第18章

Thatthepoemcontainsmuchwhichisbeautifulisundeniable，alsothatitissurchargedwithwinsomeandprofoundthoughtsandamultitudeofwill-o’-the-wisp-likefancieswhichallshapetowardshighthinking。

ButitismonotonousasoneoftheenormousAmericaninlandseastoaloveroftheocean，towhomthesaltbrineisasthebreathofdelight。

Thefatalfacilityoftheheroiccouplettolapseintodiffuseness，has，coupledwithawarpedanxietyforirreducibleconcision，beenBrowning’sruinhere。

Thereisonechargeevenyettoofrequentlymadeagainst“Sordello“，thatof“obscurity“。Itsinterestmaybefoundremote，itstreatmentverbose，itsintricaciespuzzlingtothoseunaccustomedtoexcursionsfromthefamiliarhighwaysofoldusage，butitsmotivethoughtisnotobscure。Itisamoonlitplaincomparedwiththe“silvaoscura“ofthe“DivinaCommedia“。

SurelythisquestionofBrowning’sobscuritywasexpelledtotheLimboofDeadStupiditieswhenMr。Swinburne，inperiodsasresplendentasthewhirlingwheelsofPhoebusApollo’schariot，wrotehisfamousincidentalpassageinhis“EssayonChapman“。

Tooprobably，inthedimdisintegratingfuturewhichwillreduceallouro’ertopplingextremes，“Sordello“willbeaslittlereadas“TheFaerieQueene“，and，similarly，onlyforthegleamofthequenchlesslampsamiditslongdesertedalleysandstatelyavenues。

Sadlyenough，fortopoetsitwillalwaysbeanunforgottenland

acontinentwithamaranth-hauntedValesofTempe，where，asSpensersaysinoneoftheAecloguesof“TheShepherd’sCalendar“，theywillthereoftentimes“sittenasdrounedindreme。“

Ithas，forthosewhoarenotrepelled，acharmallitsown。

Iknowofnootherpoeminthelanguagewhichisatoncesowearisomeandsoseductive。Howcanoneexplainparadoxes？

Thereisacharm，orthereisnone：thatiswhatitamountsto，foreachindividual。`Tuttigaisogusti，emigoimii’

“everybodyfollowshistaste，andIfollowmine，“astheVenetiansaying，quotedbyBrowningattheheadofhisRawdonBrownsonnet，hasit。

Allthatneedbeknownconcerningtheframeworkof“Sordello“，andoftherealSordellohimself，willbefoundinthevariousBrowninghand-books，inMr。Nettleship’sandotherdissertations，and，particularly，inMrs。Dall’smostcircumspectandablehistoricalessay。

ItissufficientheretosaythatwhiletheSordelloandPalmaofthepoetaretraceableintheCunizzaandthestrangecomet-likeSordellooftheItalianandProvencalChronicles(whohashissecureimmortality，byDantesetforthinleonineguise`aguisadileonquandosiposa’

inthe“Purgatorio“)，boththesearethemostshadowyofprototypes。

TheSordelloofBrowningisatypicalpoeticsoul：thenarrativeoftheincidentsinthedevelopmentofthissoulisadaptedtothehistoricalsettingfurnishedbytheaforesaidChronicles。

SordelloisafarmoreprofoundstudythanAprilein“Paracelsus“，inwhom，however，heisobviouslyforeshadowed。TheradicalflawinhisnatureisthatindicatedbyGoetheofHeine，that“hehadnoheart。“

Thepoemisthenarrativeofhistranscendentaspirations，andmoreorlessfutileaccomplishment。

Itwouldbevaintoattempthereanyadequateexcerptionoflinesofsingularbeauty。Readersfamiliarwiththepoemwillrecallpassageafterpassageamongwhichthereisprobablynonemorewidelyknownthanthegrandiosesunsetlines：

“Thatautumnevewasstilled：

AlastremainsofsunsetdimlyburnedO’erthefarforests，likeatorch-flameturnedBythewindbackuponitsbearer’shandInonelongflareofcrimson；asabrand，Thewoodsbeneathlayblack。“……

Whathauntinglinesthereare，everyhereandtheresuchasthoseofPalma，withhergoldenhairlikespiltsunbeams，orthoseonElys，withher“FewfinelocksColouredlikehoneyoozedfromtopmostrocksSun-blanchedthelivelongsummer，“

orthese，“DaybydayNewpollenonthelily-petalgrows，Andstillmorelabyrinthinebudstherose“

or，oncemore，“Atouchdivine

Andthesealedeyeballownsthemysticrod；

VisiblythroughhisgardenwalkethGod“

But，thoughsorelytempted，Imustnotquotefurther，saveonlytheconcludinglinesoftheunparalleledandimpassionedaddresstoDante：

“Dante，paceroftheshoreWheregluttedhelldisgorgethfilthiestgloom，Unbittenbyitswhirringsulphur-spume，OrwhencethegrievedandobscurewatersslopeIntoadarknessquietedbyhope；

PluckerofamaranthsgrownbeneathGod’seyeIngracioustwilightswherehischosenlie“

Itisafairland，forthosewhohavelingeredinitsbyways：

but，alas，atroubledtideofstrangemetres，ofdesperaterhythms，ofwildconjunctions，ofpanic-strickencollocations，oftentimesoverwhelmsit。“Sordello“grewunderthepoet’sfashioningtill，likethemagicvapouroftheArabianwizard，itpassedbeyondhiscontrol，“voluminouslyvast。“

Itisnotthetruestadmirersofwhatisgoodinitwhowillrefusetosmileatthemiseriesofconscientiousbutbaffledreaders。

WhocanfailtosympathisewithDouglasJerroldwhen，slowlyconvalescentfromaseriousillness，hefoundamongsomenewbookssenthimbyafriendacopyof“Sordello“。

ThomasPowell，writingin1849，haschronicledtheepisode。

Afewlines，hesays，putJerroldinastateofalarm。

Sentenceaftersentencebroughtnoconsecutivethoughttohisbrain。

Atlasttheideaoccurredtohimthatinhisillnesshismentalfacultieshadbeenwrecked。Theperspirationrolledfromhisforehead，andsmitinghisheadhesankbackonthesofa，crying，“OGod，IAManidiot!“Alittlelater，addsPowell，whenJerrold’swifeandsisterentered，hethrust“Sordello“intotheirhands，demandingwhattheythoughtofit。Hewatchedthemintentlywhiletheyread。

WhenatlastMrs。Jerroldremarked，“Idon’tunderstandwhatthismanmeans；

itisgibberish，“herdelightedhusbandgaveasighofreliefandexclaimed，“ThankGod，IamNOTanidiot!“

ManyfriendsofBrowningwillrememberhisrecountingthisincidentalmostintheseverywords，andhisenjoymenttherein：

thoughhewouldneveradmitjustificationforsuchpuzzlement。

ButmoreillustriouspersonagesthanDouglasJerroldwerepuzzledbythepoem。

LordTennysonmanfullytackledit，butheisreportedtohaveadmittedinbitternessofspirit：“TherewereonlytwolinesinitthatIunderstood，andtheywerebothlies；theyweretheopeningandclosinglines，`WhowillmayhearSordello’sstorytold，’and`WhowouldhasheardSordello’sstorytold!’“Carlylewasequallycandid：“Mywife，“hewrites，“hasreadthrough`Sordello’withoutbeingabletomakeoutwhether`Sordello’wasaman，oracity，orabook。“

Inanarticleonthispoem，inaFrenchmagazine，M。OdysseBarotquotesapassagewherethepoetsays“Godgavemantwofaculties“

andadds，“IwishwhileHewasaboutit(`pendantqu’iletaitentrain’)

Godhadsuppliedanotherviz。，thepowerofunderstandingMr。Browning。“

AndwhodoesnotrememberthesadexperienceofgenerousanddelightfulGileadP。Beck，in“TheGoldenButterfly“：how，after“FifineattheFair“，frightfulsymptomssetin，tillindespairhetookup“RedCottonNightcapCountry“，andfellforhoursintoadullcomatosemisery。

“Hiseyeswerebloodshot，hishairwaspushedindisorderabouthishead，hischeekswereflushed，hishandsweretrembling，thenervesinhisfaceweretwitching。Thenhearose，andsolemnlycursedRobertBrowning。

Andthenhetookallhisvolumes，and，disposingthemcarefullyinthefireplace，setlighttothem。`Iwish，’hesaid，`thatIcouldputthepoettheretoo。’“Oneotheranecdoteofthekindwasoften，withevidenthumorousappreciation，recountedbythepoet。

OnhisintroductiontotheChineseAmbassador，asa“brother-poet“，heaskedthatdignitarywhatkindofpoeticexpressionheparticularlyaffected。Thegreatmandeliberated，andthenrepliedthathispoetrymightbedefinedas“enigmatic“。

Browningatonceadmittedhisfraternalkinship。

Thathewashimselfawareoftheshortcomingsof“Sordello“asaworkofartisnotdisputable。In1863，Mrs。Orrsays，heconsideredtheadvisabilityof“rewritingitinamoretransparentmanner，butconcludedthatthelabourwouldbedisproportionatetotheresult，andcontentedhimselfwithsummarisingthecontentsofeach`book’inacontinuousheading，whichrepresentsthemainthreadofthestory。“

TheessentialmanlinessofBrowningisevidentinthefamousdedicationtotheFrenchcriticMilsand，whowasamonghisearlyadmirers。

“Myownfaultsofexpressionweremany；butwithcareforamanorbooksuchwouldbesurmounted，andwithoutitwhatavailsthefaultlessnessofeither？

Iblamenobody，leastofallmyself，whodidmybestthenandsince。“

Whateverbethefateof“Sordello“，onethingpertinenttoitshallsurvive：

thememorablesentenceinthededicatorypreface“Mystresslayontheincidentsinthedevelopmentofasoul：littleelseisworthstudy。“

Thepoemhasdisastrousfaults，butisamagnificentfailure。

“Vastasnight，“toborrowasimilefromVictorHugo，but，likenight，innumerouslystarred。