第17章

Thelasttenversesillustratewellthepoet’sskilfulmanagementofhisdifficultart-form。Aftertheenvoyhashadhislookattheportrait，theDuke，thinkingittimetoreturntohisguests，says”Will’tpleaseyourise?We’llmeetthecompanybelow，then。”

Hisnextspeech，whichindicateswhathehasbeentalkingabout，duringtheenvoy’sstudyofthepicture，mustbeunderstoodasutteredwhiletheyaremovingtowardthestairway。Thenext，”Nay，we’llgotogetherdown，sir”，showsthattheyhavereachedtheheadofthestairway，andthattheenvoyhaspolitelymotionedtheDuketoleadthewaydown。Thisisimpliedinthe”Nay”。

Thelastspeechindicatesthatonthestairwayisawindowwhichaffordsanoutlookintothecourtyard，wherehecallstheattentionoftheenvoytoaNeptune，tamingasea-horse，castinbronzeforhimbyClausofInnsbruck。Theprideofthevirtuosoisalsoimpliedintheword，”though”。

Itshouldbenoticed，also，thattheDukevalueshiswife’spicturewhollyasapicture，notasthe”counterfeitpresentment”andreminderofasweetandlovelywoman，whomighthaveblessedhislife，ifhehadbeencapableofbeingblessed。Itistohimapicturebyagreatartist，andhevaluesitonlyassuch。Hesays，parenthetically，”sincenoneputsbythecurtainIhavedrawnforyou，butI。”It’stoopreciousaworkofarttobeentrustedtoanybodyelse。

IV。Browning’sVerse。

Itseemstobeadmitted，evenbymanyofthepoet’smostdevotedstudents，thathisverseis，initsgeneralcharacter，harshandrugged。Tojudgeitfairly，onemustfreehismindofmanymerelyconventionalcanonsinregardtoverse。

Puremusicisabsolute。Themusicofversemoves，orshouldmove，undertheconditionsofthethoughtwhicharticulatesit。Itshouldserveasachorustothethought，expressingamysticsympathywithit。Versemaybeverymusical，andyetmoreorlessmechanical；

thatis，itmayCLOTHEthoughtandsentiment，butnotbeapartofit，notEMBODYit。Unrippledverse，whichmanyreadersdemand，MUSTbemoreorlessmechanical。Suchverseflowsaccordingtoitsownsweetwill，independentlyofthethought-articulation。

Butthethought-articulationmaybesoflimsythatit’swellenoughfortheversesotoflow。

ThecarefulstudentofBrowning’slanguage-shapingmustdiscover——

therequisitesusceptibilitytovitalityofformbeingsupposed——

thathisverseisremarkablyorganic：often，indeed，moreorganic，evenwhenitappearstobeclumsy，thanthe”faultilyfaultless”verseofTennyson。Thepoetwhohaswritten`InaGondola’，`BytheFireside’，`MeetingatNight’，`PartingatMorning’，`GoldHair’，`MayandDeath’，`LoveamongtheRuins’，`HomeThoughtsfromAbroad’，`HomeThoughtsfromtheSea’，theIncantationin`TheFlightoftheDuchess’(someofwhicharebothsongandpicture)，andmany，manymorethatmightbenamed，certainlyhastheveryhighestfacultyofwordandversemusic，ofmusic，too，thatisentirelynewinEnglishPoetry；

anditcanbeshownthathealwaysexercisesthatfacultyWHENEVERTHERE’SAREALARTISTICOCCASIONFORIT，nototherwise。

Verse-musicisneverwithhimamereliteraryindulgence。

Thegrotesquerieofrhythmandrhymewhichsomeofhispoemsexhibit，isasorganicasanyotherfeatureofhislanguage-shaping，andshowstherarestcommandoflanguage。Hehasbeenchargedwithhaving”failedtoreachcontinuouslevelsofmusicalphrasing”。

It’sachargewhicheveryonewhoappreciatesBrowning’sverseinitshigherforms(anditshigherformsarenotthosewhichareaddressedespeciallytothephysicalear)willbeveryreadytoadmit。

Inthegeneraltenorofhispoetry，heisABOVEtheSinger，——

heistheSeerandRevealer，whoseesgreattruthsbeyondtheboundsoftheterritoryofgeneralknowledge，insteadofworkingovertruthswithinthatterritory；andnoseerofmoderntimeshashadhiseyesmoreclearlypurgedwitheuphrasyandrue。Poetryiswithhim，inthelanguageofMr。E。PaxtonHood(`EclecticandCongregationalRev。’，Dec。，1868)，”nojingleofwords，orprettyamusementforharpsichordorpiano，butratheradivinetrigonometry，aprocessofcelestialtriangulation，atakingobservationsofcelestialplacesandspheres，anattempttoestimateourworld，itsplace，itslifeamidsttheboundlessimmeasurablesweepsofspaceandtime；orifdescribing，thendescribingtheanimatingstoriesofthegiants，howtheyfoughtandfell，orconquered……agreatall-inclusivestrengthofsong，whichisasabattlemarchtowarriors，orastherefreshmentofbrooksanddatestothespentandtoilingsoldiersontheirway，ismorethantheprettyidyll，whosesweetandplaintivestorypleasestheidlehouroridleear。”

TheRev。Prof。E。Johnson，inthesectionentitled`PoetsoftheEarandoftheEye’，ofhisvaluablepaperon`ConscienceandArtinBrowning’(`BrowningSoc。Papers’，PartIII。，pp。345-380)，hasablyshownthat”theeconomyofmusicisanecessityofBrowning’sArt”——thatmusic，insteadofeverbeinganendtoitself，iswithhimameanstoamuchhigherend。Hesays：——”Allpoetrymaybeclassifiedaccordingtoitsformoritscontents。

Formalclassificationiseasy，butoflittleuse。Whenwehavedistinguishedcompositionsasdramatic，lyrical，orcharacterizedapoetinlikemanner，wehavedonelittle。Whatwewanttoascertainisthepeculiarqualityoftheimaginativestuffwithwhichheplasticallyworks，andtoappreciateitsworth。Thisisalwaysagreattask，butoneparticularlynecessaryinthecaseofBrowning，becausethestuffinwhichhehaswroughtissonovelinthepoet’shands。Psychologyitselfiscomparativelyanewandmodernstudy，asadistinctscience；butapsychologicalpoet，whohasmadeithisbusinesstoclothepsychicabstractions`insightsandsounds’，isentirelyanovelappearanceinliterature。”Nowthatphrase`clothinginsightsandsounds’mayyieldusthecluetotheclassificationweareseeking。Thefunctionofartists，thatis，musicians，poetsinthenarrowersense，andpainters，istoclotheTruthinsightsandsoundsforthehearingandseeingofusall。Theircalltodothisliesintheirfinerandfulleraestheticfaculty。Thesenseofhearingandthatofseeingstandinpolaropposition，andthusanaturalscaleoffersitselfbywhichwemayrankandarrangeourartists。Attheoneendofthescaleistheacousticartist，i。e。，themusician。Attheotherendofthescaleistheopticartist，thepainterandsculptor。

Betweenthese，andcomprisingboththeseactivitiesinhisown，isthepoet，whoisbothacousticandopticartist。Hetranslatesthesoundsoftheworld，bothexternalandinternal，——

thetumultofstorms，themurmursofwaves，theSUSURRUSofthewoodland，thetinklingofbrooks，thethrobbingofhumanhearts，thecriesofalllivingcreatures；allthosegroansofpain，stammersofdesire，shrieksofdespair，yawnsevenoflanguor，whichareeverbreakingoutoftheheartofthings；andbesideallthis，thehearsay，commonplace，proverbialloreoftheworld。

Heturnstheseintomelodieswhichshallbecaughtupbythosewholisten。Inshort，heconvertsbyhisalchemythecommonstuffofpainandofjoyintomusic。Butheisopticaswellasacoustic；

thatis，hecallsupatthesametimebyhisartaprocessionofimageswhichmarchordanceacrossthetheatreofthelistener’sfancy。

Nowthequestionofclassificationonthisschemecomestothis，Doestheparticularpoetwhoinvitesourattentiondealmorewiththeaesthesisoftheearorwiththatoftheeye?Doeshemorefillourearwithsweettunesorourfancywithshapesandcolours?

Doeshecompelustolistenandshutoureyes，ortoopenoureyeswideanddispensewithallbutthefaintestmusicalaccompaniment?

Whatsense，inshort，doeshemainlyaddresshimselfto?

Goethesaidthathewasa`seeing’man；W。vonHumboldt，thegreatlinguist，thathewasa`listening’man。TheinfluenceofMilton’sblindnessonhispoetrywasnoticedbyLessing。

Theshort-sightednessofWielandhasalsobeendetectedinhispoetry。”IfweapplytheseteststoBrowning，therecanbe，Ithink，nodoubtastotheanswer。Heis，incommonwithallpoets，bothmusicianandpainter，butmuchmorethelatterthantheformer。

Heisneverforamomenttheslaveofhisear，ifImaysoexpressit。

Weknowthathehas，onthecontrary，themasteryofmusic。

Butmusichelpsandsupportshisimagination，nevercontrolsit。

MusicistoBrowninganinarticulaterevelationofthetruthofthesupersensualworld，the`earnestofaheaven’。

Heisnovoluptuaryinmusic。Musicissimplythemeansbywhichthesoulwingsitswayintotheazureofspiritualtheoryandcontemplation。Takeonly`Saul’and`AbtVogler’inillustration。

`Saul’isamagnificentinterpretationoftheoldtheme，afavoritewiththemystics，thatevilspiritsaredrivenoutbymusic。

Butinthisinterpretationitisnotthemeretones，thethrummingontheharp，itisthereligiousmovementoftheintelligence，itisthetruthofDivinelovethrobbingineverychord，whichconstitutesthespell。Andsoin`AbtVogler’；

theabbot’sinstrumentisonlythemeanswherebyhestrikesoutthelightoffaithandhopewithinhim。Nottodwelluponthispoint，IwouldonlysaythatitseemsclearthatBrowninghasthefinestacousticgifts，andcould，ifhehadchosen，havescatteredmusicalbons-bonsthrougheverypage。Buthehasprintedno`versusinopesrerum，nugaequecanorae’(Hor。adPis。)。

Hehashadhigherobjectsinview，andhasdispensedbetterstuffthanthatwhichlingersintheear，andtendstosuppressratherthansupportthehigheractivityofthought。”Whenforamomentheshutshiseyes，andfallspurelyintothelisteningor`musing’mood，hebecomestheinstrumentofarichdeepmusic，breakingoutoftheheartoftheunseenworld，asintheDirgeofunfaithfulPoetsin`Paracelsus’，ortheGypsy’sIncantationinthe`FlightoftheDuchess’，ortheMeditationatthecrisisofSordello’stemptation。”Whenthekeeninquisitiveintelligenceisinitsfullwakingactivitytheregrows`moreofthewords’andthought，and`lessofthemusic’，toinvertaphraseofthepoet’s。Themelodyceases，therhythmisbroken，asinallintense，earnestconversation。

Attimesonlythetinkleofthepairingrhymes，ofwhichBrowninghasmadeamostwittyuse，remindsthatwearecalledtopartakeamoodinwhichcommonplaceassociationsaremeltingintotheideal。

IbelievetheeconomyofmusicisanecessityofBrowning’sart；

anditwouldbeonlyfair，ifthosewhoattackhimonthisgroundwouldconsiderhowfarthoughtofsuchqualityashisadmitsofbeingchanted，orotherwisemusicallyaccompanied。Inplainwordstheproblemis，howfarthepleasuresofsoundandofsensecanbeunitedinpoetry；anditwillbefoundineverycasethatapoetsacrificessomethingeithertotheoneortotheother。

Browninghassaidsomethinginhisarchwayonthispoint。Ineffect，heremarks，ItalianprosecanrenderasimplethoughtmoresweetlytotheearthaneitherGreekorEnglishverse。Itseemsclearfrommanyotherofhiscriticalremarksthatheconsidersthedemandformusicinpreferencetothoughtinpoetry，asthesymptomofafalsetaste。”Browning’spoetryistobegazedat，ratherthanlistenedtoandrecited，forthemostpart。Itisinfinitelyeasiertolistenforanhourtospiritualmusicthantofixone’swholeattentionforafewminutesonaspiritualpicture。Inthelatteractofmindwefindarichmusicalaccompanimentdistracting，whileaslightmusicalaccompanimentisprobablyhelpful。AndperhapswemaycharacterizeBrowning’spoetryasaseriesofspiritualpictureswithafaintmusicalaccompaniment。”Forillustrationbyextremecontrast，MiltonmaybecomparedwithBrowning。Miltonwasagreathearsaypoet，Browningrepeatsnohearsay。InreadingMilton，thedifficultyistokeepupthementaltensionwherethereissolittlethought，strictlyspeaking。

WithBrowningthehighesttensionisexacted。”Heispre-eminentlythelooker，theseer，the`maker-see’；

thereporter，thepainterofthesceneryandeventsofthesoul。

Andifthesenseofvisionisournoblest，andweinstinctivelyexpresstheactsofintelligenceintermsdrawnfromphysicalvision，thepoetwholeansmosttowardsthe`SEERofPowerandLoveintheabsolute，BeautyandGoodnessintheconcrete’，takesthehigherrank。Thisisnomatterforbigotryoftaste。

Singersandseers，musiciansandreporters，andreproducersofeverydegree，whohavesomethingtotellusortoshowusofthe`worldasGodhasmadeit，whereallisbeauty’，wehaveneedofall。Butofsingerstherearemany，ofseerstherearefew，thatisall。”

Inthemostdifficultformofverse，namely，blankverse，Browninghasshownhimselfagreatmaster，andhaswrittensomeoftheverybestintheliterature。Andgreatasistheextentofhisblankverse，the`RingandtheBook’alonecontaining21，116verses，itneverentirelylapsesintoprose。

OnegrandmeritofblankverseisintheSWEEPofit；another，initspause-melody，whichcanbesecuredonlybyaskilfulrecurrenceofanunbrokenmeasure；withoutthis，varietyofpauseceasestobevariety，andresultsinametricalchaos；

athirdisinitslightsomenessofmovement，itsgo，whenwell-freightedwiththought。AllthesemeritsarefoundunitedinmuchofBrowning’sblankverse，especiallyinthatof`TheRingandtheBook’。Asanexampleofthis，takethefollowingpassagefromthemonologueoftheCanonCaponsacchi。

ItgivesexpressiontohisvisionofCountGuido’sspiritualdown-sliding；”inthelowestdeepalowerdeepstillthreateningtodevourhim，openswide”：——”AndthusIseehimslowlyandsurelyedgedOffallthetable-landwhencelifeupspringsAspiringtobeimmortality，Asthesnake，hatchedonhill-topbymischance，Despitehiswriggling，slips，slides，sliddersdownHill-side，lieslowandprostrateonthesmoothLeveloftheouterplace，lapsedinthevale：

SoIloseGuidointheloneliness，Silence，anddusk，tillatthedolefulend，Atthehorizontalline，creation’sverge，Fromwhatjustistoabsolutenothingness