| Home Thoughts from Abroad | |
|---|---|
| by Robert Browning | |
 Poet Robert Browning | |
| First published in | 1845 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English, |
| Genre(s) | Romantic literature |
| Form | Sonnet |
| Lines | 19 |
| Preceded by | "The Lost Mistress" |
| Followed by | "Home-Thoughts, from the Sea" |
| Metre | Irregular |
| Full text | |
 Home-Thoughts, from Abroad atWikisource | |
"Home Thoughts, from Abroad" is a poem byRobert Browning. It was written in 1845 while Browning was on a visit to northernItaly, and was first published in hisDramatic Romances and Lyrics.[1] It is considered an exemplary work ofRomantic literature for its evocation of a sense of longing and sentimental references to natural beauty.
The poem is written as afirst person in which the speaker expresses feelings ofhomesickness through sentimental references to theEnglishcountryside.[2] The poem's opening lines are renowned for their evocation of patriotic nostalgia:[3]
Oh, to be in England / Now that April’s there
Browning makes sentimental references to the flora of an Englishspringtime, includingbrushwood,elm trees andpear tree blossom and to the sound ofbirdsong fromchaffinches,whitethroats,swallows andthrushes. The speaker in the poem concludes by stating that the blooming Englishbuttercups will be brighter than the "gaudymelon-flower" seen growing in Italy.[2]
The poem is in two stanzas. The first stanza has an irregular metre consisting of alternatingtrimeter,tetrameter andpentameter lines and a final trimeter line, with an ABABCCDDrhyming scheme. The second stanza is longer consists almost entirely of pentameter lines except for one tetrameter line, and the rhyme is an AABCBCDDEEFF scheme.[4]
Browning's poem inspired singer-songwriterClifford T Ward in his sentimental 1973 song "Home Thoughts from Abroad", which also makes reference to other romantic poetsJohn Keats andWilliam Wordsworth.[5]
In 1995, Browning's "Home Thoughts from Abroad" was voted 46th in aBBC poll to find theUnited Kingdom's favourite poems.[6]
