Robert Browning
Comments & Themes
- What kinds of meter and other poetic forms does Robert Browning use? How would you describe Browning's language? Is it a typically poetical language or rather it is quite un-poetic?
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the dramatic monologue form. What kinds of subject matter does it best address? Explain the relationship between drama and poetry.
- How do Browning's dramatic monologues change over the course of his career? Compare an early poem like "Porphyria's Lover" to a later one like "Andrea del Sarto" or "Fra Lippo Lippi" in terms of subject matter, structure, and language.
- Would you say that Browning is a Romantic poet, or is he a post-Romantic author?
- Discuss why most of Browning's poems are set well after the main action they describe. What is the difference between Browning's choice and that of setting the poem at the time of action? Why does he make the poem a musing memory?