Life of Robert Browning [1]
with Wordsworth and Landor; MS. of "Strafford" accepted;
its performance at Covent Garden Theatre on the 26th May 1837;
runs for five nights; the author's comments; the drama issued
by Messrs. Longman & Co.; the performance in 1886; estimate of "Strafford";
Browning's dramas; comparison between the Elizabethan and Victorian
dramatic eras; Browning's soul-depictive faculty; his dramatic method;
estimate of his dramas; Landor's acknowledgment of the dedication to him
of "Luria".
Chapter 5.
"Profundity" and "Simplicity"; the faculty of wonder;
Browning's first conception of "Pippa Passes"; his residence in London;
his country walks; his ways and habits, and his heart-episodes;
debates whether to become a clergyman; is "Pippa Passes" a drama?
estimate of the poem; Browning's rambles on Wimbledon Common
and in Dulwich Wood, where he composes his lines upon Shelley;
asserts there is romance in Camberwell as well as in Italy;
"Sordello"; the charge of obscurity against "Sordello";
the nature and intention of the poem; quotations therefrom;
anecdote about Douglas Jerrold; Tennyson's, Carlyle's,
and M. Odysse Barot's opinions on "Sordello"; "enigmatic" poetry;
in 1863 Browning contemplated the re-writing of "Sordello";
dedication to the French critic, Milsand.
Chapter 6.
Browning's three great dramatic poems; "The Ring and the Book"
his finest work; its uniqueness; Carlyle's criticism of it;
Poetry versus Tour-de-Force; "The Ring and the Book" begun in 1866;
analysis of the poem; kinship of "The Ring and the Book" and "Aurora Leigh";
explanation of title; the idea taken from a parchment volume
Browning picked up in Florence; the poem planned at Casa Guidi;
"O Lyric Love", etc.; description and analysis of "The Ring and the Book",
with quotations; compared as a poem with "The Inn Album", "Pauline",
"Asolando", "Men and Women", etc.; imaginary volumes,
to be entitled "Transcripts from Life" and "Flowers o' the Vine";
Browning's greatest period; Browning's primary importance.
Chapter 7.
Early life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning; born in 1820;*
the chief sorrow of her life; the Barrett family settle in London;
"The Cry of the Children" and its origin; Miss Barrett's friends;
effect on her of Browning's poetry; she makes Browning's acquaintance in 1846;
her early belief in him as a poet; her physical delicacy
and her sensitiveness of feeling; personal appearance of Robert Browning;
his "electric" hand; Elizabeth Barrett discerns his personal worth,
and is susceptible to the strong humanity of Browning's song;
Mr. Barrett's jealousy; their engagement; Miss Barrett's acquaintance
with Mrs. Jameson; quiet marriage in 1846; Mr. Barrett's resentment;
the Brownings go to Paris; thence to Italy with Mrs. Jameson;
Wordsworth's comments; residence in Pisa; "Sonnets from the Portuguese";
in the spring they go to Florence, thence to Ancona,
where "The Guardian Angel" was written; Casa Guidi;
W. W. Story's account of the rooms at Casa Guidi; perfect union.
--
* This date is a typographical error, but the date given in the text itself,
1809, is also incorrect -- it should be 1806. Mr. Sharp's
lack of knowledge on this subject is understandable, however,
as, to quote from Mrs. Orr's "Life and Letters of Robert Browning" (1891):
"She looked much younger than her age, which [Robert Browning]
only recently knew to have been six years beyond his own." -- A. L., 1996.
--
Chapter 8.
March 1849, birth of Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning;
Browning writes his "Christmas Eve and Easter Day";
"Casa Guidi Windows" commenced; 1850, they go to Rome;
"Two in the Campagna"; proposal to confer poet-laureateship on Mrs. Browning;
return to London; winter in Paris; summer in London; Kenyon's friendship;
return in autumn to Casa Guidi; Browning's Essay on Shelley
for the twenty-five spurious Shelley letters; midsummer at Baths of Lucca,
where "In a Balcony" was in part written; winter of 1853-4 in Rome;
record of work; "Pen's" illness; "Ben Karshook's Wisdom"; return
its performance at Covent Garden Theatre on the 26th May 1837;
runs for five nights; the author's comments; the drama issued
by Messrs. Longman & Co.; the performance in 1886; estimate of "Strafford";
Browning's dramas; comparison between the Elizabethan and Victorian
dramatic eras; Browning's soul-depictive faculty; his dramatic method;
estimate of his dramas; Landor's acknowledgment of the dedication to him
of "Luria".
Chapter 5.
"Profundity" and "Simplicity"; the faculty of wonder;
Browning's first conception of "Pippa Passes"; his residence in London;
his country walks; his ways and habits, and his heart-episodes;
debates whether to become a clergyman; is "Pippa Passes" a drama?
estimate of the poem; Browning's rambles on Wimbledon Common
and in Dulwich Wood, where he composes his lines upon Shelley;
asserts there is romance in Camberwell as well as in Italy;
"Sordello"; the charge of obscurity against "Sordello";
the nature and intention of the poem; quotations therefrom;
anecdote about Douglas Jerrold; Tennyson's, Carlyle's,
and M. Odysse Barot's opinions on "Sordello"; "enigmatic" poetry;
in 1863 Browning contemplated the re-writing of "Sordello";
dedication to the French critic, Milsand.
Chapter 6.
Browning's three great dramatic poems; "The Ring and the Book"
his finest work; its uniqueness; Carlyle's criticism of it;
Poetry versus Tour-de-Force; "The Ring and the Book" begun in 1866;
analysis of the poem; kinship of "The Ring and the Book" and "Aurora Leigh";
explanation of title; the idea taken from a parchment volume
Browning picked up in Florence; the poem planned at Casa Guidi;
"O Lyric Love", etc.; description and analysis of "The Ring and the Book",
with quotations; compared as a poem with "The Inn Album", "Pauline",
"Asolando", "Men and Women", etc.; imaginary volumes,
to be entitled "Transcripts from Life" and "Flowers o' the Vine";
Browning's greatest period; Browning's primary importance.
Chapter 7.
Early life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning; born in 1820;*
the chief sorrow of her life; the Barrett family settle in London;
"The Cry of the Children" and its origin; Miss Barrett's friends;
effect on her of Browning's poetry; she makes Browning's acquaintance in 1846;
her early belief in him as a poet; her physical delicacy
and her sensitiveness of feeling; personal appearance of Robert Browning;
his "electric" hand; Elizabeth Barrett discerns his personal worth,
and is susceptible to the strong humanity of Browning's song;
Mr. Barrett's jealousy; their engagement; Miss Barrett's acquaintance
with Mrs. Jameson; quiet marriage in 1846; Mr. Barrett's resentment;
the Brownings go to Paris; thence to Italy with Mrs. Jameson;
Wordsworth's comments; residence in Pisa; "Sonnets from the Portuguese";
in the spring they go to Florence, thence to Ancona,
where "The Guardian Angel" was written; Casa Guidi;
W. W. Story's account of the rooms at Casa Guidi; perfect union.
--
* This date is a typographical error, but the date given in the text itself,
1809, is also incorrect -- it should be 1806. Mr. Sharp's
lack of knowledge on this subject is understandable, however,
as, to quote from Mrs. Orr's "Life and Letters of Robert Browning" (1891):
"She looked much younger than her age, which [Robert Browning]
only recently knew to have been six years beyond his own." -- A. L., 1996.
--
Chapter 8.
March 1849, birth of Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning;
Browning writes his "Christmas Eve and Easter Day";
"Casa Guidi Windows" commenced; 1850, they go to Rome;
"Two in the Campagna"; proposal to confer poet-laureateship on Mrs. Browning;
return to London; winter in Paris; summer in London; Kenyon's friendship;
return in autumn to Casa Guidi; Browning's Essay on Shelley
for the twenty-five spurious Shelley letters; midsummer at Baths of Lucca,
where "In a Balcony" was in part written; winter of 1853-4 in Rome;
record of work; "Pen's" illness; "Ben Karshook's Wisdom"; return