PR I ME R O F B R OW NI NG By E DW AR D BE RDOE m , A uthor o The B r own in C clo a'dia f g y p , LON DON G EORG E ROU T LEDG E SON S LT D , NEW YORK : E . P. DUTTON CO B Y THE SAME A UTHOR THE B ROW NI NG CYCLOPJEDI A ii - o. r 1 0 Fourt h Edition. Pages x v l 57 P i ce 16 T HE R E O PI NI ONS OF P SS. — l ime T T s . Conscientio us and painstaking. u ' t v —Morn A work sugges i e of imme n se indu stry. t rug P os . “ B as I t is not too mu ch to say that Dr. e rdoe h a n d the a i ud of e ve ad o f B o w and e r e gr t t e ry re er r ning, h as ate iall aid e d th e s ud o f E nglis h l i e ra ure m r y t y — t t i v o B ri i lr IV k/ . in o ne of i s r p s d l p e n s . t s a y “ t e t e e m t A o ea n d and c ed tab ec o f w k m st l r e r i le pi e or . — Not a d fi cu is sh k ed . Va F r if l i ni t ai . “ ty r y A o u n o f dus r d v —B aok m n me t in t y and e otion . ma n . ’ B R OW NI NG S MESSAG E TO HI S TI ME His R e n h oso h and c ence ligio , P il p y S i . r ra and Facs m With Po t it i ile Letters . h ird E di l P T t o n. rlce P I NI NS OFTHE PR ESS O O . ' Fu l o f ad i at o and s a h l m r i n ymp t y . Sa turday R ev iew. “ S o av w h uld h e a ide circulatio n ; it is inte rest i ng ' — and t u a iv . L iter a r [ V r/ s im l t e y a d. W e hav e no hesitatio n in stro ngly re commend ing l v this it tle olu me to any who desire to understand the ' o a and a a u de o f ob t B o w n m r l ment l ttit R er r ni g. Universit y Hera /d. I NTRODUCTI ON THERE are few works in our literature which so well repay careful and loving study as the poems o f R B obert rowning . To know B rowning well is to have acquired a liberal education . The B ritish public have taken a long time in finding i out is now z his th s , but it recogni ed that claims cannot be neglected by those who would think i h gh thoughts and commune with noble souls . l I t has been the fashion to cal the poet obscure , n l and in v a alytica trospecti e , and this by those who have never taken the pains to learn really is what he is . The truth , he frequently deals with subjects that in their nature are profound ; s Qb , but though he treats gw ‘matters deeply it is ' true to say that he dealsWItFHEéTgsubjects ’ b As he o —scuafly. a poet He has writtm nan v m y exquisite lo e poems , some char ing and h as lyrics , many dramatic monologues , told h the story of a crowd of half - forgotten persons more or less important in their time and way . The aim of this Primer is to indicate briefly the subj ects treated in the different poems , and to indicate in plain language their main outlines . I n many o f the poems the thoughts are ex i h n n d and press ed i nh g ly co ce trate form , much 6 ’ ’ iv l utroauctzbfl food for reflection is given in three or four words or lines . I n such cases the reader unaccustomed to fixing the mind closely on everything read will ’ B n often miss rowning s mea ing , and derive little profit from the perusal . a - Day For ex mple , we are told in Easter , that ’ “ s a scientific faith s absurd . In Christma Eve we read that G od w se easure br u , ho pl o ght Man n be n s an s awa i to i g , t d y A s were a an rea o ff e it h db dth , to giv ' h - e R oom fo r t e newly mad e to liv . In Sordello ’ th e sc eme w c r n rance Evil , h by ”hi h , th o Ig o , G ab rs ex ood l ou to ist . I n By the Fireside we see ” How th e wo rld is mad e fo r each o f us ' and the thoughtful student will not need to be told that in each of these passages there is food for reflection which would require many pages of comment to explain . The gold is never beaten into leaf in B rowning : he gives it in nuggets ; rough at times , but precious always . I n such expressi ons as L e n s essen n at as ittl thi g go l i g”, till l t mes G o d e n em Co b hi d th . Th e mere a ms es se me to d pi . we have the utmost that science can tell us of i and the or gin of life , creation matter . We may I ntroductzon v k B pic up gems like these in every page of rowning , and the loss is great to those who do not - seek i e m . d lig ntly ti’ll they find the B n n row i g s expression is not only concentrated , i but he is exceed ngly sparing in his words , and he abbreviates his particles or discards them altogether in a way that is often grotesque . Thus we have ’ ’ Th e wr n i th e m er a . n th e cre re ’ o g tt Sti g o at u . ’ ur th e cream fl wer th w e 0 e a . a C d o , o h t Wh t i th e wa o f fi na fl r s r se erse Tr y l ou i h P o , V y ’ B ut the greatest diffi culty of all is B rowning s and a n l n v ast v ried lear ing , especia ly in co nexion - o f- - - with out the way and half forgotten subjects . He seems to know everything , and in the most ingenuous manner gives his readers credit for an r e udition equal to his own . The student is advised to begin the study of B rowning with the shilling volume of Selections . With the aid of the Primer the main idea of each can poem readily be discovered , and a thoughtful perusal of the poem itself ought to make all t . plain . B u B rowning is not amusement He all l stimulates , and if studied at wi l at least compel his readers to think . EDW ARD B ER DOE . ONDON anuar 1 0 . L , j y 8 , 9 4 I ntroduction B IOGRAPHICAL NOTE . ROB ERT B ROW NI NG was born at Camberwell on 1 8 1 2 . a May 7, He was educated at Peckham l School ti l he was near fourteen , then had a u private tutor at home , and attended lect res at . 1 8 University College , London In 34 he travelled z in Russia . He married Eli abeth B arrett when - in 1 8 his he was thirty four , and 47 resided with 1 8 B n n l wife in Florence . In 55 the row i gs travel ed i . On 28 1 861 . B in Normandy June , , Mrs rown ng . B i in c died Robert rowning d ed Venice , De em 1 2 1 88 in ber , 9 , and was buried Westminster 1 . Abbey , December 3 ’The dates of the publi cation of all the poet s works are gi ven in the notes to the poems described in this Primer . A Primer o f B ro wning PA N E ULI . ( 1 833 ) — e A me e . h Paulin ’ Frag nt of a Conf ssion T is n was the poet s first work , writte when he was . As l twenty years Old a whole it is nebu ous , although in many parts it condenses into brilliant stars . To a certain extent it is a psychological ’ analysis of the poet s personality , and admits us to the secret chambers of his thoughts . Crude and inchoate as it is , it contains the rudiments of all the noblest and finest work by which B rowning was to achieve immortality . Ex pede H erculem. Th ere were those who read the anony mous poem who detected that an original genius l al had been born into the iterary world , and though in after years B rowning was ashamed of u now ll his earliest work , we wo ld not wi ingly lose a line of it .