This thesis studies the subject of Spiritualism in relation to the life and work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The Introduction refers briefly to the controversial phenomenon of Spiritualism in the nineteenth century, and the problems relating to Elizabeth Barrett Browning's belief and active interest in the subject. Chapter One traces the rise of Spiritualism in Victorian times from its ancient origins, concentrating on the life of the famous medium D. D. Home. Chapters Two and Three describe Elizabeth Barrett Browning's experience of the phenomenon, and the following four chapters discuss her poetry within the context of her spiritualistic beliefs. Although she rarely referred specifically to Spiritualism in her work, she was much preoccupied with death, the notion of immortality, the nature and condition of the human soul and of the spiritual life; Chapters Four, Five, Six and Seven do not seek to detect spiritualistic elements in all of her poems, but to explore her handling of these related themes, and her interest in Death as an important thematic element in her work, and as a source of much of her imagery.