3. Why does nature fail to comfort human beings in this type of sorrow? 4. Was Tennyson interested in social and political problems? 5. To what Scriptural event yet to be fulfilled does "Ring in the Christ that is to be" refer? 6. What traits of character does Tennyson exhibit in this poem? 7. The marriage introduced toward the close of the poem helps to present Tennyson's eventual reconciliation with the earthly separation from his friend. 8. In this marriage scene is Tennyson addressing his dead friend, or other persons? What phrases refer unmistakably to Hallam? FOR REFERENCE "Tennyson and his Friends."--TENNYSON. "The Story of the Idylls of the King."--MCFEE. "Essays in Biography and Criticism."--BAYNE. "Tennyson, his Homes, his Friends and his Work."--CARY. "Literary Leaders of Modern England."--DAWSON. "Men I Have Known."--FARRAR. "Poets in the Pulpit."--HAWEIS. "Nature Knowledge in Modern Poetry."--MACKIE. "The Poetry of Tennyson."--VAN DYKE. "Tennyson" ("English Men of Letters Series").--LYALL. ROBERT BROWNING (1812-1889) Of German descent, Browning was, like so many other famous English writers, a native of London. His father was a ready versifier and his mother an accomplished musician, and they encouraged in every possible manner the appearance of like talent in their son. In his youth he drank deep of those fountains of romanticism, Byron, Shelley, and Keats. His schooling finished and the tour of the Continent made, he devoted his life to literature, producing a number of dramatic poems of more or less merit. It was not, however, until the period 1841 to 1846 that, by the publication of the series of poems entitled "Bells and Pomegranates," which included "Pippa Passes," he attained any great literary fame. The latter play attracted the attention of Miss Barrett, and led to an acquaintance which resulted in their marriage in 1846. The Brownings left at once for Florence, Italy, where they led an ideal married life until the death of Mrs. Browning in 1861. Like his wife, he took a great interest in Italy, and after her death his time was divided between England, where his son was being educated, and Italy. In the years immediately following Mrs. Browning's death, he composed "The Ring and the Book," a long epic poem commonly accounted his masterpiece; he continued writing until his death in 1889, his last work being published as he lay on his deathbed. Browning was a short, stocky, active man, mingling freely with all classes of society and totally unlike the generality of poets. His works largely reflect the man, one noticeable feature being the entire absence of poetic melancholy. Browning and Tennyson loomed above all the other poets of their day, and their comparative merits were a fertile source of argument even then. Both men were, however, too large to be affected by such considerations, and their relations were always of the most cordial nature.