"Pippa's Song"

This is a short poem that is part of a play written in rhyming verse called Pippa Passes.  The concept of the play is that an innocent young girl walks past a series of people in various stages and walks of life, and makes up little songs to herself about what she believes is going on in their lives.  This is one little song she sings, and the most famous bit of the whole play.  (If you've read Anne of Green Gables recently, you may remember it getting quoted in that.)

"Pippa's Song"

by Robert Browning

The year's at the spring, 

And day's at the morn; 

Morning's at seven; 

The hill-side's dew-pearl'd; 

The lark's on the wing; 

The snail's on the thorn; 

God's in His heaven, 

All's right with the world!

Discussion Questions:

1.  Analyze this poem!

"Home Thoughts from Abroad"

Robert Browning wrote this poem in 1845 while he was visiting Italy.  That was the same year he began corresponding with Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but I don't know if they were already exchanging letters by the time he wrote this or not.

"Home Thoughts from Abroad"

by Robert Browning

Oh, to be in England 

Now that April's there, 

And whoever wakes in England 

Sees, some morning, unaware, 

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf 

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf, 

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough 

In England—now! 

And after April, when May follows, 

And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows! 

Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge 

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover 

Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge— 

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, 

Lest you should think he never could recapture 

The first fine careless rapture! 

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew, 

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew 

The buttercups, the little children's dower 

—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Discussion Questions:

1.  This has a bizarrely complex rhyme scheme.  The first stanza is ABABCCDD, and the second is AABCBCDDEEFF.  What might be some reasons Browning chose to scatter-shot his rhyming that way instead of writing a poem with a more conventional rhyme scheme?

2.  This is considered one of the great Romantic poems.  What details in this poem really give it a Romantic flavor?  (You can reread this post on Wordsworth for a refresher on Romantic poetry.)

"Memorabilia"

This is a very short "dramatic monologue," and probably based on an actual encounter Browning had with someone who had met the famous Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.  Shelley died when Browning was only ten years old, so they never had a chance to meet, but Browning really admired Shelley's poetry.

(Just FYI: Percy Bysshe Shelley was married to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein.)

"Memorabilia"

by Robert Browning

Ah, did you once see Shelley plain, 

And did he stop and speak to you? 

And did you speak to him again? 

How strange it seems, and new! 

But you were living before that, 

And you are living after, 

And the memory I started at— 

My starting moves your laughter! 

I crossed a moor, with a name of its own 

And a certain use in the world no doubt, 

Yet a hand's-breadth of it shines alone 

'Mid the blank miles round about: 

For there I picked up on the heather 

And there I put inside my breast 

A moulted feather, an eagle-feather— 

Well, I forget the rest.

Discussion Questions:

1.  What connection is there between the two events of a man meeting a great poet and a man finding an eagle feather?

2.  What are some poetic devices Browning uses in this poem?

3.  Have you ever picked up a simple item while on a trip that became an important bit of memorabilia for you?

"My Last Duchess"

We'll just go ahead and kick off with one of my favorite Robert Browning poems, which is also one of his most-well-known.  This is one of those "dramatic monologues" I mentioned yesterday, which read like a character in a play speaking to someone else, and we get to overhear that.  Gradually, come to understand the character of the speaker and see a glimpse of who they are underneath their words.

"My Last Duchess"

by Robert Browning

That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, 

Looking as if she were alive. I call 

That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands 

Worked busily a day, and there she stands. 

Will’t please you sit and look at her? 

I said “Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read 

Strangers like you that pictured countenance, 

The depth and passion of its earnest glance, 

But to myself they turned (since none puts by 

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) 

And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst, 

How such a glance came there; so, not the first 

Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not 

Her husband’s presence only, called that spot 

Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek; perhaps 

Fra Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle laps 

Over my lady’s wrist too much,” or “Paint 

Must never hope to reproduce the faint 

Half-flush that dies along her throat.” Such stuff 

Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough 

For calling up that spot of joy. She had 

A heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad, 

Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er 

She looked on, and her looks went everywhere. 

Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast, 

The dropping of the daylight in the West, 

The bough of cherries some officious fool 

Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule 

She rode with round the terrace—all and each 

Would draw from her alike the approving speech, 

Or blush, at least. She thanked men—good! but thanked 

Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked 

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name 

With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame 

This sort of trifling? Even had you skill 

In speech—which I have not—to make your will 

Quite clear to such an one, and say, “Just this 

Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, 

Or there exceed the mark”—and if she let 

Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set 

Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse— 

E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose 

Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt, 

Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without 

Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; 

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands 

As if alive. Will’t please you rise? We’ll meet 

The company below, then. I repeat, 

The Count your master’s known munificence 

Is ample warrant that no just pretense 

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed; 

Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed 

At starting, is my object. Nay, we’ll go 

Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though, 

Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, 

Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

Discussion Questions:

1.  What happened to this duke's last wife?

2.  Why?

3.  What is he hoping to do now?

4.  What clues do we have to the duke's character and attitudes?

5.  What clues do we have to the late duchess's character and attitudes?

Introducing Robert Browning

This is going to be fairly short, since I shared a ton about Robert Browning in the post about his wife a couple weeks ago.

Robert Browning
(1812-1889)

Robert Browning was born into a well-to-do British family in 1812.  His father was a clerk for the Bank of England and a devoted reader -- he had about 6,000 books in his personal collection.  Robert's mother was a talented musician.  Both parents encouraged their two children to read and study the arts.

Robert began writing poetry at a very early age and finished his first whole book of poetry at age twelve.  No one would print it, so he destroyed it and began again.  He became enamored with the Romantic poets, such as William Wordsworth, and his first published poem was written as an homage to Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.  That appeared in 1834, and he had some small success with poems and a few plays over the next ten years.  During this time, he continued to live at home once he had finished his boarding school education.

In 1845, he began corresponding with fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett, and they married in 1846.  The Brownings moved to Italy, where they lived mainly on the money Elizabeth had inherited from her grandmother.  Their only child, Robert Barrett "Pen" Browning, was born there.  

After Elizabeth died in 1861, Robert and Pen moved back to England.  Robert's younger sister moved in with them to keep house.  Robert was an outspoken abolitionist and was vocal in his support of the United States during their Civil War.  He also spoke and wrote against anti-Semitism and cruelty to animals.

Robert was raised a Protestant, but embraced atheism as a young man.  After marrying Elizabeth, who was a devout Christian, he appears to have returned to the faith, though he remained a critic of people who believed God existed simply because they were supposed to.

When he returned to England and settled in London, Robert's poetry career began to really take off.  Up until that time, his wife had been far more famous and celebrated than he was (in fact, she was a serious contender for being named Britain's next Poet Laureate for a while).  But in 1868, he published a book-length poem in blank verse, The Ring and the Book, which took him five years to write and polish, and it brought he immense attention and acclaim.  He spent the rest of his life traveling and writing poetry, and never remarried.  He died in his son Pen's home in Venice in 1889.

Most of Robert Browning's poems are "dramatic monologues," which means they're words spoken by some fictitious character to someone else.  During the poem, the speaker's attitudes and beliefs and personality are slowly revealed by what they say.  We'll be studying one of his most famous dramatic monologues this week.

I'll end this with something kind of random and cool: 

This is a cast of Elizabeth and Robert's hands made by the artist Harriet Goodhue Hosmer in 1853.  She later made several bronze and plaster sculptures from the original cast.  I find it really sweet and lovely, and it makes them feel very human and real, somehow.  To me, anyway! 

Introducing Elizabeth Barrett Browning

(If you saw this post in your inbox twice, that's because I accidentally published it Sunday afternoon instead of scheduling to post it on Monday.  So I unpublished it, and here it is again.  Not sure if that will make it show up in your email twice or what.  Sorry about that!)

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are one of my favorite literary couples :-D  This week, we'll talk about Elizabeth and her poetry, and then we'll focus on Robert next week.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
(1806-1861)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in pastoral England to a wealthy family.  She enjoyed a happy and carefree childhood with reading books and playing with her eleven siblings.  She wrote her first poem when she was four years old; by the time she was ten, she was reading Shakespeare.  Her idyllically bookish childhood changed dramatically when she fell ill at the age of 15, possibly due to an injury to her spine.  She became a semi-invalid and suffered from neck and spine pain for the rest of her life.

In the 1830s, Elizabeth's father moved the family to London.  Her health was still not good, but she began having some of her poetry published in London periodicals.  She released her first book, The Seraphim and Other Poems, in 1838.  Reviews in both England and America were overwhelmingly positive, and her name became known among literary critics and readers alike.

In 1840, Elizabeth's favorite brother Edward, who was her best friend and favorite companion, drowned.  Elizabeth had been shy before, but she seems to have developed crippling social anxiety after Edward died.  She refused to make new friends and was afraid of meeting new people.  For several years, she barely ever left her room.  But she kept writing poetry and released her second collection, Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Barrett (her full maiden name was actually Elizabeth Barrett Moulton-Barrett, but she liked to go by EBB).  It was a success too, and her name and work became even more well-known in literary society, even though she wasn't physically or emotionally able to mingle with those people.  In fact, Poems made her quite famous!

Elizabeth would have been considered well on her way to being a "spinster" or "old maid" by then because most women married in their early twenties and were considered "too old" to be eligible for marriage by the time they were thirty.  She seems to have resigned herself to living the rest of her life as a reclusive, unmarried invalid.  

During this time, Elizabeth did gradually make a few friends.  One was a famous writer named Mary Russell Mitford, and the other was John Kenyon, who was friends with many poets even though he wasn't a great writer himself.  Kenyon was a distant cousin of hers, and he helped her poetry become well-known among his friends even though Elizabeth herself couldn't mingle with society much.

In 1845, Poems was picked up, read, and loved by a young poet named Robert Browning.  Elizabeth was familiar with his poetry, and even mentioned him by name in one poem ("Lady Geraldine's Courtship") in her collection.  (I find this interesting: she only wrote that poem because Poems was to be printed in two volumes, and her publisher wanted the two volumes to be the same size, but she didn't have quite enough poems to make it work.  So she almost didn't mention Robert Browning in those poems at all!)  

Robert Browning became an instant fan of Elizabeth's.  In fact, he wrote her a fan letter that began, "I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett," and ended with, “I do, as I say, love these books with all my heart—and I love you too.”  :-o

Well, Elizabeth wrote back.  Robert wrote her again.  A flurry of letters passed between them (and the mail in Victorian England was very efficient, so they didn't have to wait days or weeks to get letters the way you might imagine).  Robert Browning was six years younger than Elizabeth Barrett, healthy and energetic and not-yet-famous.  Within months, John Kenyon arranged for them to meet in person... but secretly!  Elizabeth's father was kind of creepily controlling and tried to make all of his children rely on him for financial and emotional support all their lives.  Elizabeth was sure her father wouldn't like her having a suitor, and might even forbid her to see Robert again.  The two had fallen in love via their letters, and meeting in person cemented their devotion to each other.  

During this secret courtship, Elizabeth composed some of her most famous poems.  She would later publish many of them in the collection Sonnets from the Portuguese, which is one of the most enduringly popular collections of poetry of all time.  They are love poems filled with longing, hope, fear, and wonder.  She was an invalid spinster, and he was a healthy and promising younger man -- they didn't seem like a good match to the outside world, and she knew it.

Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning got married in secret on September 12, 1846.  Elizabeth continued living at home with her father for the following week, while Robert made arrangements for their honeymoon trip to Europe.  Then, Elizabeth simply left home.  The Brownings traveled in Europe for a time before settling down in Florence.  They would consider Florence their home for the rest of Elizabeth's life.  Elizabeth's father disinherited her when he learned of her marriage, and they never reconciled.

In Florence, Elizabeth and Robert both continued to write poetry.  Their only child, Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning (called "Pen"), was born there in 1849.  That same year, Elizabeth finally published Sonnets from the Portuguese.  She selected that title partly so it would seem like she might have simply translated the poems from another language, as a sort of way to distance herself from the intensely personal nature of most of the poems.  But it was also a joke between herself and her husband -- one of Elizabeth's poems from Poems, "Catarina to Camoens," is about a woman named Catarina who makes a deathbed declaration of love for a Portuguese poet named Camoens.  Ever since Robert Browning first read that poem of hers, before he even met her, he had thought of Elizabeth as the real Catarina, so he called her "the Portuguese" as a nickname.

Elizabeth's other major work is a long narrative poem in blank verse, Aurora Leigh, which she released in 1857.  She was intensely interested in social issues such as slavery, human rights, women's rights, and political freedom.  Italian politics became a kind of obsession for her while living in Florence, and she wrote many poems about it.

Although her health improved greatly after she married Robert and moved away from her father's repressive home, Elizabeth was never truly strong.  In 1861, when she was only fifty-five years old, she grew continually weaker and died in June following a severe cold.  She died in her husband's arms, and he said that she died smiling and happy.  Robert and Pen moved back to London after her death.  The literary community as a whole mourned her loss, and various literary journals and critics called her the greatest woman poet in the history of English literature!

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry was popular with readers and critics alike while she lived.  It was influential among her fellow poets, too -- for instance, her poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship" was so inspiring to Edgar Allan Poe that he borrowed its meter and rhythm for his poem "The Raven."  In a newspaper review, Poe said that "Her sense of Art is pure in itself," and he even dedicated his poetry collection The Raven and Other Poems to her.  Her poetry also heavily influenced and inspired Emily Dickinson.  We'll study poems by both of them in the coming months.