Brownings Style

Browning differs, completely, in his style from all the other Victorian poets Unlike Carlyle, Tennyson and Dickens. Browning is much more obscure, philosophical and thought-provoking. But his obscurity is not the only feature of his poetry. Actually, Browning gives a new dimension to the English poetry and comes out as an innovator. His poetry has some demerits as well as some merits first of all; we take a look at the demerits of his poetry. Borrowings poetry is often labeled as obscure poetry Dawson calls Browning the Carlyle of poetry. His obscurity is the result of several things. Browning had a very high conception of poetry. He regards that poetry is for the intellectuals and scholars and not for the ordinary reader. So, poetry should be difficult. He always tries to put the infinite within him finite. Thats why, every line, every verse means much more than it meets he ears. He invites all the mental faculties of his reader to come into play if he wants to have the complete comprehension of the matter. All this leads to obscurity. The next thing that we notice in his poetry is his novelty of style. He is argumentative, writes long, boring, tiresome and philosophical. The reader gets tired physically as well as mentally. The common theme of his poetry is soul dissection. He is interested in painting the interior landscape. He probes deep into the very soul of his character. Insight is much more important to Browning rather than the sight. His poetry is the study of the shifting moods and changing thoughts of a developing mind. As we see in Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea Del Sarto. This thing also leads to obscurity. The next thing, we see in his poetry is the obscure references and allusions. He makes use of the Greek and Latin language though he knew little about it. Andrea Del Sarto, Fra Lippo Lippi the premier of examples of it. His allusions are taken from the unknown sources which are ordinary reader. Another demerit of his poetry is his telegraphic style. He omits different relatives, prepositions, articles and even pronoun when they are needed. And sometimes words are contracted, participles are clipped and vowels are suppressed. He is completely ignorant of grammatical and syntactical rules. Excusive use of parenthesis and long and heavily condensed sentences contribute to the obscurity of his style. His Grammarians Funeral buries not only the grammarian but also the grammar. Browning makes use of the grotesque to his full advantage. He often coins new words, uses unusual compounds and expressions. His style is too colloquial, jerky and abrupt. This use of the grotesque startles and catches the attention of the reader but often leads to obscurity as in Rabbi Ben Ezra.

No doubt, Browning has his faults. He is often dark and elliptical and lacks clarity and lucidity, often his love of the grotesque betrays him into unjustified excesses, but there is another side too, he positive aspect of his poetry. Browning is indeed gifted with an unlimited power of imagination which always embraces every real thing happing in human life. He is the pioneer of dramatic poetry in English literature. As a dramatic poet he treats the real experiences of men and women as well as the spiritual growth of these men. Mrs. Orr in her Handbook to Borrowings works says that Browning is dramatic as well as metaphysical. Metaphysical and dramatic are inseparable in the poetic genius of Browning. He is dramatic because he deals in the character and conduct of men and women in a completely living form. His use of language is completely in keeping with his mental state of his characters. Almost all his characters are going through a mental agony so their language is broken, obscure as / we see I Andra Del Sarto, Andreas weariness and boredom in conveyed by the use of a language lacking in action words. Another feature of his poetry is that Browning gives tone of conversational intimacy to his poetry. For this purpose, he makes use of the technique of enjambment and caesura(pause and Run-on). He involves the read as if he was witnessing something real and was a part of it. As in Andrea De Sarto and My Last Duchess, he makes us feel that in a finite moment of infinite significance, we are listening to a living person. Take for example the following lines I wonder do you feel to-day, As I have felt, since, hand in hand, we sat down on the grass, to stray. I spirit better through the land,, this morn of Rome and May.? Although, these lines are addressed to his wife yet they involve the reader as well/ Another quality of his verse is his optimism. He preaches a doctrine of strenuous Endeavour as in Andrea Del Sarto he says Ah, but a mans reach should exceed his grasp or whats heaven for He has a great hope and sympathy for all the human virtues. He makes use love not only the virtue but also the follies of human nature, as Reload remarks: He is one of the chosen band who rolled back, as far as England is concerned, the morbid pessimism, and the sickly disdain of so much of European literature during the 19th century. Another element of his poetry is the setting of the poem. In Andrea Del Sarto the time is which is totally in accord with the mood of Andera. Again in Fra Lippo Lippi, its night time which is the best time for religious contemplation. The use of the words such as grey, silver- grey, autumn reflect the inner atmosphere of his characters.

Pictorial element is also evident in his poetry as it is rich in the use of imager, similes, metaphors etc. his images are usually startling in their originality often they are drawn from the grotesque in nature. The concrete in used to clarify and make the render comprehend the abstract and obscure. The sun, the star and the moon are often the recurring symbols as in Andrea Del Sarto My face, my moon, my every bodys moon. Most importantly, his use of imagery is more functional than decorative. In Andrea Del Sarto , the phrase beauty, vividly brings out he destructive effect of Lucrezia on the soul of the husband. Another quality of Brownings poetry is the musical element that he produces by the use of words; a poet should, under no circumstance, sacrifice sense to sound. Hence he often seems to be careless of music and melody. Whenever sense sound combines, as they often do in his poetry, he is able to achieve music more melodious and much sweeter than can ever possible for those who care for sound alone. The greatness of Browning lies in the fact, he attempts at the subject who is so difficult to be explained or described. But he does it which a dexterity.