American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1915-06-10
Then all smiles stopped together and
she cied.
There she stands as II alive"

In "The Bishop Orders His Tomb
we have another interesting revelation
OF the mind OF a sensuous man. this
time a churchman, whose words tell
US far more than he dreams about his
own character. In the hour of death
the Bishop takes delight In reviewing
his worldly success, and In the thought
that his tomb will be richer than his
rivals and will have a purer Latin In
scription.
The greatest development of char
acter is seen In Guido, a cruel, william
GUS Count in THE Ring and the Book. /"
who states In a definite insulting spirit
OF certainly victory, but gradually he
comes more subdued and abject. when
he finds that he is to be killed and he
finally shrieks in agony for the help
OF his victim Pompilia.
In "Caliban on Setebas" we have an
other type-humorous, grotesque and
vulgar, a creature who ~transcends
human fields altogether and displays
the brute-like theology OF a fiend.
OF the type OF the lover of the beau
tiful, the dreamer and the idealist, we
have Andrea del Sarto," revealing
the strength and weakness of the man
Andrea or the "faultless painter is a
a great painter mot of colors, but of
shades and light as is made known by
the painter himself Ia a number Of
places In the poem as: "a common
greyness silvers everywhere")-- a
man who has married a tickle and I'M
sympathetic woman. There Is a con-
flict continually going on In his mind.
He wishes on one hand to please his
wife with popular pictures, and yet
he yearns for the higher ideals of his
art. He says:
"Ah. but a man reach should exceed
his grasp
Or what's a heaven for?"
or the safe type as Andrea del
Sarto." we have "Abt vogler." a mu-
stefan who voices the exquisite rap
lures OF a musicians soul. In this
poem we find an expression Of Brown
ing's belief that all the good We hope
Or dream Of in this life-the ideals we
cherish will hereafter be realized.
ION earth the broken arcs; In heaven
a perfect round"
or the purely good man we have
C~oponsacchi in THE Ring and the
Book" the Priest who helped Pompilia
escape.
Pompilia. the young girl-wife and
victim OF Guido In the same story is
n OF Browning's noblest women. She
is n of the types of characters which
Browning seldom presents, that ia the
simple commonplace woman. She is
an uneducated girl who is ever for
giving others for their sins but severe
ly blaming herself for her little faults.
or the type Of the poor factory chill
dren we have Pippa. the little silk
weaver, In Pippa Passes" She is a
pretty little dark-eyed girl who rises
on the morning OF the one holiday OF
the year with the intention Of enjoying
In fancy the pleasures "of the happiest
four I'm nj Asolo," not knowing In her
innocence OF the misery and guilt. She
wanders from house to house. singing
her pure, significant refrains and In
each case the songs arrest the atten-
ton OF the hearer at a critical NOM
V. The first Of her songs reach the
ears Of the lovers. Sebold and Ultima
after the murder OF Ottima's husband.
When they are triumphant In sin they
are Immediately filled with remorse
Pippa sings:
"The years at the spring;
The days at the morn;
The mornings at seven;
The hillside's dew pcarled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn:
Gods In His Heaven:
Ais right with the world"
SO Browning gives us types of good
and bad men, good and bad wom-
Guido. the bad man. a heart, cruel
and unfeeling: Ca~ponsacchi, the good
willing to give up his position and
name and to suffer the scorn of the
world In order to shield the innocent
Ultima, the painted Isabelle, a woman
bad at heart. Turing to destruction Sc
the pure, innocent type of pure
So we have a range OF characters
portraying the whole field OF human
emotions. These give us a clearer
vision of life: a deeper sympathy for
suffering, a knowledge that there
Is good In the worst OF us. and bad In
the best, which helps us to feel with
that life is not merely a
blank. but 1t intensely and It
means good.
DRAG THE ROADS.