Fate, Will and the Balance of Forces: A Theological Reading of Robert Browning's Poem 'Life in a Love'

Journal Article

Sadiq, Ebtisam Ali . 1996

• نوع عمل المنشور: Literary Criticism
• الوسوم: Victorian Poetry

مستخلص المنشور

This paper is a theological reading of a love poem by Robert Browning. The poem’s speaker addresses a reluctant beloved who refuses to accept his suit. Her rejection gives him power and determination and endows his life with meaning. The article places such empowerment in a religious context. It claims that Browning’s faith strikes a fine balance between predestination and human will, between preordained fate and freedom of choice.