The English poet and playwright Robert Browning is more widely known in Europe than in Russia. He holds a place of honor among the writers of the Victorian era. The works of Robert Browning are expressed in poetry, dramatic monologues, poems with vivid characters and philosophical overtones.
Childhood and adolescence of Robert Browning
Robert Browning was born on May 7, 1812 in Camberwell, near London, England. His father, a senior clerk at the Bank of England, provided his family with a comfortable existence and instilled in Robert a love of art and literature. The boy's mother, a talented non-professional pianist, taught her son to appreciate music. A religious nature, she gave Robert a belief in the existence of God.
Robert attended elementary school until the age of 14, but the boy's parents decided to transfer him to home schooling. In addition to his usual academic subjects, Robert practiced horse riding, fencing, boxing, singing and dancing. Since the family in which the future poet grew up was small and close-knit, Robert spent a lot of time in his father's library, which consisted of more than seven thousand publications.
Robert's father loved ancient Greek tragedies, so he decorated the living room in a similar style in honor of Homer's favorite poem about Troy.
Early work of Robert Browning
Robert began to write his first poems at the age of 6, and already in 1833 he anonymously published his poem "Pauline: A Fragment of Confession". Not too approving criticism of the poet's debut work did not stop, and in 1835 he published the dramatic poem "Paracelsus". Its protagonist was the Renaissance alchemist. Although Robert Browning himself later called this work a failure, the poem received positive reviews.
Gradually, the creative career of the young poet is gaining momentum, and he meets other authors: the English poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), the British writer Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and the English writer and actor William Charles McCready (1793-1873). Inspired by new acquaintances, especially with Macready, Browning focuses on drama. His first stage work, Strafford, lasted five performances. Over the next ten years, he wrote 6 more scripts, none of which were successful with viewers.
In 1838, Browning traveled to the northern part of Italy to get to know this sunny country and convey the whole atmosphere in his new poem. However, the publication of Sordello in 1840 was a disaster in the growing career of the young poet and writer. Critics found this creation completely incomprehensible and unreadable.
After disappointing critical and reader reviews of Strafford and Sordello, Browning concentrated on using dramatic monologues. Robert experimented with the play Pippa Walks By (1841) and the collections of poetry Dramatic Lyrics (1842), Dramatic Poems (1845). Such monologues gave the main characters complete freedom of expression associated with a certain dramatic event in the work.
Later work of Robert Browning
In 1855 Browning published a collection of poems in two volumes, Men and Women. Despite the fact that Robert's work included a large number of dramatic monologues, the collection became popular, loved by many modern readers, and collected several rave reviews from literary critics.
In 1864, Robert Browning publishes his new work "Dramatis personae", which has found its recognition in all circles of society.
The author's solid reputation was consolidated after the publication of the long novel in verse "The Ring and the Book" in 1868-1869. What happens in the poem is partly based on real events that took place in 1698 in Italy. The action takes place in Rome around one murder and subsequent justice. The poem is based on 12 dramatic monologues, in which each of the main characters gives their own interpretation of the crime. According to the author's idea, the dialogues of the characters are contradictory, and the truth is revealed only at the end of the work.
Through this work, Robert Browning cemented his position in reading circles and became an important figure in London society. Browning has become a frequent guest at various events, dinners, concerts and receptions. For the next 10 years, Robert Browning was active creatively, publishing his work almost every year. But none of them became more famous than the poem "Men and Women".
Personal life of Robert Browning
Delighted with the work of the English poet Elizabeth Barrett, Robert wrote her a letter in January 1845. Correspondence began between them. On May 20, 1845, Browning pays her first visit. A deep affection develops between Robert and Elizabeth.
However, the poet's father was of strict morals and forbade his children to marry and get married. Therefore, on September 12, 1846, the couple got married in complete secrecy. Shortly after marriage, the couple left London and moved to Italy, where they lived in Florence from 1847 to 1861.
On March 9, 1849, a son, Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, is born into a family of poets.
Gradually, the health of the famous poet's wife began to deteriorate. Elizabeth died on June 29, 1861 in her husband's arms. Darkened by this event, Robert Browning decides to change the scene, leave Florence and return back to England.
The English poet himself died on December 12, 1889.
