Introduction to Browning | Page 3

a 1910 printing.
This third edition was
originally published in 1886.]

Introduction to Browning
Hiram Corson
An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning's Poetry
by Hiram Corson, LL.D.,
Professor of English Literature in the Cornell University;
Author of
"An Introduction to the Study of Shakespeare", "A Primer of English
Verse, chiefly in its Aesthetic and Organic Character", "The Aims of
Literary Study", etc.
"Subtlest Assertor of the Soul in song."
{There are several Greek phrases in this book. ASCII cannot represent
the Greek characters, so if you are interested in these phrases, use the
following map. Hopefully these phrases will not be mistaken for
another language. . . .
ASCII to Greek
A,a alpha
B,b beta
G,g gamma
D,d delta
E,e epsilon
Z,z zeta

H,h eta
Q,q theta
I,i iota
K,k kappa
L,l lambda
M,m mi/mu

N,n ni/nu
J,j ksi/xi
O,o omikron/omicron
P,p pi
R,r rho

S,s,c sigma
T,t tau
U,u ypsilon/upsilon
F,f phi
X,x chi/khi
Y,y
psi
W,w omega
',`,/,\,^ Accents, follow the vowel. You figure them out.}
{The following is transcribed from a letter (from Browning to Corson)
which Corson chose to use in facsimile form to begin his text.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), it will be regular text here.}
19. Warwick Crescent.
W.
Dec. 28. '86

My dear Dr. Corson,
I waited some days after the arrival of your Book and Letter, thinking I
might be able to say more of my sense of your goodness: but I can do
no more now than a week ago. You "hope I shall not find too much to
disapprove of": what I ought to protest against, is "a load to sink a navy
-- too much honor": how can I put aside your generosity, as if cold
justice -- however befitting myself -- would be in better agreement with
your nature? Let it remain as an assurance to younger poets that, after
fifty years' work unattended by any conspicuous recognition, an
over-payment may be made, if there be such another munificent
appreciator as I have been privileged to find, in which case let them,
even if more deserving, be equally grateful.
I have not observed anything in need of correction in the notes. The
"little Tablet" was a famous "Last Supper", mentioned by Vasari, (page.
232), and gone astray long ago from the Church of S. Spirito: it turned
up, according to report, in some obscure corner,
while I was in
Florence, and was at once acquired by a stranger. I saw it, genuine or
no, a work of great beauty. (Page 156.) "A canon", in music, is a piece
wherein the subject is repeated -- in various keys: and being strictly
obeyed in the repetition, becomes the "Canon" -- the imperative law --
to what follows. Fifty of such parts would be indeed a notable peal:
to
manage three is enough of an achievement for a good musician.
And now, -- here is Christmas: all my best wishes go to you and Mrs
Corson. Those of my sister also. She was indeed suffering from grave
indisposition in the summer, but is happily recovered. I could not
venture, under the circumstances, to expose
her convalescence to the
accidents of foreign travel:
hence our contenting ourselves with
Wales rather than Italy. Shall you be again induced to visit us? Present
or absent, you will remember me always, I trust, as
Yours most
affectionately
Robert
Browning.
"Quanta subtilitate ipsa corda hominum reserat, intimos mentis

recessus explorat, varios animi motus perscrutatur.
Quod ad
tragoediam antiquiorem attinet, interpretatus est,
uti nostis omnes,
non modo Aeschylum quo nemo sublimior,
sed etiam Euripidem quo
nemo humanior; quo fit ut etiam illos qui Graece nesciunt, misericordia
tangat Alcestis,
terrore tangat Hercules. Recentiora argumenta tragica
cum lyrico quodam scribendi genere coniunxit, duas Musas et
Melpomenen et Euterpen simul veneratus. Musicae miracula quis
dignius cecinit? Pictoris Florentini sine fraude vitam quasi inter
crepuscula vesperascentem coloribus quam vividis depinxit. Vesperi
quotiens, dum foco adsidemus, hoc iubente resurgit Italia. Vesperi
nuper, dum huius idyllia forte meditabar, Cami inter arundines mihi
videbar vocem magnam audire clamantis, Pa
o` me/gas ou' te/qnhken.
Vivit adhuc Pan ipse, cum Marathonis memoria et Pheidippidis
velocitate immortali consociatus." -- Eulogium pronounced by Mr. J. E.
Sandys, Public Orator at the University of Cambridge, on presenting
Mr. Browning for the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, June 10,
1879.
PREFACE.
The purpose of the present volume is to afford some aid and guidance
in the study of Robert Browning's Poetry, which, being the most
complexly subjective of all English poetry, is, for that reason alone, the
most difficult.