It wasn't a surprise to find out that Robert Browning was, according to the book, a symbol of obscurity. The more I read about his life and his works, the more I grew to dislike him. I found it very interesting that he was an individual who wanted his private life and poetry kept a secret, yet he was known as extremely flamboyant. On top of this, he wanted so very badly to be famous. Hmmmm. So, what does he do? He marries a famous, what?- you guessed it, poet. And, as you may have read in my earlier post about his wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, he was quick to ask her to do something he doesn't like to do. He asked her to publish very intimate poems that she wrote to him during their courtship. Doesn't this sound fishy? I mean, Robert was several years her junior, was dying to be recognized for his poetry, wanted his private life and poetry to be kept a secret (probably to add to his appeal), but had no reservations about asking his wife to publish private poems?!? It seems like Robert had ulterior motives when marrying Elizabeth.
When it comes to Robert Browning's works, well, I just flat-out didn't like them. Some of his works were just so ridiculous that it was near impossible to take them seriously. Clearly there are people out there that like the guy, or else he wouldn't be mentioned in our book, but in my opinion, he's grossly overrated. I'll use his work "Fra Lippo Lippi" as an example. Let me start by taking you back to the fact that Browning wanted to be famous. When people want to be famous, they usually go out of their way to make themselves different from everyone else. It's kind of like a goth kid who wears all black and pierces every piece of flesh s/he has. They do it to be noticed and different. "Fra Lippo Lippi" is the same. It seems like Browning went out of his way to create a poem that has little structure and no rhyme scheme. It's transparent. Here's an excerpt, and I'll let you judge it for yourself:
"Three streets off--he's a certain...how d'ye call?
Master--a...Cosimo of the Medici,
I' the house that caps the corner. Boh! you were best!
Remember and tell me the day you're hanged,
How you affected such a gullet's-gripe!" (p. 675)
I thought for a moment, "If I had never learned that Browning wanted to be famous, would I still dislike his writings?" After mulling it over, I decided, no, I would still not like them. However, I would dislike them for different reasons. As you can tell, I'm mostly disappointed in his attempt to be different, and thus, noticed. If I hadn't learned of his yearning to be famous, I would have disliked his writings for their choppiness.
All in all, I think Robert Browning has been the least of my favorites thus far.
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2 comments:
Daniel,
Several times I have noticed you judge poets harshly for wanting to be famous--why else do you think someone would decide to earn a living as a poet? Is is possible to succeed as an unread and unpopular poet? I wish you had provided some supporting evidence for your peculiar reading of the relationship between the Brownings, and for your attacks on him. I also wish you had gone further than merely quoting an example of his verse, and analyzed it in more depth and in context.
Well, as I pointed out earlier, the fact that he was known as someone who wanted to be a famous poet is no different than a rock star who is only in it for the fame and money. A lot of times, these people will do whatever it takes to get to that point. I guess I was just paralelling the two, and found it interesting that he would go and marry a famous poet. It implies (to me, I guess) that he had alterior motives. But please don't get me wrong, this was merely my take on him. They could have very well been in love, fame and poetry aside.
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