Religion and Poetry

RELIGION: During discussion, several of you observed that Elliott condemned organized religion for its hypocrisy when it came to the political conditions under which he and his fellow citizens were suffering. EBB's runaway slave similarly points out that God did not come to the rescue of her lover and herself, but instead ?Coldly Thou sat'st behind the sun? (l. 89). She describes a God who ? cast His work away? (l. 25). At the same time, each of the poems has a decidedly political aim, whether it is to overturn unfair taxation or to abolish slavery. What inferences can you draw from one or more of the poems we've read about poetry, religion, and politics? Is belief treated differently from organized or institutionalized religion? How? If poets are the ?conduit for the divine,? then are they making some sort of claim the type of divine which they wish to serve? What might those who resisted a political role for poetry have to say about the inclusion of religion in such works? Is poetry in some way especially well suited to disclose hypocrisy, and if so, how? The Cry of the Children by Elizabeth Barrett Browning I Poetry Foundation Search by Poem or PW Events Newsletters Give SUBSCRIBE POETRY FOUNDATION POETRY MAGAZINE POEMS POETS PROSE oorreorrons m LISTEN e ry o t e 1 dren IQTQITN The Cry of the Children BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING BY ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING ABOUT THIS POET Pheu pheu, ti prosderkesthe m ommasin, tekna; [[Alas, alas, why do you gaze at me with your eyes, my c Medea. Do ye hear the children weeping, O my brothers, Ere the sorrow comes with years They are leaning their young heads against their moth And that cannot stop their tears. Among all women poets o f the The young lambs are bleatIng In the meadows ; English-Speaking world in the The young birds are chirping in the nest ; nineteenth century, none was held The young fawns are playing with the shadows In hIgher cr1t1cal esteem or was The young flowers are blowmg toward the west- more admired for the But the young, young chlldren, O my brothers, independence and courage o f her They are weepmg blttefly ! Views than Elizabeth Barrett They are weeping in the playtime of the others, Browning. During the years 0 f her In the country of the free. marrIage to Robert Browmng, her... Do you question the young children in the sorrow, Why their tears are falling so ? mm The old man may weep for his to-morrow Which is lost in Long Ago https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43725/the-cry-of-the-children[1/17/18, 11:09:23 PM]