The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-01-09

l
has been for a long time: n OF the
most forceful and convincing OF inter-
ary critics. Those arid stretches OF
la bored, heavy, academic dlclon
which make the books OF so many
university professors Wearlscfne 10
read, and from which Lounsbury NM
self has not always been free, are
surprisingly and p~leasingly few and
far between in The Early Literary
Career of Robert Browning. ANA
another nightly agreeable tnlhs
about this new book is that I proves
clearly thai Lounsbury has not lost
a whit Of hat old humor, often
caustic but always delicious, which we
have so long been accustomed to look
for in his criticisms. AS evidence OF
this, witness his statement tha'
browning rivalled and even oc-
c~asionally surpassed his most thor
o~ugh-going partisans in the tendency
he exhibited to prefer his poorest
work to his best" Note also the
professors clever, if somewhat severe,
comment on Browning societies n
Browning commentaries: the dlscl-
pies celebrate the poet not Tor what
l.. clearly and WILDLY expressed but
for what is vague and perpleXlns.
Hence mere Browning societies were
IL una llcuCIu1tC o.
C:eties were formed and h~ourlshed.
Commentaries were produced which,
SC far as I can judge from my w
struggles with some Of them, possess
Il peculiar interest of their own IN
having achieved the seemingly lmpoS-
| sible task Of being more difficult TO
understand thar the texts they set
out to interpret. In fact, commen-
taries on Browning generally bear a
close resemblance to foghorns. They
!, proclaim the existence Of 3 fog; but
they do not dispense it,"
But there is certainly nothing
fogSy about Professor L~ounsbury's
book, whatever else may be said
about it. illuminating" is the most
lifting adjective which could be APP
piled to the majority of the para
graphs. Not that the professor gives
US many absolutely new facts: but
he is constantly reminding us Of i'm
portant obvious facts which we are
) prone to lose sight of. He reminds
US, for instance, Of Browning's great
) Indebtedness to his wife from the fac
/ that she was an infinitely better critic
Of his work than was he. And h
reminds us of the still more interest
: ing fact that the American reading
: public anticipated the English read
= tio I1'1A ny ~ ~
4 Of years in recognizing Browning
I genius.
S one OF the most significant portion
6 Of the book is hat dealing with tn
e tremendous effect which the failure o
e "Sordello" (1S40) la upon Brown
inS'S subsequent literary career. L
o reading literary history. we are oftel
greatly puzzled hat SO excellent
It work as "Pippa Passes (1S41), surel
n one Of the best things Browning eve
IS did, was received so coldly when
first appeared and for some time at
Q terward; but Lounsbury throw
It abundant light upon the matter b
showing conclusively that the crude
ress n ~obscurity Of "Sordello'' ha
a SO prejudiced the public agains
J. browning that for a number Of yea,
1T the British people-and Brownin
Or too, though in a different way-su1
fered from what might be terme
n browning phobia."
IN One of Professor L%ounsburv
or statements which may or may not I
IN true, but which certainly sounds re:
so sonable, is that could Browning ha,
r? received moro schooling, he migl
ut nave become technically a much MOI
at finished poet than he was. In 9th,
rs words, had he spent several years
We >oiiiUi luSC, a. QlO 1oIllySOn. ne mig
1n nave learned to avoid many of Il
awkward diversions, confusing pare
n theses, abrupt transitions, harsh lie
cy ter-combinations, and bad rim
ry Whlch mar a great deal of his wor
adj Re that as it may. the assertion
worth thinking about. in vie
nd CT the fact that most Of the gre
ere English poets, from Spenser to Swi
,es ourne, nave been men Of more or lie
DIV university training.
sg- And here is a final statement viii
furnishes food for thought: Il 81
mt cerely believe that the
at and unWarranted praise which h
if been given to a good lea Of !
ro- (BTOwninS's) work will set in mott
OF a reaction which in turn will IA
no the tendency to bring back the 9
OF rlorable conditions of Indifference
has il and consequent neglect of it II
ISL waited upon it during a large she
ny of his own life. The orc
eral acknowledgements Of the ora.