and her dramatic monologue presents a searing attack on the hypocrisy of ‘liberty’ as enshrined in the United States constitution. Mark and Seamus look at the origins of the poem and its story, and its place among other abolitionist narratives of the time.</p><p>Mark Ford is Professor of English at University College, London, and Seamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford.</p><p>Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:</p><p>Directly in Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://lrb.me/ppapplesignup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/ppapplesignup</a></p><p>In other podcast apps: <a href="https://lrb.me/ppsignup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/ppsignup</a></p><br><p>Read more in the <em>LRB</em></p><p>Matthew Bevis: Foiled by Pleasure: <a href="https://lrb.me/bevispp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/bevispp</a></p><p>Alethea Hayter: Reader, I married you: <a href="https://lrb.me/hayterpp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/hayterpp</a></p><p>John Bayley: A Question of Breathing: <a href="https://lrb.me/bayleypp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/bayleypp</a></p><p>Colin Grant: Leave them weeping: <a href="https://lrb.me/grantpp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/grantpp</a></p><p>Fara Dabhoiwala: My Runaway Slave, Reward Two Guineas: <a href="https://lrb.me/dabhoiwalapp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lrb.me/dabhoiwalapp</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (podtrac.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s deeply disturbing 1847 poem about a woman escaping slavery and killing her child was written to shock its intended white female readership to the abolitionist cause. Browning was the direct descendant of slave owners in Jamaica and a fervent anti-slavery campaigner, and her dramatic monologue presents a searing attack on the hypocrisy of ‘liberty’ as enshrined in the United States constitution. Mark and Seamus look at the origins of the poem and its story, and its place among other abolitionist narratives of the time.
Mark Ford is Professor of English at University College, London, and Seamus Perry is Professor of English Literature at Balliol College, Oxford.
Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/ppapplesignup
In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/ppsignup
Read more in the LRB
Matthew Bevis: Foiled by Pleasure: https://lrb.me/bevispp
Alethea Hayter: Reader, I married you: https://lrb.me/hayterpp
John Bayley: A Question of Breathing: https://lrb.me/bayleypp
Colin Grant: Leave them weeping: https://lrb.me/grantpp
Fara Dabhoiwala: My Runaway Slave, Reward Two Guineas: https://lrb.me/dabhoiwalapp
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.