Browning and the Dramatic MonologueCurry, S. S. (Samuel Silas)
History
Browning and the Dramatic Monologue
Curry, S. S. (Samuel Silas)
Browning, Robert, 1812-1889 -- Criticism and interpretation; Dramatic monologues -- History and criticism
In some cases Browning gives no indication by even quotation marks that
the speaker is echoing words of the hearer. The attitude of the listener
must be varied by the dramatic instinct of the reader. The grasp of the
situation greatly depends upon this. It is one of the most important
aspects of the dramatic instinct. ("Up at a Villa--Down in the City," see
p. 65.) "Why" and "What of a Villa" certainly refers to the words, or at
least the attitude, of the listener, which is realized from the manner of
the speaker.
In the same poem the question "Is it ever hot in the square?" may be the
echo of a word or a thought of the listener. In this case the speaker
would answer it more abruptly and positively when he says, "There is a
fountain to spout and splash." If, on the contrary, the thought is his
own, and comes up naturally in his mind as one of the points in his
description or as a result of living over his experience down in the city,
he would give it less abruptly, with less force or emphasis. In general, a
quotation or the echo of the words of a listener are given by the speaker
with a different manner.
Tennyson, though the fact is often overlooked, has written many
monologues.
Some readers give "Lady Clara Vere de Vere" as a mere story. Is there,
then, no thought of the character of the yeoman who is talking with
burning indignation at the death of his friend?
LADY CLARA VERE DE VERE
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
Of me you shall not win renown:
You thought to break a country heart
For pastime, ere you went to town.
At me you smiled, but unbeguiled
I saw the snare, and I retired:
The daughter of a hundred earls,
You are not one to be desired.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
I know you proud to bear your name,
Your pride is yet no mate for mine,
Too proud to care from whence I came.
Nor would I break for your sweet sake
A heart that doats on truer charms.
A simple maiden in her flower
Is worth a hundred coats of arms.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
Some meeker pupil you must find,
For were you queen of all that is,
I could not stoop to such a mind.
You sought to prove how I could love,
And my disdain is my reply.
The lion on your old stone gates
Is not more cold to you than I.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
You put strange memories in my head;
Nor thrice your branching limes have blown
Since I beheld young Laurence dead.
Oh, your sweet eyes, your low replies:
A great enchantress you may be:
But there was that across his throat
Which you had hardly cared to see.
Lady Clara Vere de Vere,
When thus he met his mother's view,
She had the passions of her kind,
She spake some certain truths of you.
Indeed I heard one bitter word
That scarce is fit for you to hear:
Her manners had not that repose
Which stamps the caste of Vere de Vere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account