lyrical poetry - OUDL Home

TENNYSON, BROWNING, & SOME OTHERSMrs Browning has been kissed for the first time andshe writes:First time he kiss'd me, he but only kiss'dThe fingers of this hand wherewith I write ;And ever since it grew more clear and white,Slow to world-greetings, quick with its " Oh list "When the angels speak, etc.Well, lovers have always been allowed to speak inhyperboles, and one could parallel these extravagancesfrom the seventeenth century, but the hyperboleswould be more intellectual, less sentimental—to putit frankly, less forced and false. What real significancehad angels for the author ? There are, of course, bettersonnets than this. I do not deny that Mrs Browningwas a poet, an artist, despite her careless rhymes andvague phrasing, of a considerable range of virtuosity.But her poetry abounds in vague thought, overstrainedsentiment, and extravagant imagery. All theSpasmodics delight in these extravagant figures, and itwas this that created the momentary glamour whichtheir work produced—this and the fact that theirsentiment was at the same time familiar and easy ofappeal. One could gather from their works—andadmirers have gathered—abundance of striking imagesand hyperboles. But Mrs Browning was the best ofthis mid-century group, and besides the best of thesonnets has written some lyrics of real beauty. Cne,at any rate, is almost perfect. InWhat was he doing, the great God Pan,Down in the reeds by the river ?she has given to a thought of real import a fresh andfelicitous treatment, in verse that flows with almostShelleyan ecstasy and music. Her Bianca among the83