New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-12-13
SKETCH OF HIS CAREER.

was man of strong character. and no mean
poetcal gilt seems TO have exercised happy
influence in the development OF the sons yetiu.
which he was one Of the first to recognize and
encourage. The family were Dissenters and
Robert was not destined for either OF the great
universities; but after some schooling at Dul-
witch and under private tutor at home he was
! sent to University College, London, where how.
| ever, he did not remain for his degree. When
| the time came for him 10 choose a profession
| he asked to be allowed only to cultivate his mind
| by books, travel and experience OF life; and az
there was money enough to give him modest
| income his father consented. Like most poets
he began to write verses early His first model
was Byron, under whose influence he had pro-
! duced by the time he thirteen a considerable
body of manuscript which was passed from hand
to hand by admirng friends, but fortunately
withheld from the dangerous publicity OF print
Chance then threw in his way the poetry OF Seley
and Keats, not held at that time in general
estimation, and OF both these masters he became
an enthusiastic disciple His individuality, how
ever asserted itself pretty strongly even in the
first of his published poems. Pauline, a Frag-
ment of a Confession" given To the world when
lie was only twenty 1888, boyish production
which at one time he was quite willing TO have
forgotten. In truth, it was not of great value.
1t was warmly praised, however, by some able
critics at the time of its appearance; and it
is related that Dante G. Rossetti, finding copy
of it in the British Museum when it had passed
out of print, was so much struck by its power
and freshness that he made a copy of the whole
of it, Later Mr. Browning included it in a
collection of his poems. In the year Of the
publication of Pauline lie went to Russia and
hat o1o fudv ~ Ttalia 70
manners, character, thought, art, history and
antiquities which mad so marked an effect upon
his poetical work His stay in Italy at this time,
however. was not long: and in s35 we find him
plunging into the literary life of London, with
his drama of "Paracelsus." This remarkable
work certainly never attained popularity, hardly
even got into vogue with the literary set; but
it was read enough to make young Browning
talked about and to satisfy the discerning that
here was a poet with a strong note of his own,
who might give q new direction TO English song.
Both in motive and in Kramer Paracesus' might
be classed with the authors work, so little,
even in the light of what he afterward accom-
pished, does it show of youthful uncertainty or
susceptibility t. outside influences 1t has a
great deal of his Characteristic hardness OF styh
together with an obscurity-perhaps we should say
vagueness-of purpose which no amount OF
commentary has ever been able to remove
"Paracelsus7 induced Macready to propose 70
the author composition for the stage, and the
result was Strafford' five-act tragedy, pro.
duced at Covent Garden in s37, with Macrcady
in the principal part. "A Blot in the Scutcheon,'
a thrce-act tragedy, played usder Macready's d-
rection at Drury Lane in SAB, and "Colombes
Birthday fve-act play performed at the Hay
market in iS52, and represented soon afterward
in Boston, complete his experiments in the acted
drama None of them were entirely successful
Mr. Gossc. in an article on "The Early Writings
of Robert Browning has maintained that their
speedy withdrawal from the stage was owing to
accidents for which the plays were not response
bic, but the fact remains that they never achieved
place in the repertorv of any theatre revival
of Strafford" attempted at the Standard Theatre
IN 1886 only confirmed the general Judgment.
Certainly Mr.. Browning was a dramatic poet but
his power was in the dramatic conception and
representation of character, not in the dramatic
picturing of action and incident. Pippa Passes
nS4D, King Victor and King Charles lls42),
" The Return of the Druses' ls43), a Souls
Tragedy" 1916, and Luria' Cls46l, are dramas
never put upon the stage. "Pippa Passes one
of the least suitable for the theatre, ranks with
Colombe's Birthday" among the most beautiful
and original of his early poems and always held
its popularity. 1t probably fortunate that
Browning was tempted to pay much attention
to the form of the acting drama, even though
he did not wholly succeed in it, for the exercise
served as u corrective, of which he stood much in
need When Macready invited him to write for
Covent Garden he was engaged upon closet
drama, in which all the faults of Paracelsus'
were intensified, poetry was wrapped in cloud
of obfuscation, and style was carried to the last
limits of difficulty. This was Sordello,' pub.
shed in $40 and if Mr. Browning had kept on
in the path which he seemed then TO have chosen
the world would soon have ceased to listen 10
INN. When Sordello7 was rcpublished in 1853
he had some thought of rewriting il in more in
telgible language but he decided that the result
would not be worth the labor. and
he was no doubt right. Writing for
the stage at least taught him
the Importance of direct expression and straight
line of thought. That these gifts were easily
within his reach whenever he thought them worth
an effort demonstrated by multitude OF
beautiful miscellaneous poems which followed close
upon Sordello.7 London publisher proposed 20
him the issue OF his compositions in a cheap series
Of double-column pamphlets. They appeared con-
sequently in eight numbers between ls4l and
/ $40, under the fantastic title of Bells and
Pomegranates The pieces constituting this pub
ucation were afterwards redistrbuted, and are now
to be found among the Poems and Dramas ana
Men and Women" of his collected writings
They include the dramas already mentioned sub
sequent to Straiford,' and a surprising proper
ton of the minor poems by which Brownings
most affectionately remembered. Such stirring
lyrics as How They Brought the Good News from
Client to AK the 4" Cavalier Tunes " The Lost
Leader" and the Incident of the French Camp
the incompatible story of " The Pied Piper OF
Hamelin" the highly characteristic deve lopment
of the old tale of The Glove; that fine MARIA
tive piece, :" The Flight of the Duchess Evelyn
Hope" waring,' the first draft OF Saul
those powerful sketches of half-rvealed tragedy,
" Tho Iaborotorvs and In a Gondoh' and three