Emily Brontë

Who is she?Emily Bronte was born on 30 July 1818 at 74 Market Street in Thornton, Bradford, Yorkshire, England. She was the fourth daughter of Maria Branwell (1783-1821), who died of cancer when Emily was just three years old, and Irish clergyman Patrick Bronte (1777-1861) She was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature.

Emily believed that her health, like her sisters', had been weakened by the harsh local climate and by unsanitary conditions at home, the source of water being contaminated by runoff from the church's graveyard. She caught a severe cold during the funeral of her brother Branwell in September 1848 which led to tuberculosis. Though her condition worsened steadily, she rejected medical help and all proffered remedies, saying that she would have "no poisoning doctor" near her.

At noon, Emily was worse; she could only whisper in gasps. With her last audible words she said to Charlotte, "If you will send for a doctor, I will see him now" but it was too late. She died that same day at about two in the afternoon while sitting on the sofa at Haworth Parsonage.

Emily died at the young age of 30, leaving the now-legendary Wuthering Heights as her only novel. Little is known about Bront 's life; she was a member of the famed Bront writing clan, ë ëwhich included her sisters Charlotte (author of Jane Eyre) and Anne (author of Agnes Grey). The three published their poetry in the 1846 book Poems by Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. (The names were only a nick neme for Charlotte, Emily and Anne.) Emily began writing Wuthering Heights in 1845 and it was published late in 1847. The book's troubled lovers, the beautiful Catherine Earnshaw and the stormy, troubled

Heathcliff, have become famous figures in literature.

Extra credit:

Wuthering Heights has been the basis of nearly a dozen feature films and TV movies. The most famous is the 1939 film

If grief for grief can touch thee

If grief for grief can touch thee, If answering woe for woe,

If any truth can melt thee Come to me now!

I cannot be more lonely, More drear I cannot be!

My worn heart beats so wildly 'Twill break for thee--

And when the world despises-- When Heaven repels my prayer-- Will not mine angel comfort?

Mine idol hear?

Yes, by the tears I'm poured, By all my hours of pain

O I shall surely win thee, Beloved, again!

“If grief for grief can touch thee, If answering woe for woe, If any truth can melt thee Come to me now!”

“I cannot be more lonely,

More drear I cannot be! My worn heart beats so

wildly 'Twill break for thee--”

“And when the world despises--

When Heaven repels my prayer--

Will not mine angel comfort?

Mine idol hear?”

“Yes, by the tears I'm poured,

By all my hours of pain O I shall surely win

thee, Beloved, again!”

Figures Of SpeechIn the first stanza :

“If grief for grief can touch thee, If answering woe for woe,

If any truth can melt thee Come to me now!”

- Grief can touch thee: Personification, for the poet gave the ‘grief’ a human

ability which is touching her beloved

- If any truth can melt thee: Metaphor.

Figures Of Speech

In the 2nd stanza :

“I cannot be more lonely, More drear I cannot be!

My worn heart beats so wildly 'Twill break for thee--”

- Twill break for thee: Metaphor for a heart the broke out of strong love and intimacy.

Figures Of Speech

In the 4th stanza :

“Yes, by the tears I'm poured, By all my hours of pain

O I shall surely win thee, Beloved, again!”

- The tears I'm poured: Metaphor for crying so much that her tears poured just like the rain or

a flow of water.

The Rhyme SchemeIf grief for grief can touch thee, (A)

If answering woe for woe, (B)If any truth can melt thee (A)

Come to me now! (C)

I cannot be more lonely, (D)More drear I cannot be! (A)

My worn heart beats so wildly (D)'Twill break for thee-- (A)

And when the world despises-- (E)When Heaven repels my prayer-- (F)Will not mine angel comfort? (G)

Mine idol hear? (H)

Yes, by the tears I'm poured, (I)By all my hours of pain (J)

O I shall surely win thee, (A)Beloved, again! (J)

Themes:

Depression

Love

Struggle

The End