Robert - PowerPoint Presentation

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Robert Browning 1812-1889

“How sad and bad and mad it was - / But then, how it was sweet!”

(Confessions)

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Childhood

Born in Camberwell, London in 1812Wealthy, middle class family (father – extensive book collection; mother – passion for music)Encouraged by his parents, he was well versed in Greek and Latin, and an accomplished musician, from a young age

His mother was a non-conformist* and both parents were evangelical

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‘Non-conformist’

Someone who did not belong to an Anglican churchUntil 1828, Non-conformists were ineligible for many forms of public educational and social benefits, e.g. acceptance at university (until University College of London – the first university to be established on a secular basis and admit students regardless of religion or gender – was formed in 1826)

Browning disliked school so much that he was educated privately at home, using his father’s books as resources. He was a great admirer of the Romantic poets and,

for a time

, followed Shelley’s example and became an atheist and vegetarian. He studied Greek at UCL when he was 16 but stayed only one year. His non-conformist background meant he could not study at Oxford or Cambridge.

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‘Dedicated to poetry’

Refused a formal career and stayed at home, supported by his parents, until he was 34 His father sponsored the publication of his poems

Browning first travelled to Italy in 1834. The initial aim was to help him write

Sordello, a long narrative poem he published in 1840, but the country made a deep impression on him. He returned again in 1844 and several of his poems are clearly influenced by the country, especially those of

Dramatic Romances and Lyrics.

Italy

Art

Architecture

Follow in the footsteps of his Romantic heroes – Byron and Shelley

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1844, Italy:

Browning first reads Poems by Elizabeth Barrett.

Six years his elder Lived as a semi-invalid with her father in London

"I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett“ – she and Browning struck up a friendship via letters They finally met in 1845 and fell in loveA secret courtship

Her father had forbidden marriage for any of his children and would not approve. They married secretly and moved to Italy for the sake of Elizabeth’s health. She was disinherited. She was a very successful poet in her own right and they lived off her income.

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Italy

The

Brownings

lived in Italy until Elizabeth’s death in 1861, first in Pisa and then in Florence at Casa Guidi. Their only child, ‘Pen’, was born in 1849. They lived happily and comfortably, although Browning was criticised by other writers for his ‘desertion’ of England.

Browning was fascinated by the art and atmosphere of Italy. He described it as his university. Its culture, politics, history and religion influenced his poetry greatly.

When Elizabeth died, a distraught Browning and his son moved back to England. After a time, he began to

visit Italy

frequently again, but never Florence.

“Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”

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Critical ReceptionBest known work:

two volume Men and Women Written in Florence from around 1853 Published in 1855 but made little impact

His wife was much more successful than him during her lifetime Browning was seen as a wilfully obscure poet and often dismissed by his contemporaries.

After Elizabeth’s death, Browning moved back to London and became part of the London literary scene. His reputation started to take off and in 1868 his long blank-verse poem The Ring and the Book was successful both commercially and critically.

The Dramatic Monologue

The form already existed but Browning is credited with perfecting it. His are particularly compelling because of the (often ridiculous or elaborate) characters he creates. They rely on the silent listener, are highly ironic, and often humorous. We look past the listener’s self-regard to their true personality.

one voice

implied listener

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He very much wanted to become a significant and

recognised person. He wanted to escape from the ideas of the middle-class, chapel-going, and business world in which he found himself.He was a man of talent – was extremely well-informed, a man of business and was entertaining company

.He had an immense gusto for life and was determined to find out the deepest motives of men.He had a cheery & comic view of life: he was the expression of the healthy, active, courageous man.

DeathBrowning died on 12 December 1889, at his son’s home in Venice. He was buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Chaucer

Byron

Jonson

Tennyson

Dickens

Dryden

Hardy

Kipling

Shakespeare

Austen

Auden

Blake

Bronte

Burns

Coleridge

Gaskell

Hughes

Barrett-Browning

Shelley

Wilde

Wordsworth

Personality

AO4: Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts are written and received.