From: millie@gondor.math.columbia.edu (Millie Niss)
Subject: Broaching Browning as a topic  Byatt, Beowulf carrying on
Organization: Mathematics Department, Columbia University
Followup-To: millie@math.columbia.edu
Summary: Have you read the _Ring and the Book_?
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 11:03:14 GMT
X-Posted-From: gondor.math.columbia.edu
X-Posted-Through: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

I'm sorry for the awkward subject line-- I wanted to honor the person
who replied to my first post by alliterating, only it's six in the
morning and I couldn't think of good B-words...

	Anyway, I wanted to ask if anyone has read Robert Browning's
long poem _The Ring and the Book_.  For those of you who don't know
the story, it's a re-telling of a rather sordid murder trial which
happened in Rome in 1698.  The trial convicted a nobleman, Guido
Franchescini, of the murder of his young bride Pompilia and her parents
after she fled form the marital home.  There are many twists-- Guido's
defense was that his wife was unfaithful and that he killed her out of
honor, but she claims to have been tormented by her husband who may
have killed her and her family to get her inheritance.  I won't give
more details than this-- either you know it or can read the poem to
find out.

	Robert Browning found an "old yellow book" chronicling this
trial in a bookstall in Florence.  The poem starts by describing how
Browning read the book all night and decided to mix it with his art to
make the facts available to others.  The ring is a symbol for the
poem-- a beautiful object in which true gold (the facts) are mixed
with baser material (Browning's verse).  There are several
translations of the Old Yellow Book available (I just extracted one
from the Columbia library) and it is remarkable how closely Browing
followed the literal history.  The poem is in twelve parts, each of
which tells the story from a different point of view: you hear
Browning, the citizens of Rome, the murderer, the victim (she didn't
die right away), an advocate, the priest who rescued Pompilia, etc.
Sometimes Browning even give full translations of the actual testimony.

	I would love to discuss the Ring and the Book with someone who
is reading or has read it.  I have only read the beginning (1 1/2
books) and there are a lot of obscure passages I want to understand.

	I started _Possession_ and am enjoying it immensely.  I really
like the mixture of so many styles when Byatt supplements the modern
narration with letters which are supposed to be written by Victorians
as well as mock academic work.  I am not sure if I think the whole
book is as good as its constituent parts.  One gets the impression
that Byatt is allowing us to watch her play an amusing intellectual
game which has no great importance.  Maybe I'll change my mind when I
finish the book, though.

	As an aside, I really like books which are well-written but
give some of the pleasure of trash (surprise, sappy romance,
relaxation).  I just read Chesterton's _The Man Who was Thursday_,
which I put in this category, although it may be too hard to read to
really fit.  Many of Graham Greene's novels are of this type IMHO.
Have I offended anyone?

	I'm still reading Beowulf but I don't have anything to say
about it at the moment.  I just needed that B in my subject line :-)

Millie.

P.S.  To the person who suggested I look at Schapiro (Shapiro?).  I
haven't yet, but I will.  Classes start soon...  Who said "I must
never let school interfere with my education," (a _very_ free
paraphrase, I fear)?
	



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