Onthefly-leafofacopyofthisinitialwork，thepoet，sixyearsafteritspublication，wrote：“WritteninpursuanceofafoolishplanIforget，orhavenowishtoremember；
theworldwasnevertoguessthatsuchanopera，suchacomedy，suchaspeechproceededfromthesamenotableperson……
OnlythiscrabremainsoftheshapelyTreeofLifeinmyfool’sParadise。“
Itwasinconformitywiththisplanthathenotonlyissued“Pauline“anonymously，butenjoinedsecrecyuponthosetowhomhecommunicatedthefactofhisauthorship。
Whenhereadthepoemtohisparents，uponitsconclusion，bothweremuchimpressedbyit，thoughhisfathermadeseverestricturesuponitslackofpolish，itsterminalinconcision，anditsvaguenessofthought。
Thathewasnotmoreseverewasacceptedbyhissonashighpraise。
Theauthorhad，however，littlehopeofseeingitinprint。
Mr。Browningwasnotanxioustoprovideapublisherwithapresent。
Soonedaythepoetwasgratifiedwhenhisaunt，handinghimtherequisitesum，remarkedthatshehadheardhehadwrittenafinepoem，andthatshewishedtohavethepleasureofseeingitinprint。
Tothiskindlyactmuchwasdue。Browning，ofcourse，couldnotnowhavebeendissuadedfromthecareerhehadforecastforhimself，buthisprogressmighthavebeenretardedorthwartedtolessfortunategrooves，haditnotbeenforthecircumstancesresultantfromhisaunt’stimelygift。
TheMS。wasforthwithtakentoSaunders&Otley，ofConduitStreet，andthelittlevolumeofseventypagesofblankverse，comprisingonlyathousandandthirtylines，wasissuedbytheminJanuary1833。
Itseemstous，whoreaditnow，somanifestlyaworkofexceptionalpromise，and，toacertainextent，ofhighaccomplishment，thatwereitnotforthefactthatthepublicauditoryforanewpoetiseverextraordinarilylimited，itwouldbedifficulttounderstandhowitcouldhavebeenoverlooked。
“Pauline“hasauniquesignificancebecauseofitsautopsychicalhints。
TheBrowningwhomweallknow，aswellastheyouthfuldreamer，ishererevealed；heretoo，aswellasthediscipleofShelley，wehavetheauthorof“TheRingandtheBook“。Initthelongseriesculminatingin“Asolando“isforeshadowed，astheoakisobservableinthesapling。ThepoemisprefacedbyaLatinmottofromthe`OccultPhilosophy’ofCorneliusAgrippa，andhasalsoanoteinFrench，setforthasbeingbyPauline，andappendedtoherlover’smanuscriptafterhisdeath。ProbablyBrowningplaceditinthemouthofPaulinefromhisrooteddeterminationtospeakdramaticallyandimpersonally：
andinFrench，soastoheightentheeffectofverisimilitude。*
*“Imuchfearthatmypoorfriendwillnotbealwaysperfectlyunderstoodinwhatremainstobereadofthisstrangefragment，butitislesscalculatedthananyotherparttoexplainwhatofitsnaturecanneverbeanythingbutdreamandconfusion。
Idonotknow，moreover，whetherinstrivingatabetterconnectionofcertainparts，onewouldnotruntheriskofdetractingfromtheonlymerittowhichsosingularaproductioncanpretend
thatofgivingatolerablypreciseideaofthemannergenre
whichitcanmerelyindicate。Thisunpretendingopening，thisstirofpassion，whichfirstincreases，andthengraduallysubsides，thesetransportsofthesoul，thissuddenreturnuponhimself，andaboveall，myfriend’squitepeculiarturnofmind，havemadealterationsalmostimpossible。Thereasonswhichheelsewhereasserts，andothersstillmorecogent，havesecuredmyindulgenceforthispaper，whichotherwiseIshouldhaveadvisedhimtothrowintothefire。IbelievenonethelessinthegreatprincipleofallcompositioninthatprincipleofShakespeare，ofRaphael，andofBeethoven，accordingtowhichconcentrationofideasisduemuchmoretotheirconceptionthantotheirexecution；
Ihaveeveryreasontofearthatthefirstofthesequalitiesisstillforeigntomyfriend，andImuchdoubtwhetherredoubledlabourwouldenablehimtoacquirethesecond。Itwouldbebesttoburnthis，butwhatcanIdo？“Mrs。Orr。
“Pauline“isaconfession，fragmentaryindetailbutsyntheticinrange，ofayoungmanofhighimpulsesbutweakdetermination。
Initsover-emphasisuponerrorsofjudgment，aswellasuponrealifexaggeratedmisdeeds，ithasallthecrudenessofyouth。
Analmostfantasticself-consciousnessisthecentralmotive：
itisamatterofquestionifthisbeabsolutelyvicarious。
Tomeitseemsthattheauthorhimselfwasatthetimeconfusedbythecomplicatedflashingofthelightsoflife。
Theautobiographicalandautopsychicallinesandpassagesscatteredthroughthepoemareofimmediateinterest。
GenerouslythepoetrepayshisdebttoShelley，whomheapostrophisesas“Sun-treader“，andinvokesinstrainsofloftyemotion
“Sun-treaderlifeandlightbethineforever。“Themusicof“Alastor“，indeed，isaudibleeverandagainthroughout“Pauline“。
Nonethelessisthereanewmusic，anewpoeticvoice，in“Thouwiltrememberonewarmmorn，whenWinterCreptagedfromtheearth，andSpring’sfirstbreathBlewsoftfromthemoisthillstheblack-thornboughs，Sodarkinthebarewood，whenglisteningInthesunshinewerewhitewithcomingbuds，LikethebrightsideofasorrowandthebanksHadvioletsopeningfromsleeplikeeyes。“
IfwehaveanimaginaryBrowning，aShelleyanphantasm，in“IseemedthefatefromwhichIfled；IfeltAstrangedelightincausingmydecay；
Iwasafiend，indarknesschainedforeverWithinsomeocean-wave：“
wehavetherealBrowningin“SoIwillsingonfastasfanciescomeRudelytheversebeingasthemooditpaints。
Iammadeupofanintensestlife，“
andallthesucceedinglinesdownto“Theirspiritdweltinme，andIshouldrule。“
Eventhenthepoet’sinnerlifewasanimatedbyhisloveofthebeautifulGreekliterature。Tellinghowin“thefirstdawnoflife，“
“whichpassedalonewithwisestancientbooks，“Pauline’sloverincorporatedhimselfinwhatsoeverhereadwasthegodwanderingafterbeauty，thegiantstandingvastagainstthesunset-light，thehigh-crestedchiefsailingwithtroopsoffriendstoTenedos
hissecond-selfcries，“Itellyou，noughthaseverbeensoclearastheplace，thetime，thefashionofthoselives。“Neverforhim，then，hadtherebeenthatalchemyofthesoulwhichturnstheinchoatedriftoftheworldintogoldenore，notthenhadcometohimtheelectricawakeningflashfrom“workofloftyart，norwoman’sbeauty，norsweetnature’sface“
“Yet，Isay，nevermornbrokeclearasthoseOnthedimclusteredislesinthebluesea：
Thedeepgroves，andwhitetemples，andwetcaves
Andnothingeverwillsurprisemenow
WhostoodbesidethenakedSwift-footed，WhoboundmyforeheadwithProserpine’shair。“
Further，theallusiontoPlato，andthemoreremoteonetoAgamemnon，the“oldloreLovedforitself，andallitshowstheKingTreadingthepurplecalmlytohisdeath，“
andthebeautifulAndromedapassage，affordampleindicationofhowdeeplyBrowninghaddrunkofthatvitalstreamwhosewatersarethesurestconserveroftheideallovelinesswhichweallofus，insomedegree，cherishinvariousguises。
Yet，asineverylongpoemthathehaswrittenand，itmustbeadmitted，intoomanyoftheshorterpiecesofhislaterperiod
thereisanalloyofprose，ofsomethingthatisnotpoetry，soin“Pauline“，writtenthoughitwasinthefirstflushofhisgeniusandundertheinspiringstimulusofShelley，thereaderencountersprosaicpassages，decasyllabicallyarranged。“’Twasinmyplantolookonreallife，whichwasallnewtome；mytheorieswerefirm，soIleftthem，tolookuponmen，andtheircares，andhopes，andfears，andjoys；and，asIponderedonthemall，Isoughthowbestlife’sendmightbeattained，anendcomprisingeveryjoy。“
Again：“Thencameapause，andlongrestraintchaineddownmysoul，tillitwaschanged。Ilostmyself，andwereitnotthatIsoloathethattime，IcouldrecallhowfirstIlearnedtoturnmymindagainstitself……atlengthIwasrestored，yetlongtheinfluenceremained；andnoughtbutthestilllifeIled，apartfromall，whichleftmysoultoseekitsolddelights，coulde’erhavebroughtmethusfarbacktopeace。“Noreader，alerttothesubtleandhauntingmusicofrarefiedblankverseandunlessitberarefieditshouldnotbeputforwardaspoetry，couldpossiblyaccepttheselinesasexpressionallypoetical。
Itwouldseemasthough，fromthefirst，Browning’searwaskeenerfortheapprehensionthanforthesustainedevocationofthemusicofverse。