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jsisco's review
4.0
I read him in high school and in college, and while I read only a smattering of his work, two of his poems alone deserve a four star rating. "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" are both chilling examples of men gone mad.
PL, a disturbing study in psychotic love and necrophilia, has a rhyme and meter that makes the topic all the more unnerving in its simplistic delivery. Browning is a genius in terms of how he unmasks his speaker's madness.
MLD, a stunning look at arrogance and power shifts, dissects a Duke who casually discusses the diappearance of his first wife with a friend as he strolls through his collection of art. The writing here is absolutely first rate, with lines such as "She had a heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad..." and "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together" making my head race with envy of his writing. The sharp reader will deduce that his jealousy of her philandering ways made him have her killed or locked up in a convent, but the way Browning leads you to this questionable conclusion is beautiful.
If you don't know poetry, at least put some Browning into your early attempts at true knowledge. He is, simply, that good.
PL, a disturbing study in psychotic love and necrophilia, has a rhyme and meter that makes the topic all the more unnerving in its simplistic delivery. Browning is a genius in terms of how he unmasks his speaker's madness.
MLD, a stunning look at arrogance and power shifts, dissects a Duke who casually discusses the diappearance of his first wife with a friend as he strolls through his collection of art. The writing here is absolutely first rate, with lines such as "She had a heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad..." and "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together" making my head race with envy of his writing. The sharp reader will deduce that his jealousy of her philandering ways made him have her killed or locked up in a convent, but the way Browning leads you to this questionable conclusion is beautiful.
If you don't know poetry, at least put some Browning into your early attempts at true knowledge. He is, simply, that good.
sleeping_while_awake's review against another edition
3.0
Robert Browning is certainly a man of intellect and genius. However, reading his poetry is difficult. Not simply from the obscurity of the subject manner, but his writing is dense and at times inarticulate.
The dramatic monologues are the best. The characterizations are really wonderful, and he creates diverse, complicated plots. Browning is a lover of Italy, the Renaissance, and the Greeks. It's hard to believe he was an Englishman, as his subject manner really takes the reader to another place.
He can be so challenging to read that it can be hard to appreciate his poetry. He doesn't really write beautiful, elegant phrases, yet there is a rhythm to his poetry that evinces the subject manner well. Most of the subject manner are of historical figures, real or imagined. Few romance or nature poems here, which I suppose sets Browning apart from typical poetry.
My favorites: My Last Duchess, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, Bishop Blougram's Apology.
The dramatic monologues are the best. The characterizations are really wonderful, and he creates diverse, complicated plots. Browning is a lover of Italy, the Renaissance, and the Greeks. It's hard to believe he was an Englishman, as his subject manner really takes the reader to another place.
He can be so challenging to read that it can be hard to appreciate his poetry. He doesn't really write beautiful, elegant phrases, yet there is a rhythm to his poetry that evinces the subject manner well. Most of the subject manner are of historical figures, real or imagined. Few romance or nature poems here, which I suppose sets Browning apart from typical poetry.
My favorites: My Last Duchess, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, Bishop Blougram's Apology.
debs's review
5.0
Loved the undercurrent of irony in 'My Last Duchess'; felt sorry for the desperation of the heroine in 'The Laboratory'. Again, this guy masters the craft of blending structure and symbolism into his poetry without needing to resort to modern free verse.
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