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，“