The lover denies the evanescence of human love. He implies that in some future time the love will reappear and be rewarded. Browning's optimism lays hold sometimes of the present, sometimes of the future, for the fulfilment of its hope. Especially strong is his "sense of the continuity of life." "There shall never be one lost good," he makes Abt Vogler say. The charm of this poem is more, perhaps, in its tenderness of tone and purity of atmosphere than in its doctrine of optimism. LOVE AMONG THE RUINS. (PAGE 43.) This poem was written in Rome in the winter of 1853-1854. The scene is the Roman Campagna. The verse has a softness and a melody unusual in Browning. Compare its structure with that of Holmes's _The Last Leaf_. Note the elements of pastoral peace and gentleness in the opening, and in the coloring of the scene. What two scenes are brought into contrast? Note how the scenes alternate throughout the poem, and how each scene is gradually developed according to the ordinary laws of description. What ideals are thus compared? What does the poem mean? MISCONCEPTIONS. (PAGE 47.) 11. =Dalmatic=. A robe worn by mediaeval kings on solemn occasions, and still worn by deacons at the mass in the Roman Catholic church. The lyric order appears sharply developed here in the parallelism of the two stanzas. Point out this parallelism of idea. Does it fail at any point? Note the chivalrous absence of reproach by the lover. Observe the climax up to which each stanza leads, and the climax within the last line of each stanza. NATURAL MAGIC. (PAGE 48.) 5. =Nautch=. An Indian dancing-girl, to whom Browning ascribes the skill of a magician. The poem celebrates the transforming and life-giving power of affection. Note the abrupt and excited manner of utterance, and how the speaker begins in the midst of things. He has already told his story once, when the poem opens. Note also the parallelism of structure, as in _Misconceptions_, the climax in each stanza, and the echo in the last line of each. Tell the story in the common order of prose narrative. APPARITIONS. (PAGE 49.) Study the development of the idea in the same manner as in _Misconceptions_ and _Natural Magic_. Note the felicity of imagery and diction. A WALL. (PAGE 50.) The clew to the meaning is to be sought in the last two stanzas. This is one of the best examples of Browning's "assertion of the soul in song." CONFESSIONS. (PAGE 51.) First construct the scene of the poem. What has the priest said? What is the sick man's answer? What evidence is there that his imagination is struggling to recall the old memory? What view of life does the priest offer, and he reject? Does Browning indicate his preference for either view, or tell the story impartially? A WOMAN'S LAST WORD. (PAGE 53.)