第16章

orinthisquatrainonPoetry，byayounglivingpoet

“Shecomeslikethehushtbeautyofthenight，Butseestoodeepforlaughter；

HertouchisavibrationandalightFromworldsbeforeandafter“

thereismore“profundity“inanyofthesethaninlibrariesof“SludgetheMedium“literature。Merehardthinkingdoesnotinvolveprofundity，anymorethanneuroticexcitationinvolvesspiritualecstasy。`Deprofundis’，indeed，mustthepoetcome：

theremustthedeeprhythmoflifehaveelectrifiedhis“volatileessence“

toalivingrhythmicjoy。Inthisdeepsense，andthisonly，thepoetisborn，notmade。Hemaylearntofashionanewthatwhichhehathseen：thedepthofhisinsightdependsuponthedepthofhisspiritualheritage。Ifwonderdwellnotinhiseyesandsoultherecanbeno“farken“forhim。HereitseemsapttopointoutthatBrowningwasthefirstwriterofourdaytoindicatethistransmutive，thisinspiredandinspiringwonder-spirit，whichisthedeepestmotorintheevolutionofourmodernpoetry。Characteristically，heputshisutteranceintothemouthofadreamyGermanstudent，theshadowySchrammwhoisbutmetaphysicsembodied，metaphysicsfindingaptexpressionintobacco-smoke：“Keepbuteverlooking，whetherwiththebody’seyeorthemind’s，andyouwillsoonfindsomethingtolookon!Hasamandonewonderingatwomen？therefollowmen，deadandalive，towonderat。Hashedonewonderingatmen？

there’sGodtowonderat：andthefacultyofwondermaybe，atthesametime，oldandtiredenoughwithrespecttoitsfirstobject，andyetyoungandfreshsufficiently，sofarasconcernsitsnovelone。“

Thiswonderisakintothat`insanity’ofthepoetwhichisbutimpassionedsanity。Platosumsthematterwhenhesays，“Hewho，havingnotouchoftheMuse’smadnessinhissoul，comestothedoorandthinkshewillgetintothetemplebythehelpofArt

he，Isay，andhispoetry，arenotadmitted。“

InthatsamewoodbeyondDulwichtowhichallusionhasalreadybeenmade，thegerminalmotiveof“PippaPasses“flasheduponthepoet。

Nowonderthisresortwasforlongoneofhissacredplaces，andthathelamenteditsdisappearanceasferventlyasRuskinbewailedtheencroachmentoftheoceanofbricksandmortaruponthewoodedprivaciesofDenmarkHill。

Saveforacoupleofbriefvisitsabroad，Browningspenttheyears，betweenhisfirstappearanceasadramaticwriterandhismarriage，inLondonandtheneighbourhood。Occasionallyhetooklongwalksintothecountry。Oneparticularpleasurewastoliebesideahedge，ordeepinmeadow-grasses，orunderatree，ascircumstancesandthemoodconcurred，andtheretogivehimselfupsoabsolutelytothelifeofthemomentthateventheshybirdswouldalightcloseby，andsometimesventuresomelypoisethemselvesonsuspiciouswingsforabriefspaceuponhisrecumbentbody。IhaveheardhimsaythathisfacultyofobservationatthattimewouldnothaveappeareddespicabletoaSeminoleoranIroquois：hesawandwatchedeverything，thebirdonthewing，thesnaildraggingitsshellupthependulouswoodbine，thebeeaddingtohisgoldentreasureasheswunginthebellsofthecampanula，thegreenflydartinghitherandthitherlikeananimatedseedling，thespiderweavinghergossamerfromtwigtotwig，thewoodpeckerheedfullyscrutinisingthelichenonthegnarledoak-bole，thepassageofthewindthroughleavesoracrossgrass，themotionsandshadowsoftheclouds，andsoforth。

Thesewerehisgoldenholidays。Muchoftherestofhistime，whennotpassedinhisroominhisfather’shouse，wherehewrotehisdramasandearlypoems，andstudiedforhoursdaily，wasspentintheLibraryoftheBritishMuseum，inanendlesscuriosityintothemoreorlessunbeatentracksofliterature。TheseLondonexperienceswerevariedbywholedaysspentattheNationalGallery，andincommunionwithkindredspirits。Atonetimehehadrooms，orratheraroom，intheimmediateneighbourhoodoftheStrand，whitherhecouldgowhenhewishedtobeintowncontinuouslyforatime，orwhenhehadanysocialortheatricalengagement。

Browning’slifeatthisperiodwasdistraughtbymorethanoneepisodeoftheheart。Itwouldbestrangewereitotherwise。

Hehadinnoordinarydegreearichandsensuousnature，andhisresponsivenesswassoquickthatthebarriersofprudencewereapttobeasshadowytohimastotheauthorof“TheWitchofAtlas“。

Buthewastheearneststudentforthemostpart，and，aboveall，thepoet。

Hisotherpleasure，inhishappyvagrantdays，wastojoincompanywithanytramps，gipsies，orotherwayfarers，andingoodfellowshipgainmuchknowledgeoflifethatwasusefulatalatertime。

Rusticentertainments，particularlyperipatetic“TheatresRoyal“，hadasingularfascinationforhim，asforthatmatterhadrusticoratory，whetherofthealehouseorthepulpit。Atoneperiodhetookthekeenestinterestinsectariesofallkinds：

andoftenheincurredagentlereprooffromhismotherbecauseofhisnomadpropensitiesinsearchof“PASTORSnew“。

Therewasevenatimewhenheseriouslydeliberatedwhetherheshouldnotcombineliteratureandreligiousministry，asFaradaycombinedevangelicalfervourwithscientificenthusiasm。

“’Twasagirlwitheyesliketwodreamsofnight“thatsavedhimfromhimself，anddefraudedtheChurchIndependentofastalwartorator。

Itwas，asalreadystated，whilehestrolledthroughDulwichWoodonedaythatthethoughtoccurredtohimwhichwastofinddevelopmentandexpressionin“PippaPasses“。“Theimageflasheduponhim，“writeshisintimatefriend，Mrs。SutherlandOrr，“ofsomeonewalkingthusalonethroughlife；

oneapparentlytooobscuretoleaveatraceofhisorherpassage，yetexercisingalastingthoughunconsciousinfluenceateverystepofit；

andtheimageshapeditselfintothelittlesilk-winderofAsolo，FelippaorPippa。“

Ithasalwaysseemedtomearadicalmistaketoinclude“PippaPasses“

amongBrowning’sdramas。Notonlyisitabsolutelyunactable，butessentiallyundramaticintheconventionalsense。Truedramaticwritingconcernsitselffundamentallywiththeaptconjunctionofevents，andthemorenearlyitapproximatestotheverityoflifethemorelikelyisittobeofimmediateappeal。Thereisa`vraieverite’

whichonlythepoet，evolvingfromdramaticconceptsratherthanattemptingtoconcentratetheseinaquick，movingverisimilitude，canattempt。

ThepassinghitherandthitherofPippa，likeabeneficentFate，awanderingchorusfromahigheramidthediscordantmedleyofalowerworld，changingthecircumstancesandeventhenaturesofcertainmoreorlessheedlesslistenersbythewildfreeliltofherhappysongofinnocence，isofthis`vraieverite’。Itissoobviouslytrue，spiritually，thatitisunrealinthecommonplaceofordinarylife。

Itsveryeffectivenessistooaptforthedramatist，whocanillaffordtotamperfurtherwiththeindifferentbanalitiesofactualexistence。

Thepoet，unhamperedbytheexigenciesofdramaticrealism，cansafely，andartistically，achieveanequallyexact，evenahigherverisimilitude，bymeanswhichare，orshouldbe，beyondadoptionbythedramatistproper。

Butoverandaboveany`nicediscrimination’，“PippaPasses“issimplyapoem，alyricalmasquewithintersperseddramaticepisodes，andsubsidiaryinterludesinprose。Thesuggestionrecentlymadethatitshouldbeactedisawhollyerrantone。Thefinestpartofitisunrepresentable。

Therestwouldconsistmerelyofaseriesoftableaux，withconversationalaccompaniment。

Theopeningscene，“thelargemeanairychamber，“wherePippa，thelittlesilk-winderfromthemillsatAsolo，springsfrombed，onherNewYear’sDay`festa’，andsoliloquisesasshedresses，isastrueasitislovelywhenviewedthroughtherainbowglowofthepoeticatmosphere：

buthowcoulditsucceedonthestage？Itisnotmerelythatthemonologueistoolong：itistooinapt，initspoeticrichness，foritspurpose。

Itisthepoet，notPippa，whoevokesthissweetsunrise-music，thisstrainofthe“longbluesolemnhoursserenelyflowing。“

Thedramaticpoetmayoccupyhimselfwiththatdeeperinsight，andthewiderexpressionofit，whichisproperlyaltogetherbeyondthescopeoftheplaywright。Inaword，hemayirradiatehisthemewiththelightthatneverwasonseaorland，norwillhetherebysacrificeaughtofessentialtruth：buthiscomrademustseetoitthatheiscontentwiththewideliberalairofthecommonday。

Thepoeticalchemistmayturnaswordintopuregold：

theplaywrightwillconcernhimselfwiththedueusageoftheweaponasweknowit，andattributetoitnotranscendentvalue，nomiraculousproperties。WhatispermissibletoBlake，paintingAdamandEveamongemboweringrosesandlilies，whilethesun，moon，andstarssimultaneouslyshine，isimpermissibletotheportrait-painterorthelandscapist，whohastoidealiseactualitytothepointonlyofartisticrealism，andnottotransmuteitattheoutsetfromhappily-perceivedconcretefactstoaglorifiedabstractconcept。

Inthisopeningmonologuethemuch-admiredsong，“AllserviceranksthesamewithGod，“isnosongatall，properly，butsimplyabeautifulshortpoem。

Fromthedramatist’spointofview，couldanythingbemoreshapedfordisasterthanthesecondofthetwostanzas？

“Saynot`asmallevent’!Why`small’？

Costsitmorepainthanthis，yecallA`greatevent’，shouldcometopass，Thanthat？UntwinemefromthemassOfdeedswhichmakeuplife，onedeedPowershallfallshortinorexceed!“

Thewholeofthislovelyprologueistheproductionofadramaticpoet，notofapoetwritingadrama。Ontheotherhand，IcannotagreewithwhatIreadsomewhererecentlythatSebald’ssong，attheopeningofthemostsuperbdramaticwritinginthewholerangeofVictorianliterature，is，inthecircumstances，whollyinappropriate。ItseemstomeentirelyconsistentwiththecharacterofOttima’srecklesslover。

HeisakintothegallantinoneofDumas’romances，wholingeredatopofthewalloftheprisonwhencehewasescapinginordertowhistletheconcludingbarofablithechansonoffreedom。