When examining Victorian poetry that contains an element of social criticism, we are presented with two central figures; Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina Rossetti. Their poems such as “Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point,” “Romaunt of the Page,” “Goblin Market,” and “In an Artist’s Studio” all contain an underlying tone of criticism in regards to a social problem. The common thread between these two poets is that within their poetry, their true voice speaks. The persona of the poem often possesses the poet’s feelings about a certain social problem such as the role of women, female sexuality, or Victorian ideals, just to name a few These two figures are central, and are often the first to look to when examining social critique in women’s writing of the Victorian period. Their literary histories are examined; along with the different elements of society they bring attention to in their poetry. Both women were strong in their writing, and what they valued is evident through their poems.

    That being said, it is also important to acknowledge that females often wrote about the same situations, however with a different perspective, therefore not calling them social problems at all. An important aspect to remember when examining this subject is that the perspective differs from females within situations, and females outside situations. For example, a woman writing from outside a factory may criticize it as a “problem.” A woman writing inside the walls of a factory may consider it not problematic in the least. That being said, a poet’s personal circumstance is important in viewing this type of poetry. This brings up the question of whether or not certain criticisms are valid, if they come from an outsider’s perspective.

  It is also interesting to analyze more modern criticisms. We often look at poetry that dealt with social situations of its time; however it is interesting to address modern writing that criticizes in problems in hindsight. An example of this is a more modern criticism of the way female factory workers were left out of Victorian novels, and were essentially the “hidden hands” behind all that made the storyline possible; industrialism. There are many aspects to examine when acknowledging the role that women writers have taken on in producing criticism of social problems.