SORDELLO, a narrative poem by Robert Browning (q.v.), first published in 1840. It is based on the study of an historical but indefi nite character, Sordello, the most celebrated of the Italian troubadours, b. Mantua, at the be ginning of the 13th century, who owes his fame to the works of later poets from Dante to Browning rather than to the original ity of his adventures or to the excellencies of his verse, chief of which are the didactic poem 'L'Ensenhamen d'onor,' some love songs and satires. Like (Paracelsus,) published in 1835, Browning makes his a study in the psychology of genius, illustrating its besetting temptations. Sordello the poet, distracted be tween the demands of idealism and imagina tion and the desire to utter the thoughts of humankind, finally gives up poetry for practical politics and gets into difficulties which can only be solved by his death. Browning is said to have devoted more time to Sordello than to any other work, and probably became so famil iar with the story which he set out to tell that he failed to make allowance for the general reader, for the obscurity generally complained of in his verse reached its climax in 'Sordello.'
This is owing to the subtlety and intricacy of the psychological expositions as well as to the vagueness with which the story is rather hinted than told. The obscurity of his style and philosophical subtleties, due it is believed to Germanic tendencies inherited from the mater nal grandfather, injured his literary reputation with the reviewers, and it was not surprising that ordinary readers were puzzled and indiffer ent, and that the general recognition of his genius was long delayed by the reputation he acquired for obscurity. Sordello, however, with its powerful analysis of character and appre ciation of the subtler springs of conduct, ex hibited all the qualifications of a great drama tist. Abounding in descriptive passages of genuine poetry, the subtlety and vigor of thought are surprising and justify the fre quent comparisons of higher critics to Shakes peare.