Victorians! discussion

This is where we discuss Robert Browning, his poetry in general, his life, and whatever else.

I'm excited about the discussions of Robert Browning poems coming up here - looking forward to it. One of the greatest Victorian poets.

I found this interesting tidbit on Robert Browning's death:

On December 12, despite his ongoing symptoms, Browning was cheered up by his receipt of his author’s copy of Asolando, saying with admiration, “What a pretty color the binding is.” That evening, when he asked if there was any news about how the new collection was received, his son read him a telegram from the publisher: “Reviews in all this day’s papers most favorable. Edition nearly exhausted.” Browning smiled and muttered, “How gratifying!” before passing away. ("Famous Last Words", poets.org)

Browning was primarily respected for his dramatic monologues. Two of his biggest influences were Lord Byron, and Percy Byshe Shelley. According to the article "Robert Browning" on poets.org, "In 1825, a cousin gave Browning a collection of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poetry; Browning was so taken with the book that he asked for the rest of Shelley’s works for his thirteenth birthday, and declared himself a vegetarian and an atheist in emulation of the poet."

I wonder if we will see evidence of his atheism in the 5 poems we have selected. Or, did he ever change his views? His mother was "a devout evangelical Christian". We'll see.

Jonathan wrote: "Browning was primarily respected for his dramatic monologues. Two of his biggest influences were Lord Byron, and Percy Byshe Shelley. According to the article "Robert Browning" on poets.org, "In 18..."

Thanks for the interesting information. I am always fascinated by a writer's backstory. Yes, let's look for traces in the poems.

I found this interesting video on youtube of Browning speaking, although the sound quality obviously isn't great, it is fascinating to hear his voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYot5...

I just came across this article at the weekend and found it a quite interesting overview of Browning:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/bo...