(Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are withou...)
Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are without parallel in the nineteenth century: celebrated poets, they became equally famous for their marriage.
Robert Browning's Poetry (Norton Critical Editions)
(The Second Edition of this substantial collection of Brow...)
The Second Edition of this substantial collection of Browning’s poetry again reprints the texts of the seventeen-volume “Fourth and complete edition” (Smith, Elder), of which all but the final volume were approved by Browning before his death. The poems are ordered chronologically according to their first appearance in book form. Thirteen new poems are included in this edition, with Pauline now printed in its entirety.
(Robert Browning's poetic scope was broad, ranging from th...)
Robert Browning's poetic scope was broad, ranging from the beguiling magic of The Pied Piper of Hamelin to the epic book-length poem The Ring and the Book.
Complete Works of Robert Browning (Delphi Classics) (Delphi Poets Series Book 14) - Kindle edition by Robert Browning. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
(Robert Browning's mastery of dramatic verse, as demonstra...)
Robert Browning's mastery of dramatic verse, as demonstrated in his famous dramatic monologues, has established his name as one of the most revered poets of the Victorian era.The Delphi Poets Series offers readers the works of literature's finest poets, with superior formatting.
(This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic lite...)
This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde’s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim’s Progress and Othello.
(Pippa Passes Robert Browning, English poet and playwright...)
Pippa Passes Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (1812-1889) This ebook presents «Pippa Passes», from Robert Browning. A dynamic table of contents enables to jump directly to the chapter selected. Table of Contents - About This Book - Day - Morning - Noon - Evening - Night
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright best known for his engaging dramatic monologues. He is one of the first Victorian poets who only reached his popularity during his later years. Browning is known for irony, social commentary, dark humor and historical setting.
Background
Ethnicity:
Browning had mixed enticity. His father was an Englishman, while his mother was a daughter of a German shipowner and his Scottish wife.
Robert Browning was born into a reputable family in Camberwell, London on May 7, 1812. His father was Robert Browning, a bank clerk who was also a scholar and book and antiquarian collector. His mother was Sarah Anna Wiedemann, a very gifted musician, and a pious person. He had a younger sister named Sarianna.
Education
Both Browning’s parents were very well-educated, so his interest in arts and literature was more than encourage. His father was a book collector and he had a library of over 6,000 volumes, which set the foundation of Browning’s education. He showed a talent for poetry in his early ages and had written his first book of poetry – Incondita, at the age of twelve. However, when Browning searched for a publisher later, he couldn’t find it so he destroyed the book.
Browning was a student of two or more private school but he didn’t enjoy school life. By the age of fourteen, he learned Greek, Latin, and French and then decided to continue with his education at home, with the help of different tutors. He learned drawing, dancing, and horsemanship. Browning developed an admiration for Romantic poets, in particular Percy Bysshe Shelley, whose book of poetry he got for his birthday, after which he asked for the entire collection of his works.
He entered the University of London in 1828 to study Greek but soon left, believing that he could get a better education at home. He was prevented from entering Cambridge or Oxford University due to his parents’ evangelical faith. Despite his father was insisting, Browning didn’t want to pursue any kind of formal career, and instead remained at home to dedicate to poetry.
He was awarded the Legum Doctor (LL.D.) of Edinburgh, a sort of honorary doctorate.
The first Browning’s important published work came in 1833. It was a long poem named “Pauline” composed in the honor of his idol Shelley and even in his style up to some extent, which Browning published anonymously with the financial help from his family.
The work that enabled him to be acknowledged as a part of the London literary world was “Paracelsus”, which he wrote in 1835. This monodrama that focused on individual’s problems to find an appropriate role in society gained some critical and commercial success.
Browning headed for Italy in 1838 trying to find a background for a long poem he was working on for years. “Sordello” was finished and published in 1840 and presented an imaginary biography of a hero from Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, a Mantuan bard located in the canto 6 of Purgatory. However, the work was not received well, and Lord Alfred Tennyson, a renowned British poet, even claimed that he didn’t understand almost anything. This was a great hit for Browning’s reputation.
He managed to recover it partially with the series of pamphlets called Bells and Pomegranates, which were published between 1841 and 1846.
In 1853, Browning wrote his best work, a two-volume collection of poems named “Men and Women”. They were published in 1855 and failed to make a great impact due to his low reputation in England but today this is his most famous piece. When his wife died in 1861, Browning decided to return to London and his reputation started improving.
Next publication of Browning’s works came in 1868. It was “The Ring and the Book”, a long poem composed of twelve books in total, essentially presenting lengthy dramatic monologues. It achieved great success commercially, as well as with critics, earning Browning the acknowledgment he wanted for decades.
During the 1870s, he published “Balaustion’s Adventure” and “Red Cotton Night-Cap Country”, among other long poems, and he even decided to attack his critics in one of his books (“Pacchiarotto and How He Worked in Distemper”), particularly Alfred Austin. He traveled back to Italy in 1878 and continued to visit the country during the following years. He published “Parleyings with Certain People of Importance in Their Day”, which was his first piece that presented the poet in his own voice. He published his last piece, Asolando, just days before his death.
Although Browning proclaimed himself to be an atheist as an homage to his favorite poet Shelley, it was obvious during Browning’s later years that he shed this skeptical views. In his works, he showed great knowledge of The Bible.
Politics
Despite Browning was a life Governor of the London University and a part of London literary elite during his later years, Browning never engaged himself into politics.
Views
Quotations:
“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first was made.”
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
“Man partly is and wholly hopes to be.”
"Ignorance is not innocence but sin."
"I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time."
"Perhaps one has to be very old before one learns to be amused rather than shocked."
Personality
Browning endured a lot of criticism before he gained recognition, which speaks about his great character. He was a vegetarian and a person full of love, which he also proclaimed in his poems. He was always dressed nicely, bearing in mind that he was a poet and a member of the London literary world. He wore beard throughout his life and it seems to have grown longer as the ages went by.
Physical Characteristics:
Mrs. Bridell-Fox, a friend of Browning's, described him at this time as "slim and dark, and very handsome . .. just a trifle of a dandy, addicted to lemon-coloured kid gloves".
Quotes from others about the person
"The author shows intense and morbid self-consciousness." - John Stuart Mill about Browning's first poem
Interests
Dancing, horsemanship, theatre
Philosophers & Thinkers
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Writers
Percy Bysshe Shelley, Elizabeth Barrett
Artists
William Charles Macready
Music & Bands
Ball music
Connections
Browning married a fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett in 1846. She was more popular than he at the time and he only achieved her level of popularity after her death in 1861. They had one son who was born in 1849, named Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning.