last ride together as a dramatic monologue

The Last Right Together is one of the finest dramatic monologue of Browning. It was published in 1855 in Men and Women. Eighty
years later it was again published and included in Dramatic Romances. Although it is a love poem but it expresses great philosophy of
Browning. Perhaps its theme is to show a lover's expression of his joy born of the fulfillment of his last wish. The lover is rejected by
his beloved but he does not murmur and grumble against his beloved. He requests her to grant his two wishes. First, that she should
remember his love forever, and secondly, that she should come with him for a last ride together. When the beloved agrees, the lover
considers he the happiest man on earth. He consoles himself by saying that it is not only he who is suffering because of the
indifference and ingratitude of his beloved but there are other also who have met with the same fate in their lives with their own
sweet hearts. Through this poem Browning represented very good though that nobody succeeds to win everything he wishes to win
in life. To prove this point Browning gives the examples of statement labor, soldiers, poet and sculptors, who aim at an ideal and
attempt to reach sublimity. They not succeed. He says about those persons. "Ten lines, a statesmen's life in each The Flag stuck on a
heap of bones A soldier's doing! What atones? They scratch his name on the Abbey-stones The lover's ride is better, he is sure."

Introduction: Through this poem Browning represents his optimistic view that even failure can bring some good or the other. Even in
disappointment and frustration, there is hope. He says very well lines: The petty Done, the undone vast and that is the theme of the
poem. A Grammarian's Funeral is one of the best poems of Browning. It was first published in the volume of poems called Men and
Women, 1855. Later on, the poem was included in Dramatic Romances, 1868. Perhaps through this poem Browning wanted to show
the spirit of the Renaissance Scholars, who had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and dedicated their life's to attain it. De Vane (A
Browning Hand Book) writes: "The poem is a most successful attempt to catch the spirit of the scholars who hungred and thirsted
after knowledge in the early Renaissance".

Literature Aspect The theme of this poem is only to highlight the spirit of Grammarian who had the thirst for knowledge and because
of this reason he neglected his health and died prematurely. He melted like a candle in the pursuit of knowledge. During Browning's
age, the word Grammarian meant a scholar, generally Browning does not mention the name of Grammarian. But it is suggested that
he was a German Scholar of the 15th century. Perhaps Grammarian is the symbol of the Renaissance scholar. The Grammarian was
dead and the member of the Funeral party talking about the character of Grammarian. Their talk shows that the Grammarian was
idealized because he was a sincere lover of knowledge and died in its pursuit. His disciple are conducting his funeral and taking his
coffin for burial on the top of a lofty mountain, regarding it as the appropriate place of grave for an elevated man that he was
regarded to be in life. As they carry the body, one of the pall-bearing disciples tells his story and dilates on the praise of the departed
scholar. As they bear him up the rocky heights, they step together to a tune with heads erect, proud of their noble burden. This is the
theme of the poem. Rabbi Ben Ezra was first published in the volume of Browning's poems entitled Dramatic Personae, 1864. The
speaker in this dramatic monologue is an old Jew called Rabbi Ben Ezra. Rabbi in the Hebrew tongue means one learned, in theology
and religious philosophy. Ben ('Ben' is a corruption of the Arabic word 'Ibn' meaning 'son'). Ezra was such a Jewish scholar of the
Middle Ages. He was born in Spain in 1092 and died in Rome in 1167. He left behind a number of manuscripts on regligious
philosophy and also a number of religious poems. But Rabbi Ben Ezra represents Browning's own philosophy. The theme of the poem
is to tell us the fact that one should not be afraid of the old age because old age has got its charms- "Grow old along with me! The
best is yet to be, The last of life, for which the first was made". Browning says that we are born to become old and pass away from
this world. We should welcome each problem in our life. Body is a gift of God, which could be used for noble purposes. We should not
complain our Maker because what He has made us, is better than a number of things, rather we should be thankful to God that at
least we are the human beings and superior to a brute. Browning further explores the fact through the Sixteenth Stanza of this poem
that we should reckon of our deeds everything before going to the bed. This way the proper evaluation of life or self-realization is
possible. We should have full contentment in our life. We should not feel alone at the old age because we have a lot of knowledge
and wisdom to face our life. He completely rejects the philosophy of Omar Khayyam that we should 'eat, drink and be merry'. For
Browning the present is important but cannot be over emphasized, in view of the past and future. He presents the image of the
Potter's wheel for the God and his creation- "Ay, note that Potter's wheel, That metaphor! And Fell".

The utmost faith of Browning in God

The utmost faith of Browning in God is very much clear from the first stanza of the poem. He says that we should have trust in God
and must not bother our life and its problems. God benign and cares for everyone in this world- Who saith "A whole I planned, Youth
shows but half; trust God; see all, nor be afraid" Andrea Del Sarto was included in the volume entitled Men and Women published in
1855. It was written in Italy- the most creative and happy period in Browning's life. The poem is a dramatic monologue. According to
Berdoe, the speaker Sarto was a great painter of the sixteenth century. He was a famous artist of the Florentine School of painters. He
was a tailor's son. Sarto means a tailor. He was born in Florence in 1486. He was nicknamed "The Tailor Andrew". Owning to his
technical mastery, he was known as "Perfect" or "Faultless" painter. He had no great ambitions. He falls in love with Lucrezia del
Fede, wife of a hatter. After the hatter's death, he married her in 1512. She was very beautiful and he painted many a picture of
Modonna after her. His disciple Vasari speaks of her as being faithless, jealous and overhearing. By 1516 he sent a Pieta and a
Madonna to the French court and the French king Francis I invited him to Paris and commissioned him to decorate his place of
Fantainebleau. But Lucrezia felt tired of the French court and insisted on their return to Florence, where Andrew betrayed the king's
confidence by building a house for Lucrerzia with the money he had been given for the purchase of pictures. Lucrerzia admired
Andrea's art for its commercial value, but was indifferent to his love. Browning here exposes the distortion of human relationship in a
materialistic world. As Lucrezia was a faithless wife, she finally left Andrea. In poverty and disgrace, he died of Plague. Porphyria's
Lover with first published in 1836 over the signature 'Z'. After words it was grouped with another poem (Johanes Agricola) under the
combined title Madhouse Cells, but ultimately it achieved its independent status as Porphyria's Lover. It is a dramatic monologue of a
pale lover, who is loved by Porphyria. She could not marry him because of the false family pride and social distinctions and barriers.
One night when it was raining heavily and fierce wind was blowing she left the feasting at her castle and visited her lover. The lover's
heart swelled with pride and joy when she made him believe of her sincerity in love. In order to immortalize that moment of
happiness, he strangled her with the tresses of her long golden hair. He kissed her rosy cheeks and raised her head, but as it was
lifeless, it fell on his shoulder. He and his beloved remained seated in the same position throughout the night. At this time he feels :

"The moment she was 1

mine, mine, fair, perfectly pure and good ..."

Perhaps through this poem Browning made a satire against social conventions and barrier which stand in the way of sincere lovers.
The poem also represents the abnormal psychology of a lover. De Vane (A Browning Hand Book) remaks : "This poem has the
distinction of being the first of Browning's studies in abnormal Psychology ...." Abt Vogler was first published in Dramatic Personae in
1864. De Vane (A Browning Hand Book) suggests the probable date of the poem with the reasoning, "The spiritual fervor of, the
poem, and its profound seriousness and beauty, leads one to think it was written after Mrs Browning's death". This is a highly
philosophical poem. It may be said that the poem shows Browning's aesthetic philosophy. There was a historical person in the poem
known as Abbe Vogler or Abet Vogler. He was an organist and a composer. He developed his musical talents and at the age of ten he
could play the organ and the violin well. He invented a musical organ called Orchestra. His opera plays did not succeed on the stage.
He opened a few schools of music in different places and at different times. He was impressed by the beauty and completeness of the
performance which evoked wonderful imagery. He wants it to be permanent. But what he created has vanished. He compares it to a
place built of sweet sounds, such a structure as angels or demons might have reared for Soleman, a magic building where into lodge
some loved princes, a place more beautiful than anything which human architect could plan or power of man construct. The music
structure took shape in his mind and it might be as lasting as all good, beautiful and perfect things. But an extemporizer cannot give
Permanence to his performance. In a state of ecstasy he finds the spiritual asserting itself over the material. The soul is raised to
heaven and heaven brings it to earth. In the words of Milton, he had became- "All ear, and took in strains that might create a soul
under the ribs of death". He further says that the other arts are inferior to music since they are more human and more material. This
leads the poet to reflect on the permanence of the good, on the nature of evil and an impermanent. In heaven we are to find 'the
perfect round'. Hence an earth we have only 'the broken arc'. This leads him to speak of a home of pure ideals. The aspirations after
the beautiful and true are preserved in God failure is like pause in music, like the discords. It is a revelation and, therefore, he can
come back to the earth. "The musician feels for the common chord, descends the mount, gliding by semitones, glancing back at the
heights he is leaving, till at lost, finding his true resting place in C major of this life, soothed and sweetly lulled by the heavenly
harmonies, he falls asleep". Fra Lippo Lippi is one of the most popular monologues of Browning. It was first published in 'Men and
Women'. The theme of this poem is to show the Man's acute consciousness of the flesh and blood. The main character of the poem,
Fra Lippo Lippi is quite conscious of the bodily sex and attraction. Through this poem Browning's faith in love is illustrated and
Renaissance urge of physicality also. The poem cores in the form of monologue in which the hero frankly tells that he was painting
when he hearted the voice of ladies who laughing in the street. He himself could not resist the attraction of flesh and blood and very
soon reached nearby them. The essence of this poem is that ‘enjoyment of life should know no inhibitions’. The painter Fra Lippo
Lippi has no feeling of repent of what he has been doing even if he is caught in his act of enjoyment. The painter was given to the
reality of life and under the impact of Renaissance individualism he would draw pictures of actuality which smelled of flesh. Browning
preached Lippi that body is a perishable play and it should not be given importance. He suggested Lippi to paint the souls of man.
Very beautifully he described in the poem- 'Rub all out, try at it a second time'. The hero of the poem cannot believe that body can be
ignored, that the possible without the proper delineation of the body. One point which is important in this poem is that Browning is
not idealistic that he should believe that only soul is important. His sense of relativity lets him feel body and soul in their proper
significance and this is the very opinion that Lippi expresses. The impression that Browning leave upon the reader is twofold: he
makes us feel the greatness of his mind and the intensity and breadth of his sympathies. It is a vast world of thought to which
Browning introduces his reader. He claims from his absolute attention. In the world of Browning thought there is much that is
strange, much that is new, much that is grotesque. There is no problem of life that he does not attempt to solve, no mystery of life
that he is not ready to explain or reconcile. He insists that we take him seriously, for he himself is profoundly serious and earnest. He
is not a singer, but a seer. In every line that he has written there is the vigorous movement of a strong and eager intellect. He
demands our faith in him as a master-teacher; he will work no miracle for him who has no belief. Sometimes this sense of the power
of mind in Browning is almost oppressive. We long for a little rest in the arduous novitiate he imposes on us. We feel that the vehicle
he uses for the exposition of his thought is unequal to the vast strain he imposes on it.

Summary of The Last Ride Together by Robert Browning

The first stanza presents a self-consolation. It’s based on the underlying theory of ‘blame it all on fate’. Of course, the poem talks about love and its
attendant failures. The speaker thinks that failure is inevitable as he himself has failed. He is attempting to reduce his pain by trying to curtail his
desires. Words are so chosen to convey the feeling of polite resignation and acceptance of defeat. The word ‘since’ is used five times in the same
paragraph which in one hand may indicate to the fact that Browning got involved in an emotional flow and lost control over his poetic polish of
words.
Moreover, the diction is superficial, and of superhuman psychology, because a man who has been ditched can’t have too many good things to say
about the former flame unless of course, he is ironical about it. Generally, browning though a Dramatic Monologist is one of the most profound
lyricists which can be determined by the rhyme scheme – aa, bb, ca, bb, c and the predominant rhythm i.e. iambic pentameter. In fact, the whole
paragraph is rhetorical.
The second stanza deals with the anticipation of a response by the speaker from the mistress. It is this dilemma and waits for the answer that
contributes to the dramatic effect of the poem. The stanza progresses thus – from spine chilling excitement and anticipation to joy to relief and finally
to ecstasy. The images of the mistress bending her brow, her “deep dark eyes”, her breathing and consequent heaving of the bosom and her blush
conveys an almost erotic charm to the poem. In a superb metaphor – “With life or death in the balance”. The speaker compares yes with life and no
with death. Rhythm and rhyme add a lyrical charm to the dramatic poem.
The diction provides a picture of the action in the man with which Browning was more concerned. It clearly brings out the anxiety and the emotional
turmoil in the speaker’s brain. Words like – ‘bent that brow’ refers to the brooding of the lady over the proposal. ‘Fixed’ and ‘breathing’ clearly brings
out the anxiety of the speaker. The condition of ‘yes and ‘no’ has been beautifully painted as ‘life’ and ‘death’ respectively. The stanza could also be
memorable for the line – “Who knows but the world may end tonight”. This line affirms the stupid optimism of the speaker who becomes as a much a
butt of ridicule as the people he satirizes for their failures.
The third stanza deals with the beautiful feeling that follows after being with one’s beloved the feeling of being on the top of the world after
achieving one’s goal. It also deals with the more physical part of love. The tone is of being overwhelmed in love in which everything is blessed –
“. . . benediction. . . /and . . . at once”.
Towards the end, however, the tone becomes sensual in aspect. The sky of the first four lines is studded with the stars of imageries. The ‘billowy
bosomed benediction’ not only brings out a crisp alliteration but also a half personification. The image of a sort of physical if not sexual love comes to
our minds by few lines and words like:
“Conscious . . . drew”,
“down on you . . . near”,
“. . . learnt she. . .“,
“Thus . . . breast”.
The mistress has provided him with more than asked for. The words chosen have created or the words were deliberately chosen to create a calming
effect like ‘hush!’, ‘passion drew’, ’fade’, ‘lingered’ which are in tune with theme and tone of the paragraph. Yet the rhythm is itself uncertain which
gives the poem its characteristic dramtic tinge.
The next stanza provides us with a touch of Browning’s philosophy. Dealing with the present and stop being bothered by the past. The tone of the
poem presents a mix of consolatory and philosophical musings. With the “fluttering in the wind” metaphor, the speaker compares the soul with a
long-cramped scroll. In itself, it is a fresh metaphor unparalleled in literature. Though the paragraph is simply composed, the line numbers 35 and 36
express the poet’s genius of moulding ideas into words, and thoughts into language:
“. . ., my soul
Smoothed . . . scroll
Freshening . . . wind.”
Again the stanza doesn’t give us a proper rhythm which acts similar to the last stanza.
Next stanza contains little of artistic or dramatic techniques but more of philosophical elements. The theory of failure is introduced. In order to hide
his agony, he deliberately compares himself with those people who had failed in their lives but not with those who have achieved the zenith. It’s a
mere acceptance of defeat and on untrue optimism of better chance in future life (heaven). The word ‘hope’ used twice which adds up to the three
‘hopes’ used before; this suggests the disappointment behind the hope cause we speak of a truth only once but we keep on repeating the lie to make
it true.
Next stanza presents the philosophical idea that the life of contemplation in love is far greater than the material world. The words to look for in the
stanza are – ‘fleshly’, ‘screen’, ‘bosom heave’, ‘many a crown’, ‘heap of bones’. These words do signify the sensuous markers of the poem. The
humour is brought back into the poem by the line –

“Ten lines . . . “.
The stanza deals with the continuity of dreams into reality. The gulf between imagination and creation is shortened. It also deals with the comparison
of the life of a statesman and soldier with the life and achievement of a lover and puts the lover and his momentary triumph over the achievements
of the statesman and soldier.
The speaker’s tone is self-congratulatory because nobody else congratulates him for having the last ride with his beloved. The tone is that of the
justification of one’s failure, the tone is of giving a lame excuse. The first four lines are rhetorically interrogational, with a zeugma in line number
56(economising the poem hence making it compact), and a synecdoche in line number 61. The diction is very much pregnant with ideas and
suggestions.
The words in the beginning of the stanza marches ahead with swords and banners of questions but suddenly halts for the poet to synchronised this
stanza with the other ones rhythmically inserts a line that doesn’t seem to be in line with the marching tone of the four previous lines, however, after
further scrutinizing we can see that the idea which the line suggests is that the speaker has united his thought and action but the line certainly breaks
the rhythm of the stanza and which adds to the disadvantage of the poem. The diction is otherwise straightforward and clearly brings out the idea
which the speaker wants to convey.
The next two stanzas both love and life are painstakingly proven to be better than art, poetry. The last two stanzas waxes metaphysical and almost
borders on obscurity

Critical Analysis of the Last Ride Together:

This poem is witness to the fact that the outstanding thing about Browning as an artist the variety and originality of his poetic forms. Browning may be
described as “the father of modern experimental verse.” It is Browning’s love of realism which makes him give a hearing even to a rascal as the lover is.
Prisoners, cheats, murderers are all given a hearing. But these characters are never given any name. So that they could be generalised.

As Chesterton says, Browning does not take up ordinary situations or obvious morals. He rather shows us the crisis of the life of the individual may depend
on his reaction to it. Again and again, Browning selects and holds out into clear relief the important moment which decides the spiritual basis of the soul
involved and settles the pattern of its future existence. In The Last Ride TogetherBrowning selected the ‘moment’ which is the result of quick thought or
sudden passion and results in some action breaking the commonplace course of life.

According to K.C. Chakraborty, “Browning’s love poems are seldom a simple lyrical cry.” Browning is never so carried away as to forget everythi8ng else
in love. He is not a poet of passions but of the psychology of passion. His lovers dissect and analyse their passion. The lover in The Last Ride
Together thinks less of the lady and more of the abstract problem ‘what is the real success of life?’ browning does not portray love as that all-absorbing and
exclusive emotion which drives out all thoughts except those of the beloved. His really passionate love poem is very rare in his poetry. His passion is
intellectual and psychological. He firmly believes, “The emotion of love is always intertwined with the grave question of life and conduct.” Here he doesn’t
insist on beauty as a factor in sexual attraction.

His poems convey a little impression of the personal beauty of the woman. Generally, he tells us what love does. Browning considered that love was a
supreme possession in itself, irrespective of success or failure. One may win or one may lose one’s love but it matters if one has understood what love is.
Elton says. “Browning considered that love is not only man’s chief happiness but his chief ordeal.” This poem like most of his poems deals with love
unsuccessful than with successful love. Love in the moment, the jealousy in love, the lost love, the love that is a mirage – all are taken up by Browning.

The first few stanzas of the poem show the perfection of the dramatic monologue Browning was a great artist, incomparably greater than his more popular
contemporary. His love poems and imaginative representation are in this form. Dramatic monologue is an exacting form and requires great skill. It has to
tell a story and that too not at great length. The character of the speaker must be portrayed distinctly and vividly and should be dramatically appropriate to
the theme. The thought of the poem should appear as a natural expression of the characters. Browning loves to work on the “great moment” but the
movement in the monologues is not through action but in thought.

This monologue too shows Browning’s knowledge of human nature, specially its dark recesses and pit falls. The more tangled the character, the more
passionate and stormy the experience, the more labyrinthine the story, the greater was the zest with which Browning approached them. Cazamian calls his
monologues “studies in practical psychology.” His characters of dramatic monologue are like the character of Shaw, only expressing the writer’s ideas.
One can even say that Browning’s poems are a poetry of ideas. Browning’s characters are Browningesque (since they speak Browning’s ideas).

However, his love of ideas prevents him from being fully dramatic. We feel that perhaps his,

“. . . purpose in creating characters was to make them serve as question, objectors, answers in the great debate that proceeds throughout his poems.”

Broadly speaking we might divide Browning’s character in two categories: those in whom intellect is predominant and those in whom lofty emotions are
predominant. He is more successful in presenting women characters rather than men yet he doesn’t romantically idealise women. They are presented as
acting and reacting in varied circumstances, pleasant and unpleasant. Like Shakespeare and Meredith, he represents them as possessing a finer and stronger
intellect than men.

Robert Browning’s poetry is regarded as the finest love poetry. His poems deal with the emotions of love. His philosophy of love is an important part of his
philosophy of life.

“Last Ride Together” - Critical Appreciation

Robert Browning’s “Last Ride Together” is a monologue of a rejected lover that expresses his undying love for his beloved. The dramatic
situation appears to be one in which the lover, upon being rejected by his mistress, asks for, and is granted, one last horseback ride with her
across a mysterious landscape. The ride, however, seems to stretch out to eternity; there is no sense of time demarcation, but a continuous
unfurling of landscape. The poem echoes the ‘carpe diem’ motif of seizing the present.
The poet dwells on the significance of the present as he concentrates on the ride. He contemplates on why people attach so much significance
to the past and future, than focusing on the present. His soul that was hitherto a long “scramped scroll ” smoothens itself out .The metaphor
connotes living life to the fullest in elation and ecstasy for the moment. The scroll freshens and flutters in the wind in intense euphoria. Why
does one get carried away by past actions:
Had I said that, had I done this,
So might I gain, so might I miss.
Why do people leave room for doubts, suspicions, failure, misgivings that haunt the present instead of protecting it, and distracting the same?
One should breathe each moment as though there is no room for regret. “The Last Ride Together” makes profound statements concerning the
irrelevance of the past in relation to present emotions and sentiments. More specifically, Browning discusses hopes that have not been
fulfilled, and places them in direct contrast to present circumstances. By revealing the idea that sentiments and events of the past often have
little effect on future outcomes, Browning suggests that life should not involve dwelling on the past or hoping for the future, but living in the
moment.
The lover as he rides with his beloved continues to think about the world. He says that brain and hand cannot go together hand in hand.
Conception and execution can never be paired together. Man is not able to make pace with his actions to match with his ambitions. He plans
a lot but achieves a little. The lover feels that he has at least achieved a little success by being able to ride with his beloved. He compares
himself with a statesman and a soldier. A statesman works hard all his life but all his efforts are merely published in a book or as an obituary
in newspapers. Similarly a soldier dies fighting for his country and is buried in the Westminster Abbey, which is his only reward after death.
Sometimes an epitaph is raised in his memory but that is all. The lover then compares his lot with that of a poet. He believes that a poet’s
reward is too small compared with his skills. He composed sweet lyrics, thoughts of emotions of others, views that men should achieve
beautiful things in life. But the reward he gets in return is very little and he dies in poverty in the prime of his life. Compared to the poet, the
lover considers himself luckier as he has at least achieved the consolation of riding with his lover for the last time. The lover thinks that it
would be a heaven on earth for him if he continues to ride with his beloved forever. He wishes that the moment should become everlasting so
that they could continue to ride together forever and ever. That would indeed be heavenly bliss for him.
Thus through this poem, Browning expresses the view that, the past is insignificant, and that one may only live in the moment in order to
pursue happiness in life. "The Last Ride Together" indicates that life is a long journey that is best played out with a special love. Seeing every
day as one’s last can really put a new perspective on everyday experiences and life in general. The juxtapositions of city and ruins, hope for
love and a last ride together, both illustrate this idea dramatically. One can learn not to look back on what one hoped for, but only to look
forward at what one has.
 “Last Ride Together” as a love poem
“The Last Ride together” is one of the loveliest of love lyrics, in which thought, emotion and melody are mingled in perfect
measure; which has the lyrical cry and objectiveness of the drama. Poets have often sung of unrequited love; but here there is
nothing but a manly and dignified resignation. A man, who has spent years in passion for a young girl, just realises his error when
he is told that he can hope no more. Possessed of that strength which emanates under failure in a strong cheerful fatalism, he has
courage enough to crush the rising despair in him, and requests for a last ride with her. And in the rapture of that companionship,
passion and thought slowly transfigure and glorify his fate, till from the lone limbo of outcast lovers he seems to have penetrated to
the innermost fiery core of life and love, which art and poetry grope after in vain:
"And that’s your Venus, whence we turn
To yonder girl that fords the burn."
He, on the other hand, has been able to possess that supreme moment on earth, which, if prolonged, is Heaven:
Ride, ride together, and for ever ride!
The dramatic situation appears to be one in which the lover, upon being rejected by his mistress, asks for, and is granted, one last
horseback ride with her across a mysterious landscape. The poem echoes the ‘carpe diem’ motif of seizing the present. The lover
basks in the glory of the present moment of riding together with his beloved. The ride seems to stretch out to eternity; there is no
sense of time demarcation, but a continuous unfurling of landscape.
Browning's poem emphasizes the idea that the love one has shared on earth will be shared even after "The Last Ride" together.
These are lovers who are moving beyond what they have had on earth. He blesses her name in "pride and thankfulness" and takes
back from her the hope she has always given him. In this way, he has hope for the future. He wants to share as many moments
with her as he can since "Who knows but the world may end tonight?" Still, his hope for the future and their future after death
makes this "one last ride" (in case that is what it would turn out to be) that much more special.
The lover as he rides with his beloved continues to think about the world. He says that brain and hand cannot go together hand in
hand. Conception and execution can never be paired together. Man is not able to make pace with his actions to match with his
ambitions. He plans a lot but achieves a little. The lover feels that he has at least achieved a little success by being able to ride with
his beloved. He compares himself with a statesman and a soldier and finds them wanting in luck. The lover then compares his lot
with that of a poet. He believes that a poet’s reward is too small compared with his skills. Compared to the poet, the lover considers
himself luckier as he has at least achieved the consolation of riding with his lover for the last time. The lover thinks that it would be
a heaven on earth for him if he continues to ride with his beloved forever. He wishes that the moment should become everlasting
so that they could continue to ride together forever and ever. That would indeed be heavenly bliss for him.
Browning's philosophy about love is very interesting in this poem and seems surprisingly modern in that the woman seems to have
control, as she has ended the affair. Rather than being sad, Browning is suggesting, through his narrator, that we should be
grateful for the love that was and revel in its memory. The poem seems to be about 'fixing' this moment in the mind so that it can
live forever and bring fond memories. Browning is suggesting that few people succeed in the endeavor to find real love but
nevertheless love is very important; more important than wars and even art. For Browning, striving seems to be the most
important thing and regret pointless.

Trace the Thought process of the lover in

Browning’s “The Last Ride Together”
Return to: Poems
The most important feature of a dramatic monologue – in which a character (dramatic personae) speaks at a decisive moment in
his life – is its focus on the thought process of the speaker. It reveals a lot about the mental attributes of the person speaking, as
well as, particular aspects of his/her views or philosophies of life and relationship. In Browning’s “The Last Ride Together”, the
speaker is a lover. He is in a critical moment of his life - he is rejected by his sweetheart. The lover asks for the only favour of a last
ride with his lady and she grants it. In the ride together, he gathers up the rapture of a life time, and with no further heaven to be
hoped for, he wishes that the ride may lengthen out into eternity.
The lover dwells on the significance of the present as he concentrates on the ride. He contemplates on why people attach so much
significance to the past and future, than focusing on the present. His soul that was hitherto a long “scramped scroll” smoothens
itself out .The metaphor connotes living life to the fullest in elation and ecstasy for the moment. The scroll freshens and flutters in
the wind in intense euphoria. Why does one get carried away by past actions:
Had I said that, had I done this,
So might I gain, so might I miss.
Why do people leave room for doubts, suspicions, failure, misgivings that haunt the present instead of protecting it, and distracting
the same? One should breathe each moment as though there is no room for regret. “The Last Ride Together” makes profound
statements concerning the irrelevance of the past in relation to present emotions and sentiments. More specifically, the lover
discusses hopes that have not been fulfilled, and places them in direct contrast to present circumstances. By revealing the idea that
sentiments and events of the past often have little effect on future outcomes, he suggests that life should not involve dwelling on
the past or hoping for the future, but living in the moment.
The lover as he rides with his beloved continues to think about the world. He says that brain and hand cannot go together hand in
hand. Conception and execution can never be paired together. Man plans a lot but achieves a little. The lover feels that he has at
least achieved a little success by being able to ride with his beloved. He compares himself with a statesman and a soldier. A
statesman works hard all his life but all his efforts are merely published in a book or as an obituary in newspapers. Similar ly a
soldier dies fighting for his country and is buried in the Westminster Abbey, which is his only reward after death. Sometimes an
epitaph is raised in his memory but that is all. The lover then compares his lot with that of a poet. He believes that a poet’s reward
is too small compared with his skills. He composed sweet lyrics, but the reward he gets in return is very little and he dies in poverty
in the prime of his life. Compared to the poet, the lover considers himself luckier as he has at least achieved the consolation of
riding with his lover for the last time. The lover thinks that it would be a heaven on earth for him if he continues to ride with his
beloved forever. He wishes that the moment should become everlasting so that they could continue to ride together forever and
ever. That would indeed be heavenly bliss for him.
Thus in “The the Last Ride Together” Browning reveals a philosophy of life by focusing on the thought process of the lover at a
critical juncture of his life. Some modern critics find ironic twists and “carpe diem” motives in the lover’s statements. Certainly,
Browning does not approve all the sentiments of the characters of his dramatic monologues. Still, the lover’s reaction and
sentiments touch a sympathetic cord in the reader’s mind – his audience. It implies that man is imperfect or imperfection or failure
is part of human nature something inevitable in life.