Welcome to Poem of the Day – The Runaway Slave At Pilgrim’s Point by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, a prominent British poet of the 19th century, is renowned for her ability to merge intense personal emotion with powerful social critique. In The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point, she crafts a harrowing and deeply moving narrative poem that explores the anguish and injustice endured by an enslaved woman. This poem, first published in 1848, was a bold condemnation of slavery, written at a time when debates surrounding abolition were at the forefront of societal discourse.
Set against the backdrop of Pilgrim’s Point—a symbol of American ideals of liberty and equality—the poem vividly highlights the irony of a land dedicated to freedom being complicit in the brutal practice of slavery. With evocative imagery, emotional depth, and a tragic narrative, Browning’s poem serves as both a powerful piece of British poetry and an enduring testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
This essay will explore the poem’s themes, imagery, and structure, examining how Browning confronts the horrors of slavery, the hypocrisy of freedom, and the protagonist’s tragic resistance to oppression.
The Runaway Slave At Pilgrim’s Point Explanation
The poem begins with the protagonist—a runaway slave—standing at Pilgrim’s Point, invoking the location’s symbolic significance:
“I stand on the mark beside the shore
Of the first white pilgrim’s bended knee,
Where exile turned to ancestor,
And God was thanked for liberty.”
This opening sets the stage for the poem’s central irony. Pilgrim’s Point represents the historical moment when European settlers sought freedom from oppression, yet it is also the site where this same liberty was denied to others, particularly enslaved Africans. The speaker, as a runaway slave, stands at this location not as a recipient of freedom but as its stark antithesis, her presence exposing the hypocrisy of a nation founded on ideals of equality while perpetuating slavery.
Browning uses this contrast to critique the failure of American ideals, highlighting the dissonance between the celebrated “freedom” of the Pilgrims and the lived reality of enslaved people. This irony underscores the deep moral corruption of a society that glorifies liberty while enslaving and dehumanizing others.
The Protagonist’s Voice: A Cry Against Injustice
Browning’s choice to narrate the poem through the voice of a runaway slave gives it an intimate and urgent quality. The speaker’s voice is raw and impassioned, filled with both rage and sorrow as she recounts her experiences. The lines are imbued with deep emotion, as the speaker describes the violence and oppression she has endured:
“They wrung my cold hands out of their hold,
And dragged me down to the miry fold,
That creaks and groans like a human cry,
With the howl of the dog as the bondmen go by.”
Here, the imagery is vivid and visceral, evoking the physical and emotional torment of enslavement. The “miry fold” symbolizes the inescapable degradation of slavery, while the “howl of the dog” represents the relentless pursuit of those who dare to flee their oppression. Browning’s use of auditory imagery intensifies the reader’s immersion in the speaker’s suffering, creating a sense of immediacy and empathy.
The protagonist’s cry is not just a lament for her own suffering but also an indictment of the broader system of slavery. She challenges the moral complacency of those who perpetuate or tolerate such injustice, forcing the reader to confront the inhumanity of slavery through her perspective.
The Loss of Love and Innocence
A central element of the poem is the speaker’s love for another enslaved individual, a relationship tragically destroyed by the brutality of their circumstances. She recounts how she and her lover were separated and how he was murdered for daring to love her:
“They struck him down at my very feet,
And then they laughed. I heard him say,
‘Oh, curse the white child evermore,
Who brought the slaver to our door.’”
The murder of her lover epitomizes the cruelty of slavery, where even the most basic human connections—love, family, and community—are violently torn apart. The speaker’s grief is compounded by her own subsequent suffering, as she is forced to bear the child of her oppressor. This child becomes a symbol of her degradation and despair, embodying the violence inflicted upon her:
“I looked at the child, it was bright in its face,
And the mother’s wrong mixed with the father’s base.
I had striven against it, but it would arise
Like a curse from the earth, like a ghost from the skies.”
The child, a product of rape, represents the ultimate violation of her autonomy and humanity. In her anguish, the speaker makes the heart-wrenching decision to kill her child, an act that reflects the depth of her despair and her refusal to allow the cycle of violence and oppression to continue.
Nature as Witness and Ally
Throughout the poem, Browning uses nature as a recurring motif, portraying it as both a witness to the speaker’s suffering and an ally in her resistance. The imagery of the natural world often mirrors the speaker’s emotions, intensifying the poem’s emotional resonance:
“The white stars twinkled as I stood,
The river swept as it answered me.
I looked on the sky and the sea and the wood,
And the child stood moaning helplessly.”
The stars, river, and wood seem to share in the speaker’s sorrow, emphasizing the universality of her pain. At the same time, nature’s vastness contrasts with the confinement and oppression of slavery, symbolizing the freedom that the speaker longs for but cannot fully attain.
In the end, nature becomes a refuge for the speaker, offering a sense of solidarity and solace even as she faces her tragic fate.
The Tragic Resolution
The poem concludes with the speaker’s capture and impending death, but her voice remains defiant. Even in the face of her own mortality, she challenges the moral order of the society that has oppressed her, asserting the righteousness of her resistance:
“My soul is strong in the face of hell,
As the curse of the wronged should be!”
This final declaration underscores the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable suffering. The speaker’s voice, though silenced by death, carries a lasting power that demands justice and accountability.
Conclusion
The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point is a masterful example of British poetry that transcends national boundaries to confront a global issue. Through the voice of her protagonist, Elizabeth Barrett Browning delivers a searing critique of slavery, exposing its moral hypocrisy and the devastating toll it takes on individuals and families.
As a British poet, Browning uses her platform to challenge not only the institution of slavery but also the broader societal complacency that allows such injustices to persist. Her poem is a poignant reminder of the power of poetry to give voice to the voiceless, illuminate the darkest corners of human experience, and inspire change. In its vivid imagery, emotional intensity, and unflinching honesty, The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point remains a timeless and deeply moving work that continues to resonate with readers today.
