Girls blush, sometimes, because they are alive, half wishing they were dead to save the shame. The sudden blush devours them, neck and brow; They have drawn too near the fire of life, like gnats, and flare up bodily, wings and all. What then? Who's sorry for a gnat or girl?

During their friendship Barrett studied Greek literature including Homer Pindar and Aristophanes. Barrett Browning. This illness caused her to be frail and weak.

A collection of her last poems was publiElizabeth Barrett Browningd by her husband Robert Browning shortly after her death. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime.