"No Coward Soul Is Mine" is a poem written by author Emily Brontë about faith and bravery. Published in 1846, the poem appeared as part of a collection that Brontë put together with her sisters, Charlotte and Anne, called Poems of Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. All three sisters chose to publish under male pseudonyms, to conform to the gender restrictions of the time period. The collection would go on to receive contemporary critical praise. Brontë was an English writer born in a small village outside of Bradford in Yorkshire. While she is best known for her novel Wuthering Heights, in her lifetime she was a prolific poet as well. She wrote often about time, death, and memory. In this poem, she deals with the idea of faith as providing people with an indomitable spirit.
She begins the poem by describing her soul as strong and steadfast. She then goes on to say that she is compelled by the power of her religious beliefs and that it makes her feel empowered. She critiques the more earthly beliefs of other people, saying that their codes are valueless and speak poorly to their character. She offers a sweeping view of her vision of God as containing all aspects of nature and existence. Finally, she notes that, in her mind, God exists in all parts of life, meaning faith in him is believing in an omnipotent thing. It is written in seven quatrains with an ABAB rhyme scheme. Within this traditional construction, the poem explores the idea of religious faith and doubt, the speaker holding up her own religious beliefs as providing her with a connection to the eternal.
