Death
Death is one of the most prominent thematic threads in Brontë's work. She writes frequently about mortality and grief, highlighting the aftereffects of people being separated from their loved ones. In "Remembrance," the speaker of the poem has been mourning her dead lover for many years. She powerfully depicts her state of prolonged anguish: "Cold in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee, / Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave! / Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee, / Severed at last by Time's all-severing wave?" Here, as in many of Brontë's poems, death is portrayed as a "severing" force, pulling people apart and creating an unbridgeable barrier. The speaker is left in the world of the living but cannot stop herself from dwelling in the formerly happy past.
Time
Another major theme in Brontë's poetry is time. Time is usually shown as an agent of decay. In the poem "Long Neglect Has Worn Away," the speaker describes a woman whose happiness and physical beauty have been eroded by a lengthy period of abandonment. The harsh opening of the poem lays out its imagery clearly: "Long neglect has worn away / Half the sweet enchanting smile; / Time has turned the bloom to gray; / Mold and damp the face defile." Time coupled with the loss of a romantic relationship has progressed her aging. Brontë's speakers often show a preoccupation with the effects of time and its ability to take so much from individual people, particularly joy.
Love
Love is another prominent theme in Brontë's work. She frequently writes about it in a layered and complex manner. In "Ah! Why, Because the Dazzling Sun," the speaker has a vivid dream about her lover and curses the sun for waking her up. Love is tinged with sadness; the speaker can only be with her lover in dreams. The following excerpt captures these conflicting sentiments: "Why did the morning rise to break / So great, so pure a spell, / And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek / Where your cool radiance fell?" The speaker amplifies the high of experiencing this dream and the painful low of being brought out of it. Brontë often portrays love in this manner, with a focus on intensity and conflict.
Despair
Another common theme in Brontë's poetry is despair. The speakers of her poems are often in a state of abject hopelessness, struggling to find meaning in a difficult situation. In the aptly titled "Hope," the speaker describes her impossible relationship with a personified version of the feeling of hope, imagining it as an unreliable friend. At the poem's conclusion, the speaker describes Hope's final abandonment of her: "Hope, whose whisper would have given / Balm to all my frenzied pain, / Stretched her wings, and soared to heaven, / Went, and ne’er returned again!" This moment is the emotional climax of the poem. The speaker feels as though she is completely without any hope for the future. Brontë often writes about these sorts of moments of despair, capturing people who feel as though they have lost all of what used to make them happy. Despair is a kind of zero point in her work, showing people who can no longer struggle against a downturn.
Memory
Memory is a main theme in multiple Brontë poems. It appears prominently in "Remembrance," as the speaker of the text is mourning her long-deceased lover. She finds herself remembering him less and less and feels that she is not being faithful to his memory. At the same time, she expresses a desire to escape from living in the past and wants to find some way to move on. In the context of the poem, memory is written about as something that primarily traps the speaker in a past that is no longer accessible. She captures this duality in the closing of the poem, as she tries to reject the temptation to live in her memories: "And, even yet, I dare not let it languish, / Dare not indulge in memory's rapturous pain."
Faith
Faith is also a significant theme in a number of Brontë's poems. Paralleling the intensity of her other ideas, faith mostly appears in her work as a connection to an all-powerful celestial force. In her poem "No Coward Soul Is Mine," the speaker draws strength from her connection to God: "O God within my breast / Almighty ever-present Deity / Life, that in me hast rest, / As I Undying Life, have power in Thee." The speaker's appreciation for God's power makes her feel more secure because of her link to it. She feels her life amplified by this force. Brontë commonly writes about faith in this way, highlighting how a relationship to the divine can be a source of strength and meaning.
Perseverance
Another theme of Brontë's work is perseverance. While she frequently writes about characters who have reached a low point of despair, she also portrays moments where they cling to some semblance of hope. At the conclusion of "A Day Dream," the speaker of the poem subtly demonstrates a shift in her point of view. Previously, she found herself unable to enjoy a summer day because she was too aware of its end. But later in the poem, a celestial figure talks to her and tells her she should appreciate these beautiful moments precisely because they are fleeting. The end of the poem shows her slightly changed opinion in its tone: "The music ceased; the noonday dream, / Like dream of night, withdrew; / But Fancy, still, will sometimes deem / Her fond creation true." The day has elapsed, but the speaker does not feel the same sadness that she did before. She has found some solace in another point of view. While it is more uncommon, some of Brontë's poems feature this sort of turning point, showing perseverance as a means of continuing on in spite of an awareness of the finality of time.
