Authorof”AnIntroductiontotheStudyofShakespeare”，”APrimerofEnglishVerse，chieflyinitsAestheticandOrganicCharacter”，”TheAimsofLiteraryStudy”，etc。
MydearDr。Corson，IwaitedsomedaysafterthearrivalofyourBookandLetter，thinkingImightbeabletosaymoreofmysenseofyourgoodness：
butIcandonomorenowthanaweekago。You”hopeIshallnotfindtoomuchtodisapproveof”：whatIoughttoprotestagainst，is”aloadtosinkanavy——toomuchhonor”：howcanIputasideyourgenerosity，asifcoldjustice——howeverbefittingmyself——
wouldbeinbetteragreementwithyournature?Letitremainasanassurancetoyoungerpoetsthat，afterfiftyyears’workunattendedbyanyconspicuousrecognition，anover-paymentmaybemade，iftherebesuchanothermunificentappreciatorasIhavebeenprivilegedtofind，inwhichcaseletthem，evenifmoredeserving，beequallygrateful。
Ihavenotobservedanythinginneedofcorrectioninthenotes。
The”littleTablet”wasafamous”LastSupper”，mentionedbyVasari，page。232，andgoneastraylongagofromtheChurchofS。Spirito：
itturnedup，accordingtoreport，insomeobscurecorner，whileIwasinFlorence，andwasatonceacquiredbyastranger。
Isawit，genuineorno，aworkofgreatbeauty。Page156。”Acanon”，inmusic，isapiecewhereinthesubjectisrepeated——
invariouskeys：andbeingstrictlyobeyedintherepetition，becomesthe”Canon”——theimperativelaw——towhatfollows。
Fiftyofsuchpartswouldbeindeedanotablepeal：
tomanagethreeisenoughofanachievementforagoodmusician。
Andnow，——hereisChristmas：allmybestwishesgotoyouandMrsCorson。Thoseofmysisteralso。Shewasindeedsufferingfromgraveindispositioninthesummer，butishappilyrecovered。
Icouldnotventure，underthecircumstances，toexposeherconvalescencetotheaccidentsofforeigntravel：
henceourcontentingourselveswithWalesratherthanItaly。
Shallyoubeagaininducedtovisitus?Presentorabsent，youwillremembermealways，Itrust，asYoursmostaffectionatelyRobertBrowning。”Quantasubtilitateipsacordahominumreserat，intimosmentisrecessusexplorat，variosanimimotusperscrutatur。
Quodadtragoediamantiquioremattinet，interpretatusest，utinostisomnes，nonmodoAeschylumquonemosublimior，sedetiamEuripidemquonemohumanior；quofitutetiamillosquiGraecenesciunt，misericordiatangatAlcestis，terroretangatHercules。Recentioraargumentatragicacumlyricoquodamscribendigenereconiunxit，duasMusasetMelpomenenetEuterpensimulveneratus。Musicaemiraculaquisdigniuscecinit?
PictorisFlorentinisinefraudevitamquasiintercrepusculavesperascentemcoloribusquamvividisdepinxit。Vesperiquotiens，dumfocoadsidemus，hociubenteresurgitItalia。Vesperinuper，dumhuiusidylliafortemeditabar，Camiinterarundinesmihividebarvocemmagnamaudireclamantis，Pa\\no`me/gasou’te/qnhken。
VivitadhucPanipse，cumMarathonismemoriaetPheidippidisvelocitateimmortaliconsociatus。”——EulogiumpronouncedbyMr。J。E。Sandys，PublicOratorattheUniversityofCambridge，onpresentingMr。BrowningforthehonorarydegreeofDoctorofLaws，June10，1879。
PREFACE。
ThepurposeofthepresentvolumeistoaffordsomeaidandguidanceinthestudyofRobertBrowning’sPoetry，which，beingthemostcomplexlysubjectiveofallEnglishpoetry，is，forthatreasonalone，themostdifficult。Andthenthepoet’sfavoriteart-form，thedramatic，or，rather，psychologic，monologue，whichisquiteoriginalwithhimself，andpeculiarlyadaptedtotheconstitutionofhisgeniusandtotherevelationofthemselvesbytheseveral”dramatispersonae”，presentscertainstructuraldifficulties，butdifficultieswhich，withanincreasedfamiliarity，growlessandless。TheexpositionpresentedintheIntroduction，ofitsconstitutionandskilfulmanagement，andtheArgumentsgivenoftheseveralpoemsincludedinthevolume，will，itishoped，reduce，ifnotaltogetherremove，thedifficultiesofthiskind。
InthesamesectionoftheIntroduction，certainpeculiaritiesofthepoet’sdiction，whichsometimesgiveachecktothereader’sunderstandingofapassage，arepresentedandillustrated。
IthinkitnotnecessarytoofferanyapologyformygoingallthewaybacktoChaucer，andnotingtheEbbandFlowinEnglishPoetrydowntothepresenttime，ofthespiritualitywhichconstitutesthereallifeofpoetry，andwhichshould，asfaraspossible，bebroughttotheconsciousnessandappreciationofstudents。
WhatImeanbyspiritualityisexplainedinmytreatmentofthesubject。Thedegreetowhichpoetryisquickenedwithitshouldalwaysenterintoanestimateofitsabsoluteworth。
Itisthat，indeed，whichconstitutesitsabsoluteworth。
Theweightofthoughtconveyed，whateverthatbe，willnotcompensatefortheabsenceofit。
Thestudyofpoetry，inourinstitutionsoflearning，sofarasI
havetakennoteofit，andtheeducationinducedthereby，arealmostpurelyintellectual。Thestudent’sspiritualnatureislefttotakecareofitself；andtheconsequenceisthathebecomes，atbest，onlyathinkingandanalyzingmachine。
ThespiritualclaimsofthestudyofpoetryareespeciallydemandedinthecaseofBrowning’spoetry。Browningisgenerallyandtrulyregardedasthemostintellectualofpoets。
NopoetryinEnglishliterature，orinanyliterature，ismorechargedwithdiscursivethoughtthanhis。Butheis，atthesametime，themostspiritualandtranscendentalofpoets，the”subtlestassertoroftheSoulinSong”。Histhoughtisneveranendtoitself，butisalwayssubservienttoanulteriorspiritualend——alwaysdirectedtowards”apresentmentofthecorrespondencyoftheuniversetoDeity，ofthenaturaltothespiritual，andoftheactualtotheideal”；anditisall-importantthatstudentsshouldbeawakened，andmade，asfaraspossible，responsivetothisspiritualend。
ThesectionsoftheIntroductiononPersonalityandArtwerereadbeforetheBrowningSocietyofLondon，inJune，1882。
Ihaveseennoreasonforchangingormodifying，inanyrespect，theviewsthereinexpressed。
Theideaofpersonalityasaquickening，regeneratingpower，andtheideaofartasanintermediateagencyofpersonality，are，perhaps，themostreiteratedimplicitly，notexplicitly
inBrowning’spoetry，andleaduptothedominantideaofChristianity，theideaofaDivinePersonality；theideathatthesoul，touseanexpressionfromhisearliestpoem，`Pauline’，must”restbeneathsomebetteressencethanitselfinweakness”。
Thenotestothepoemswillbefound，Itrust，tocoverallpointsandfeaturesofthetextwhichrequireexplanationandelucidation。
Ihavenot，atanyrate，wittinglypassedbyanyrealdifficulties。
Whethermyexplanationsandinterpretationswillinallcasesbeacceptable，remainstobeseen。
HiramCorson。
CascadillaCottage，Ithaca，N。Y。
September，1886。
NotetotheSecondEdition。
Inthisedition，severalerrorsofthefirsthavebeencorrected。
Forthenoteson”fifty-partcanon”，p。156，and”acertainpreciouslittletablet”，p。232，IamindebtedtoMr。Browning。
H。C。
NotetotheThirdEdition。
Inthiseditionhavebeenadded，`ADeathintheDesert’，withargument，notes，andcommentary，afac-simileofaletterfromthepoet，andaportraitcopiedfromaphotographthelasttakenofhimwhichhegavemewhenvisitinghiminVenice，amonthbeforehisdeath。
Itmaybeofinterest，andofsomevalue，tomanystudentsofBrowning’spoetry，toknowareplyhemade，inregardtotheexpressionin`MyLastDuchess’，”Igavecommands；thenallsmilesstoppedtogether。”
WewerewalkingupanddownthegreathallofthePalazzoRezzonico，when，inthecourseofwhatIwastellinghimaboutthestudyofhisworksintheUnitedStates，Ialludedtothedividedopinionastothemeaningoftheaboveexpressionin`MyLastDuchess’，someunderstandingthatthecommandsweretoputtheDuchesstodeath，andothers，asIhaveexplainedtheexpressiononp。87ofthisvolumelastparagraph。Hemadenoreply，foramoment，andthensaid，meditatively，”Yes，Imeantthatthecommandswerethatsheshouldbeputtodeath。”
Andthen，afterapause，headded，withacharacteristicdashofexpression，andasifthethoughthadjuststartedinhismind，”Orhemighthavehadhershutupinaconvent。”Thiswastomeverysignificant。Whenhewrotetheexpression，”Igavecommands”，etc。，hemaynothavethoughtdefinitelywhatthecommandswere，morethanthattheyputastoptothesmilesofthesweetDuchess，whichprovokedthecontemptiblejealousyoftheDuke。Thiswasallhisartpurposerequired，andhisminddidnotgobeyondit。
IthoughthowmanyvaindiscussionstakeplaceinBrowningClubs，aboutlittlepointswhichareoutsideoftherangeoftheartisticmotiveofacomposition，andhowmanymindsareoccupiedwithanythingandeverythingunderthesun，excepttheonethingneedfultheartisticorspiritualmotive，theresultbeing”asifoneshouldbeignorantofnothingconcerningthescentofviolets，exceptthescentitself。”