Thatthepoemcontainsmuchwhichisbeautifulisundeniable，alsothatitissurchargedwithwinsomeandprofoundthoughtsandamultitudeofwill-o’-the-wisp-likefancieswhichallshapetowardshighthinking。
ButitismonotonousasoneoftheenormousAmericaninlandseastoaloveroftheocean，towhomthesaltbrineisasthebreathofdelight。
Thefatalfacilityoftheheroiccouplettolapseintodiffuseness，has，coupledwithawarpedanxietyforirreducibleconcision，beenBrowning’sruinhere。
Thereisonechargeevenyettoofrequentlymadeagainst“Sordello“，thatof“obscurity“。Itsinterestmaybefoundremote，itstreatmentverbose，itsintricaciespuzzlingtothoseunaccustomedtoexcursionsfromthefamiliarhighwaysofoldusage，butitsmotivethoughtisnotobscure。Itisamoonlitplaincomparedwiththe“silvaoscura“ofthe“DivinaCommedia“。
SurelythisquestionofBrowning’sobscuritywasexpelledtotheLimboofDeadStupiditieswhenMr。Swinburne，inperiodsasresplendentasthewhirlingwheelsofPhoebusApollo’schariot，wrotehisfamousincidentalpassageinhis“EssayonChapman“。
Tooprobably，inthedimdisintegratingfuturewhichwillreduceallouro’ertopplingextremes，“Sordello“willbeaslittlereadas“TheFaerieQueene“，and，similarly，onlyforthegleamofthequenchlesslampsamiditslongdesertedalleysandstatelyavenues。
Sadlyenough，fortopoetsitwillalwaysbeanunforgottenland
acontinentwithamaranth-hauntedValesofTempe，where，asSpensersaysinoneoftheAecloguesof“TheShepherd’sCalendar“，theywillthereoftentimes“sittenasdrounedindreme。“
Ithas，forthosewhoarenotrepelled，acharmallitsown。
Iknowofnootherpoeminthelanguagewhichisatoncesowearisomeandsoseductive。Howcanoneexplainparadoxes？
Thereisacharm，orthereisnone：thatiswhatitamountsto，foreachindividual。`Tuttigaisogusti，emigoimii’
“everybodyfollowshistaste，andIfollowmine，“astheVenetiansaying，quotedbyBrowningattheheadofhisRawdonBrownsonnet，hasit。
Allthatneedbeknownconcerningtheframeworkof“Sordello“，andoftherealSordellohimself，willbefoundinthevariousBrowninghand-books，inMr。Nettleship’sandotherdissertations，and，particularly，inMrs。Dall’smostcircumspectandablehistoricalessay。
ItissufficientheretosaythatwhiletheSordelloandPalmaofthepoetaretraceableintheCunizzaandthestrangecomet-likeSordellooftheItalianandProvencalChronicleswhohashissecureimmortality，byDantesetforthinleonineguise`aguisadileonquandosiposa’
inthe“Purgatorio“，boththesearethemostshadowyofprototypes。
TheSordelloofBrowningisatypicalpoeticsoul：thenarrativeoftheincidentsinthedevelopmentofthissoulisadaptedtothehistoricalsettingfurnishedbytheaforesaidChronicles。
SordelloisafarmoreprofoundstudythanAprilein“Paracelsus“，inwhom，however，heisobviouslyforeshadowed。TheradicalflawinhisnatureisthatindicatedbyGoetheofHeine，that“hehadnoheart。“
Thepoemisthenarrativeofhistranscendentaspirations，andmoreorlessfutileaccomplishment。
Itwouldbevaintoattempthereanyadequateexcerptionoflinesofsingularbeauty。Readersfamiliarwiththepoemwillrecallpassageafterpassageamongwhichthereisprobablynonemorewidelyknownthanthegrandiosesunsetlines：
“Thatautumnevewasstilled：
AlastremainsofsunsetdimlyburnedO’erthefarforests，likeatorch-flameturnedBythewindbackuponitsbearer’shandInonelongflareofcrimson；asabrand，Thewoodsbeneathlayblack。“……
Whathauntinglinesthereare，everyhereandtheresuchasthoseofPalma，withhergoldenhairlikespiltsunbeams，orthoseonElys，withher“FewfinelocksColouredlikehoneyoozedfromtopmostrocksSun-blanchedthelivelongsummer，“
orthese，“DaybydayNewpollenonthelily-petalgrows，Andstillmorelabyrinthinebudstherose“
or，oncemore，“Atouchdivine
Andthesealedeyeballownsthemysticrod；
VisiblythroughhisgardenwalkethGod“
But，thoughsorelytempted，Imustnotquotefurther，saveonlytheconcludinglinesoftheunparalleledandimpassionedaddresstoDante：
“Dante，paceroftheshoreWheregluttedhelldisgorgethfilthiestgloom，Unbittenbyitswhirringsulphur-spume，OrwhencethegrievedandobscurewatersslopeIntoadarknessquietedbyhope；
PluckerofamaranthsgrownbeneathGod’seyeIngracioustwilightswherehischosenlie“
Itisafairland，forthosewhohavelingeredinitsbyways：
but，alas，atroubledtideofstrangemetres，ofdesperaterhythms，ofwildconjunctions，ofpanic-strickencollocations，oftentimesoverwhelmsit。“Sordello“grewunderthepoet’sfashioningtill，likethemagicvapouroftheArabianwizard，itpassedbeyondhiscontrol，“voluminouslyvast。“
Itisnotthetruestadmirersofwhatisgoodinitwhowillrefusetosmileatthemiseriesofconscientiousbutbaffledreaders。
WhocanfailtosympathisewithDouglasJerroldwhen，slowlyconvalescentfromaseriousillness，hefoundamongsomenewbookssenthimbyafriendacopyof“Sordello“。
ThomasPowell，writingin1849，haschronicledtheepisode。
Afewlines，hesays，putJerroldinastateofalarm。
Sentenceaftersentencebroughtnoconsecutivethoughttohisbrain。
Atlasttheideaoccurredtohimthatinhisillnesshismentalfacultieshadbeenwrecked。Theperspirationrolledfromhisforehead，andsmitinghisheadhesankbackonthesofa，crying，“OGod，IAManidiot!“Alittlelater，addsPowell，whenJerrold’swifeandsisterentered，hethrust“Sordello“intotheirhands，demandingwhattheythoughtofit。Hewatchedthemintentlywhiletheyread。
WhenatlastMrs。Jerroldremarked，“Idon’tunderstandwhatthismanmeans；
itisgibberish，“herdelightedhusbandgaveasighofreliefandexclaimed，“ThankGod，IamNOTanidiot!“
ManyfriendsofBrowningwillrememberhisrecountingthisincidentalmostintheseverywords，andhisenjoymenttherein：
thoughhewouldneveradmitjustificationforsuchpuzzlement。
ButmoreillustriouspersonagesthanDouglasJerroldwerepuzzledbythepoem。
LordTennysonmanfullytackledit，butheisreportedtohaveadmittedinbitternessofspirit：“TherewereonlytwolinesinitthatIunderstood，andtheywerebothlies；theyweretheopeningandclosinglines，`WhowillmayhearSordello’sstorytold，’and`WhowouldhasheardSordello’sstorytold!’“Carlylewasequallycandid：“Mywife，“hewrites，“hasreadthrough`Sordello’withoutbeingabletomakeoutwhether`Sordello’wasaman，oracity，orabook。“
Inanarticleonthispoem，inaFrenchmagazine，M。OdysseBarotquotesapassagewherethepoetsays“Godgavemantwofaculties“
andadds，“IwishwhileHewasaboutit`pendantqu’iletaitentrain’
Godhadsuppliedanotherviz。，thepowerofunderstandingMr。Browning。“
AndwhodoesnotrememberthesadexperienceofgenerousanddelightfulGileadP。Beck，in“TheGoldenButterfly“：how，after“FifineattheFair“，frightfulsymptomssetin，tillindespairhetookup“RedCottonNightcapCountry“，andfellforhoursintoadullcomatosemisery。
“Hiseyeswerebloodshot，hishairwaspushedindisorderabouthishead，hischeekswereflushed，hishandsweretrembling，thenervesinhisfaceweretwitching。Thenhearose，andsolemnlycursedRobertBrowning。
Andthenhetookallhisvolumes，and，disposingthemcarefullyinthefireplace，setlighttothem。`Iwish，’hesaid，`thatIcouldputthepoettheretoo。’“Oneotheranecdoteofthekindwasoften，withevidenthumorousappreciation，recountedbythepoet。
OnhisintroductiontotheChineseAmbassador，asa“brother-poet“，heaskedthatdignitarywhatkindofpoeticexpressionheparticularlyaffected。Thegreatmandeliberated，andthenrepliedthathispoetrymightbedefinedas“enigmatic“。
Browningatonceadmittedhisfraternalkinship。
Thathewashimselfawareoftheshortcomingsof“Sordello“asaworkofartisnotdisputable。In1863，Mrs。Orrsays，heconsideredtheadvisabilityof“rewritingitinamoretransparentmanner，butconcludedthatthelabourwouldbedisproportionatetotheresult，andcontentedhimselfwithsummarisingthecontentsofeach`book’inacontinuousheading，whichrepresentsthemainthreadofthestory。“
TheessentialmanlinessofBrowningisevidentinthefamousdedicationtotheFrenchcriticMilsand，whowasamonghisearlyadmirers。
“Myownfaultsofexpressionweremany；butwithcareforamanorbooksuchwouldbesurmounted，andwithoutitwhatavailsthefaultlessnessofeither？
Iblamenobody，leastofallmyself，whodidmybestthenandsince。“
Whateverbethefateof“Sordello“，onethingpertinenttoitshallsurvive：
thememorablesentenceinthededicatorypreface“Mystresslayontheincidentsinthedevelopmentofasoul：littleelseisworthstudy。“
Thepoemhasdisastrousfaults，butisamagnificentfailure。
“Vastasnight，“toborrowasimilefromVictorHugo，but，likenight，innumerouslystarred。