Charlotte Brontë's birthday: April 21, 1816

Joan Fontaine from the theatrical trailer for the 1943 film Jane Eyre


On the Death of Anne Brontë by Charlotte Brontë, 1816 - 1855

There’s little joy in life for me,
And little terror in the grave;
I’ve lived the parting hour to see
Of one I would have died to save.

Calmly to watch the failing breath,
Wishing each sigh might be the last;
Longing to see the shade of death
O’er those belovèd features cast.

The cloud, the stillness that must part
The darling of my life from me;
And then to thank God from my heart,
To thank Him well and fervently;

Although I knew that we had lost
The hope and glory of our life;
And now, benighted, tempest-tossed,
Must bear alone the weary strife.

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201 years ago, a curate's wife gave birth to Charlotte Brontë, one of six children. From modest beginnings, Charlotte moved into the national spotlight in 1847 with her wildly successful semi-autobiographical novel, Jane Eyre. To publish this novel, she had to take on the persona of a man: Currer Bell. When in 1848 she stepped into the spotlight as Charlotte, a female, she changed the face of publishing in England.

The poem above speaks of her sorrow at the death of her sister Anne, who died in the two-year period (1848-1849) that also saw the death of Charlotte's brother Branwell and sister Emily.

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/charlotte-bront%C3%AB