Question

The collection of sonnets known as "from the Portuguese" are called that because _____.

1. they were written while living in Portugal
2. they were originally written in Portugese
3. it was the author's husband's nickname for her
4. the author was born in Portugal

Answer 1

It was the author's husband's nickname for her.

Answer 2

These sonnets are known as "from the Portuguese", because the author, Elisabeth Barrett Browning, did not want to publish them, fearing they were too intimate, so she said they were not hers, but translated from Portuguese. The language was chosen after her nickname that her husband gave her "my little Portuguese" - because she liked Portuguese poetry (answer 3)