BROWNING, Robert, English poet: b. Camberwell, a suburb of London, 7 May 1812; d. Venice, 12 Dec. 1889. His father, Robert who was a clerk in the Bank of England, and was himself a lover of books, a classical scholar and ready at versifying, had the boy educated in a school at Peckham, after which he attended lectures at University College. His father's family being Dissenters, his mind was trained and his character formed under influences less peculiarly English than those to which youths are exposed in the great public schools and the two leading universities of that country. At the age of 20 he traveled on the Continent and resided for some time in Italy, where he made diligent study of the mediaeval history of that country, so fruitful in themes for poetry such as his genius was to produce. In 1833 he pub lished anonymously his first book, 'Pauline'; spent some months in Russia, in 1834; and in the following year issued 'Paracelsus,' a dramatic poem in five parts. In 1837, at the suggestion of Macready, he wrote the tragedy of 'Strafford,' which was produced at Covent Garden in May of the same year, with no marked success. His next poem,
dramatic monologues, of which there were 17. include 'Rabbi Ben Ezra,' 'Abt Vogler,' 'Pro __ _ _ spice,' upon Setebos' and (A Death in the Desert.> Recognition of his literary fame, which came slowly, was made in 1867, when he was elected an honorary fellow of Balliol, an M.A. of Oxford, and later an LL.D. of Cambridge. It was not, however, until 1869, that (The Ring and the Book' was published, and this poem, which accentuates every char acteristic of the poet, still remains his central achievement. The poem, which is epical in length if not in method, is the story of a murder told 10 times over in wide variety of intention by various persons connected with the tragedy. His next publication was the short poem of (Herve the proceeds from which were devoted to the relief of Paris after the siege in 1871. Following this came 'Balaustion's Ad venture' (1871), including a translation of Euripides' 'Alcestis' ; (Prince Hohenstiel Schwangau, 'Saviour of Society) (1871), an imaginary conception of how Louis Napoleon might justify his policy;
at the Fair' (1872), in which the relations of the sexes are discussed;
Country' (1873), a story of love, penitence and suicide, the scene of which is laid in Normandy; (Aris tophanes' Apology' (1875) ; 'The Inn Album' (1875), a story of a woman's wrongs; (Pac chiarotto and Other Poems' (1876), in which 'Pacchiarotto and How He Worked in Distem per> conveys an implication of Browning's own method in the poetic art; (The Agamemnon of lEschylus' (1877); and
Saisiaz) (1878), in which immortality is discussed. As a kind of new departure he published a first set of
matic Idylls' (1879), and a second series (1880), of which the more important are 'Mar tin Relph,'
and (Ivan Ivano vitch.' The volumes which have followed arc (Jocoseria> (1883) ; 'Ferishtah's Fancies' (1884) ; Tarleyings with Certain People of Im portance in Their Day' (1887), and (Asolando' (1889). The latter volume was published when the author was on his death-bed, and an account of its favorable reception was almost the last information he received. In national recogni tion of his genius, he was buried in West minster Abbey between Cowley and Chaucer.