Browning's Shorter Poems Part 31

117. =be named=. That is, known, or distinguished.

124. =Was I= (whom) =the world arraigned=. Browning frequently omits the relative.

139-144. Compare lines 36-41. Note here and elsewhere in this poem the frequent repet.i.tion, and variation of the same idea.

151. =Potter's wheel=. The figure of the _Potter's wheel_ is frequent in Oriental literature. See Isaiah lxiv. 8, and Jeremiah xviii, 2-6; see also Fitzgerald's _Rubaiyat_, stanzas x.x.xvii, x.x.xviii, lx.x.xii-xc.

169-171. In the period of youth.

172-174. In old age.

What cares agitate youth? Why is it better so? Wherein does man partake of the nature of G.o.d? What plea is made for the "value and significance of flesh"? Show how Browning denies the doctrine of asceticism. What is meant by "the whole design," line 56? Why does Rabbi Ben Ezra pause at the threshold of old age? What has youth achieved? What advantage has old age? What are its pleasures? Its employments? Explain the figure in lines 91-5. By what are the man and his work to be judged? Compare the use of the figure of the Potter's wheel with that in the Old Testament. What has Browning added? Point out the element of optimism in the poem. How does its view of old age differ from the pagan view? See Browning's _Cleon_.

A GRAMMARIAN'S FUNERAL. (PAGE 143.)

The Grammarian is a type of the early scholars who gave to Europe the treasures of Greek thought by translating the ma.n.u.scripts recovered after the fall of Constantinople. The time is therefore the Renaissance, the latter part of the fifteenth century, and the place probably Italy. The Grammarian was a scholar and thinker, not a mere student of grammar in the modern sense.

23. =Our low life=. Lacking the learning and high endeavor of their master.

45-46. =the world bent on escaping=. That is, the world of the past.

48. =shaping=, their mind and character.

97-98. Compare with lines 65-72, 77-84, and 103-4.

129-131. The Greek particles [Greek: oti, oun, and de.]

Describe the scene and action of the poem. Note the march-like and irregular movement of the verse: does it fit the theme? Why do they carry the Grammarian up from the plain? What was his work? What was his aim? What is the value of such work (1) in presenting an ideal of life, (2) in the history of culture? What circ.u.mstances in his life enhance his praise? Did he make any mistake? Does Browning think so? How does Browning defend him? What imagery in the poem seems especially effective? Are you reminded of anything in "Rabbi Ben Ezra"? Criticise the rhymes and metre.

ANDREA DEL SARTO. (PAGE 149.)

An Italian painter, of the Florentine school; born 1487, died 1531.

His merits and defects as an artist are given in the poem. The crime to which he is here made to refer was the use, for building himself a house, of the money intrusted to him by the French king for the purchase of works of art. For an account of his life and work see the article in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, and Vasari's _Lives of the Painters_.

15. =Fiesole= (p.r.o.nounced Fe-[='a]-so-l[ve]). A small Italian town near Florence.

119. =Rafael=. The great painter, Raphael (1483-1520).

130. =Agnolo=. Michael Angelo (1475-1584), one of Italy's greatest men: famous as sculptor, painter, architect, and poet.

150. =Fontainebleau=. A town southeast of Paris, formerly the residence of French kings, and still famous for its Renaissance architecture and for the landscapes around it.

241. =scudi=. The _scudo_ is an Italian silver coin worth about one dollar.

262. =Leonard=. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), another of Italy's great men: artist, poet, musician, and scientist.

Construct the scene and action of the poem. How does the coloring harmonize with the artist's mood? Why is he weary? How does he think of his art: what merit has it? What does it lack? How does he explain this lack? What clew to it does his life afford? Is his art soulless because he has done wrong? Or, do the lack of soul in his painting, and the wrongdoing, and the infatuation with Lucrezia's beauty, all arise from the same thing,--the man's own nature? Does he appeal to your sympathy, or provoke your condemnation? Does he blame himself, or another, or circ.u.mstances?

What idea have you of Lucrezia? What does she think of Andrea? Of his art? What things does he desire of her?

What problems of life are here presented? Which is princ.i.p.al: the relation of man and woman, the need of _soul_ for great work, or the interrelation between character and achievement? Or, is there something else for which the poem stands?

Can you cite any lines that embody the main idea of the poem? Does anything in it remind you of _The Grammarian_, or of _Rabbi Ben Ezra?_

CALIBAN UPON SETEBOS. (PAGE 161.)

Setebos was the G.o.d of Caliban's mother, the witch Sycorax, on Prospero's island.

Read Shakespeare's _The Tempest_. Observe especially all that is said by or about Caliban. Observe that Browning makes Caliban usually speak of himself in the third person, and prefixes an apostrophe to the initial verb, as in the first line.

Tylor's _Primitive Culture_ and _Early History of Mankind_ give interesting accounts of the religions of savages.

How is Caliban's savage nature indicated in the opening scene? What things does he think Setebos has made? From what motives? What limit to the power of Setebos? Why does Caliban imagine these limits? How does Setebos govern? Out of what materials does Caliban build his conceptions of his deity? Why does he fear him? How does he propitiate him? Why is he terrified at the end? Compare this pa.s.sage with the latter part of the Book of Job. What, in general, is the meaning of the poem? Can you cite anything in the history of religions to parallel Caliban's theology?

"CHILDE ROLAND TO THE DARK TOWER CAME." (PAGE 174.)

When Browning was asked by Rev. Dr. J.W. Chadwick whether the central idea of this poem was constancy to an ideal,--"He that endureth to the end shall be saved,"--he answered, "Yes, just about that."

4-5. =to afford suppression of=. To suppress.

11. ='gin write=. Write.

48. =its estray=. That is, Childe Roland himself.

66. =my prisoners=. Those who had met their death on the plain? Or, its imprisoned vegetation?

68. =bents=. A kind of gra.s.s.

70. =as=. As if.

91. =Not it!= Memory did not give hope and solace.

106. =howlet=. A small owl.

114. =bespate=. Spattered.

133. =cirque=. A circle or enclosure.

137. =galley-slaves= whom =the Turk=, etc.

140. =engine=. Machine.

143. =Tophet=. h.e.l.l.

160. =Apollyon=. The Devil.