Theprofoundestinsightcannotreachdeeperthanitsownpossibilitiesofdepth。Thephysiognomyofthesoulisnevervisibleinitsentirety，barelyeverevenitsprofile。Theutmostwecanexpecttoreproduce，perhapseventoperceiveinthemostquintessentialmoment，isapartiallyfaithful，partiallydeceptivesilhouette。
Asnohumanbeinghaseverseenhisorherownsoul，inallitsroundedcompletenessofgoodandevil，ofstrengthandweakness，ofwhatistemporalandperishableandwhatisgerminalandessential，howcanweexpecteventhesubtlestanalysttoadequatelydepictothersoulsthanhisown。ItisBrowning’shighdistinctionthathehasthissoul-depictivefacultyrestrictedaseveninhisinstanceitperforceistoanextentunsurpassedbyanyotherpoet，ancientormodern。Asasympatheticcritichasremarked，“HisstageisnotthevisiblephenomenalEnglandorelsewhereofhistory；
itisapointinthespiritualuniverse，wherenakedsoulsmeetandwrestle，astheyplaythegreatgameoflife，forcounters，thetruevalueofwhichcanonlyberealisedinthebullionofahigherlifethanthis。“
Nodoubtthereis“acertaincrudenessinthemannerinwhichthesenakedsoulsarepresented，“notonlyin“Strafford“butelsewhereintheplays。Browningmarkedlyhasthedefectsofhisqualities。
Aspartofhismethod，itshouldbenotedthathisrealtrustisuponmonologueratherthanupondialogue。ToonewhoworksfromwithinoutwardincontradistinctiontotheShakespearianmethodofstrivingtowinfromoutwardforms“thepassionandthelifewhosefountainsarewithin“theproprietyofthisdramaticmeanscanscarcebegainsaid。Theswiftcomplicatedmentalmachinerycanthusbeexhibitedinfinitelymorecoherentlyandcomprehensiblythanbythemostelectricsuccinctdialogue。AgainandagainBrowninghasnighfounderedinthemorassofmonologue，but，broadlyspeaking，hetranscendsinthisdramaticmethod。
Atthesametime，nonemusttakeitforgrantedthattheauthorof“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“，“Luria“，“InaBalcony“，isnotdramaticineventhemostconventionalsense。Aboveall，indeedasMr。WalterPaterhassaidhisisthepoetryofsituations。
Ineachofthe`dramatispersonae’，oneoftheleadingcharacteristicsisloyaltytoadominantideal。InStrafford’scaseitisthatofunswervingdevotiontotheKing：inMildred’sandinThorold’s，in“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“，itisthatofsubserviencerespectivelytoconventionalmoralityandfamilyprideLordTresham，itmaybeadded，isthemosthopelesslymonomaniacalofallBrowning’s“monomaniacs“：
inValence’s，in“Colombe’sBirthday“，tochivalriclove：
inCharles，in“KingVictorandKingCharles“，tokinglyandfilialduty：
inAnael’sandDjabal’s，in“TheReturnoftheDruses“，respectivelytoreligionandunscrupulousambitionmodifiedbypatriotism：
inChiappino’s，in“ASoul’sTragedy“，topurelysordidambition：
inLuria’s，tonoblesteadfastness：andinConstance’s，in“InaBalcony“，toself-denial。Oftheseplays，“TheReturnoftheDruses“seemstomethemostpicturesque，“Luria“themostnobleanddignified，and“InaBalcony“themostpotentiallyagreatdramaticsuccess。
Thelastisinasenseafragment，but，thoughtheintegerofagreatunaccomplisheddrama，isascompleteinitselfastheFuneralMarchinBeethoven’s`Eroica’Symphony。
“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“hastheradicalfaultcharacteristicofwritersofsensationalfiction，atoopromiscuous“clearingtheground“
bysyncopeandsuicide。AnotheristhejuvenilityofMildred：
aseriousinfractionofdramaticlaw，wherethemeretamperingwithhistory，asinthecircumstancesofKingVictor’sdeathintheearlierplay，isatleastexcusablebyhighprecedent。Moredisastrous，poetically，istheruinousbanalityofMildred’santiclimaxwhen，afterherbrotherrevealshimselfasherlover’smurderer，she，likethetypicalyoung`MissAnglaise’ofcertainFrenchnovelists，betraysherincapacityfortruepassionbyexclaiming，ineffect，“What，you’vemurderedmylover!Well，tellmeall。Pardon？
Oh，well，Ipardonyou：atleastITHINKIdo。Thorold，mydearbrother，howverywretchedyoumustbe!“
Iamunawareifthisanticlimaxhasbeenpointedoutbyanyone，butsurelyitisoneofthemostappallinglapsesofgeniuswhichcouldbeindicated。Eventhebeautifulsonginthethirdsceneofthefirstact，“There’sawomanlikeadew-drop，she’ssopurerthanthepurest，“is，inthecircumstances，nearlyoverthevergewhichdividesthesublimefromtheridiculous。
Nowonderthat，onthenighttheplaywasfirstacted，Mertoun’ssong，asheclamberedtohismistress’swindow，causedascepticallaughtoripplelightlyamongthetolerantauditory。
ItiswithdiffidenceItakesoradicallydistinctastandpointfromthatofDickens，whodeclaredheknewnolovelikethatofMildredandMertoun，nopassionlikeit，nomouldingofasplendidthingafteritsconception，likeit；who，further，atalaterdate，affirmedthathewouldratherhavewrittenthisplaythananyworkofmoderntimes：norwithlessreluctance，thatIfindmyselfatvariancewithMr。Skelton，whospeaksofthedramaas“oneofthemostperfectlyconceivedandperfectlyexecutedtragediesinthelanguage。“IntheinstanceofLuria，thatsecondOthello，suicidehasalltheimpressivenessofaplenaryactofabsolution：
thedeathofAnaelseemsasinevitableastheflashoflightningaftertheconcussionofthunder-clouds。ButThorold’ssuicideismereweakness，scarceapervertedcourage；andMildred’sbrokenheartwasanillnotbeyondthehealingofamorallyrobustphysician。
“Colombe’sBirthday“hasacertainremotenessofinterest，reallyduetothereader’smoreorlessacuteperceptionoftheradicaldivergence，forallValence’sgreatnessofmindandspirit，betweenthefairyoungDuchessandherchosenlover：
acircumstancewhichmustsurelystandinthewayofitspopularity。
Though“ASoul’sTragedy“hasthesavingqualityofhumour，itisoftoogrimakindtobeprovocativeoflaughter。
Ineachoftheseplays*theloverofBrowningwillrecallpassageafterpassageofsuperblydramaticeffect。Butsupremeinhisremembrancewillbethewonderfulscenein“TheReturnoftheDruses“，wherethePrefect，drawingabreathofrelief，isalmostsimultaneouslyassassinated；
andthatwhereAnael，witheverynerveattensioninherfiercereligiousresolve，withapoignant，life-surrenderingcry，hailsDjabalas`Hakeem’asDivineandtherewithfallsdeadathisfeet。
Norwillheforgetthatwhere，in“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“，Mildred，withadrysobinherthroat，stammeringlyutters
“IIwassoyoung!
BesidesIlovedhim，ThoroldandIhadNomother；Godforgotme：soIfell“
orthatwhere，“atendofthedisastrousday，“Luriatakesthephialofpoisonfromhisbreast，muttering
“Strange!ThisisallIbroughtfrommyownlandTohelpme。“
*“Strafford“，1837；“KingVictorandKingCharles“，1842；
“TheReturnoftheDruses“，and“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“，1843；
“Colombe’sBirthday“，1844；“Luria“，and“ASoul’sTragedy“，1845。
BeforepassingonfromtheseeightplaystoBrowning’smostimperishablebecausemostnearlyimmaculatedramaticpoem，“PippaPasses“，andto“Sordello“，thatcolossalderelictupontheoceanofpoetry，Ishouldlikeoutofanembarrassingquantityofalluringdetails
toremindthereaderoftwosecondarymattersofinterest，pertinenttothepresenttheme。Oneisthatthesongin“ABlotinthe’Scutcheon“，“There’sawomanlikeadew-drop“，writtenseveralyearsbeforetheauthor’smeetingwithElizabethBarrett，issocloselyinthestyleof“LadyGeraldine’sCourtship“，andotherballadsbythesweetsingerwhoafterwardsbecameapartnerintheloveliestmarriageofwhichwehaverecordinliteraryhistory，that，evenweretherenothingtosubstantiatethefact，itwerefairtoinferthatMertoun’ssongtoMildredwastheelectrictouchwhichcompelledtoitsmetricshapeoneofMrs。Browning’sbest-knownpoems。
Thefurtherinterestliesinthelordlyacknowledgmentofthededicationtohimof“Luria“，whichLandorsenttoBrowning
linespregnantwiththestateliestmusicofhisoldage：
“Shakespeareisnotourpoetbuttheworld’s，Thereforeonhimnospeech!andbriefforthee，Browning!SinceChaucerwasaliveandhaleNomanhaswalkedalongourroadswithstepSoactive，soenquiringeye，ortongueSovariedindiscourse。ButwarmerclimesGivebrighterplumage，strongerwing：thebreezeOfAlpineheightsthouplayestwith，borneonBeyondSorrentoandAmalfi，whereTheSirenwaitsthee，singingsongforsong。“
Inmyallusionto“PippaPasses“，towardsthecloseoftheprecedingchapter，asthemostimperishablebecausethemostnearlyimmaculateofBrowning’sdramaticpoems，Iwouldnothaveitunderstoodthatitspre-eminenceisconsideredfromthestandpointoftechnicalachievement，ofart，merely。
Itseemstome，likeallsimpleandbeautifulthings，profoundenoughforthesearchingplummetofthemostcuriousexplorerofthedepthsoflife。
Itcanberead，re-read，learnedbyheart，andthemoreitisknownthewiderandmorealluringaretheavenuesofimaginativethoughtwhichitdiscloses。Ithas，morethananyotherlongcompositionbyitsauthor，thatqualityofsymmetry，that`symmetriaprisca’
recordedofLeonardodaVinciintheLatinepitaphofPlatinoPiatto；
and，asmightbeexpected，itsmentalbasis，whatRossetticalledfundamentalbrain-work，isasluminous，depthwithindepth，asthemorningair。Byitsside，themoreobviously“profound“poems，BishopBlougramandtherest，aremereskilleddialectics。
Theartthatismostprofoundandmosttouchingmusteverbethesimplest。
WheneverAeschylus，Dante，Shakespeare，Milton，areatwhiteheattheyrequirenoexposition，butmeditationonlythemeditationakintothesentimentoflittlechildrenwholisten，intentuponeverysyllable，andpassionatelyeagerofsoul，tohearthsidetragedies。
Theplayofgeniusislikethemovementofthesea。Ithasitssolemnrhythm：
itsjoy，irradiateofthesun；itsmelancholy，inthepatientmoonlight：
itssurgeandturbulenceunderpassingtempests：belowall，thedeepoceanicmusic。Thereare，ofcourse，manytowhomtheseaisbutawasteofwater，atbestusefulasahighwayandasthenurseryofthewindsandrains。Forthemthereisnohint“oftheincommunicabledream“inthecurveoftherisingwave，nomurmuroftheoceanicundertoneintheshortleapingsounds，invisiblethingsthatlaughandclaptheirhandsforjoyandarenomore。
Tothemitisbutadesert：obscure，imponderable，aweariness。
The“profundity“ofBrowning，sodearaclaimintheeyesofthepoet’sfanaticaladmirers，exists，intheirsense，onlyinhisinferiorwork。ThereismoreprofoundinsightinBlake’sSongofInnocence，“Pipingdownthevalleyswild，“
orinWordsworth’sline，“Thoughtsthatdooftenlietoodeepfortears，“
orinKeats’singleverse，“Thereisabuddingmorrowinmidnight，“