Thelasttenversesillustratewellthepoet’sskilfulmanagementofhisdifficultart-form。Aftertheenvoyhashadhislookattheportrait，theDuke，thinkingittimetoreturntohisguests，says”Will’tpleaseyourise?We’llmeetthecompanybelow，then。”
Hisnextspeech，whichindicateswhathehasbeentalkingabout，duringtheenvoy’sstudyofthepicture，mustbeunderstoodasutteredwhiletheyaremovingtowardthestairway。Thenext，”Nay，we’llgotogetherdown，sir”，showsthattheyhavereachedtheheadofthestairway，andthattheenvoyhaspolitelymotionedtheDuketoleadthewaydown。Thisisimpliedinthe”Nay”。
Thelastspeechindicatesthatonthestairwayisawindowwhichaffordsanoutlookintothecourtyard，wherehecallstheattentionoftheenvoytoaNeptune，tamingasea-horse，castinbronzeforhimbyClausofInnsbruck。Theprideofthevirtuosoisalsoimpliedintheword，”though”。
Itshouldbenoticed，also，thattheDukevalueshiswife’spicturewhollyasapicture，notasthe”counterfeitpresentment”andreminderofasweetandlovelywoman，whomighthaveblessedhislife，ifhehadbeencapableofbeingblessed。Itistohimapicturebyagreatartist，andhevaluesitonlyassuch。Hesays，parenthetically，”sincenoneputsbythecurtainIhavedrawnforyou，butI。”It’stoopreciousaworkofarttobeentrustedtoanybodyelse。
IV。Browning’sVerse。
Itseemstobeadmitted，evenbymanyofthepoet’smostdevotedstudents，thathisverseis，initsgeneralcharacter，harshandrugged。Tojudgeitfairly，onemustfreehismindofmanymerelyconventionalcanonsinregardtoverse。
Puremusicisabsolute。Themusicofversemoves，orshouldmove，undertheconditionsofthethoughtwhicharticulatesit。Itshouldserveasachorustothethought，expressingamysticsympathywithit。Versemaybeverymusical，andyetmoreorlessmechanical；
thatis，itmayCLOTHEthoughtandsentiment，butnotbeapartofit，notEMBODYit。Unrippledverse，whichmanyreadersdemand，MUSTbemoreorlessmechanical。Suchverseflowsaccordingtoitsownsweetwill，independentlyofthethought-articulation。
Butthethought-articulationmaybesoflimsythatit’swellenoughfortheversesotoflow。
ThecarefulstudentofBrowning’slanguage-shapingmustdiscover——
therequisitesusceptibilitytovitalityofformbeingsupposed——
thathisverseisremarkablyorganic：often，indeed，moreorganic，evenwhenitappearstobeclumsy，thanthe”faultilyfaultless”verseofTennyson。Thepoetwhohaswritten`InaGondola’，`BytheFireside’，`MeetingatNight’，`PartingatMorning’，`GoldHair’，`MayandDeath’，`LoveamongtheRuins’，`HomeThoughtsfromAbroad’，`HomeThoughtsfromtheSea’，theIncantationin`TheFlightoftheDuchess’someofwhicharebothsongandpicture，andmany，manymorethatmightbenamed，certainlyhastheveryhighestfacultyofwordandversemusic，ofmusic，too，thatisentirelynewinEnglishPoetry；
anditcanbeshownthathealwaysexercisesthatfacultyWHENEVERTHERE’SAREALARTISTICOCCASIONFORIT，nototherwise。
Verse-musicisneverwithhimamereliteraryindulgence。
Thegrotesquerieofrhythmandrhymewhichsomeofhispoemsexhibit，isasorganicasanyotherfeatureofhislanguage-shaping，andshowstherarestcommandoflanguage。Hehasbeenchargedwithhaving”failedtoreachcontinuouslevelsofmusicalphrasing”。
It’sachargewhicheveryonewhoappreciatesBrowning’sverseinitshigherformsanditshigherformsarenotthosewhichareaddressedespeciallytothephysicalearwillbeveryreadytoadmit。
Inthegeneraltenorofhispoetry，heisABOVEtheSinger，——
heistheSeerandRevealer，whoseesgreattruthsbeyondtheboundsoftheterritoryofgeneralknowledge，insteadofworkingovertruthswithinthatterritory；andnoseerofmoderntimeshashadhiseyesmoreclearlypurgedwitheuphrasyandrue。Poetryiswithhim，inthelanguageofMr。E。PaxtonHood`EclecticandCongregationalRev。’，Dec。，1868，”nojingleofwords，orprettyamusementforharpsichordorpiano，butratheradivinetrigonometry，aprocessofcelestialtriangulation，atakingobservationsofcelestialplacesandspheres，anattempttoestimateourworld，itsplace，itslifeamidsttheboundlessimmeasurablesweepsofspaceandtime；orifdescribing，thendescribingtheanimatingstoriesofthegiants，howtheyfoughtandfell，orconquered……agreatall-inclusivestrengthofsong，whichisasabattlemarchtowarriors，orastherefreshmentofbrooksanddatestothespentandtoilingsoldiersontheirway，ismorethantheprettyidyll，whosesweetandplaintivestorypleasestheidlehouroridleear。”
TheRev。Prof。E。Johnson，inthesectionentitled`PoetsoftheEarandoftheEye’，ofhisvaluablepaperon`ConscienceandArtinBrowning’`BrowningSoc。Papers’，PartIII。，pp。345-380，hasablyshownthat”theeconomyofmusicisanecessityofBrowning’sArt”——thatmusic，insteadofeverbeinganendtoitself，iswithhimameanstoamuchhigherend。Hesays：——”Allpoetrymaybeclassifiedaccordingtoitsformoritscontents。
Formalclassificationiseasy，butoflittleuse。Whenwehavedistinguishedcompositionsasdramatic，lyrical，orcharacterizedapoetinlikemanner，wehavedonelittle。Whatwewanttoascertainisthepeculiarqualityoftheimaginativestuffwithwhichheplasticallyworks，andtoappreciateitsworth。Thisisalwaysagreattask，butoneparticularlynecessaryinthecaseofBrowning，becausethestuffinwhichhehaswroughtissonovelinthepoet’shands。Psychologyitselfiscomparativelyanewandmodernstudy，asadistinctscience；butapsychologicalpoet，whohasmadeithisbusinesstoclothepsychicabstractions`insightsandsounds’，isentirelyanovelappearanceinliterature。”Nowthatphrase`clothinginsightsandsounds’mayyieldusthecluetotheclassificationweareseeking。Thefunctionofartists，thatis，musicians，poetsinthenarrowersense，andpainters，istoclotheTruthinsightsandsoundsforthehearingandseeingofusall。Theircalltodothisliesintheirfinerandfulleraestheticfaculty。Thesenseofhearingandthatofseeingstandinpolaropposition，andthusanaturalscaleoffersitselfbywhichwemayrankandarrangeourartists。Attheoneendofthescaleistheacousticartist，i。e。，themusician。Attheotherendofthescaleistheopticartist，thepainterandsculptor。
Betweenthese，andcomprisingboththeseactivitiesinhisown，isthepoet，whoisbothacousticandopticartist。Hetranslatesthesoundsoftheworld，bothexternalandinternal，——
thetumultofstorms，themurmursofwaves，theSUSURRUSofthewoodland，thetinklingofbrooks，thethrobbingofhumanhearts，thecriesofalllivingcreatures；allthosegroansofpain，stammersofdesire，shrieksofdespair，yawnsevenoflanguor，whichareeverbreakingoutoftheheartofthings；andbesideallthis，thehearsay，commonplace，proverbialloreoftheworld。
Heturnstheseintomelodieswhichshallbecaughtupbythosewholisten。Inshort，heconvertsbyhisalchemythecommonstuffofpainandofjoyintomusic。Butheisopticaswellasacoustic；
thatis，hecallsupatthesametimebyhisartaprocessionofimageswhichmarchordanceacrossthetheatreofthelistener’sfancy。
Nowthequestionofclassificationonthisschemecomestothis，Doestheparticularpoetwhoinvitesourattentiondealmorewiththeaesthesisoftheearorwiththatoftheeye?Doeshemorefillourearwithsweettunesorourfancywithshapesandcolours?
Doeshecompelustolistenandshutoureyes，ortoopenoureyeswideanddispensewithallbutthefaintestmusicalaccompaniment?
Whatsense，inshort，doeshemainlyaddresshimselfto?
Goethesaidthathewasa`seeing’man；W。vonHumboldt，thegreatlinguist，thathewasa`listening’man。TheinfluenceofMilton’sblindnessonhispoetrywasnoticedbyLessing。
Theshort-sightednessofWielandhasalsobeendetectedinhispoetry。”IfweapplytheseteststoBrowning，therecanbe，Ithink，nodoubtastotheanswer。Heis，incommonwithallpoets，bothmusicianandpainter，butmuchmorethelatterthantheformer。
Heisneverforamomenttheslaveofhisear，ifImaysoexpressit。
Weknowthathehas，onthecontrary，themasteryofmusic。
Butmusichelpsandsupportshisimagination，nevercontrolsit。
MusicistoBrowninganinarticulaterevelationofthetruthofthesupersensualworld，the`earnestofaheaven’。
Heisnovoluptuaryinmusic。Musicissimplythemeansbywhichthesoulwingsitswayintotheazureofspiritualtheoryandcontemplation。Takeonly`Saul’and`AbtVogler’inillustration。
`Saul’isamagnificentinterpretationoftheoldtheme，afavoritewiththemystics，thatevilspiritsaredrivenoutbymusic。
Butinthisinterpretationitisnotthemeretones，thethrummingontheharp，itisthereligiousmovementoftheintelligence，itisthetruthofDivinelovethrobbingineverychord，whichconstitutesthespell。Andsoin`AbtVogler’；
theabbot’sinstrumentisonlythemeanswherebyhestrikesoutthelightoffaithandhopewithinhim。Nottodwelluponthispoint，IwouldonlysaythatitseemsclearthatBrowninghasthefinestacousticgifts，andcould，ifhehadchosen，havescatteredmusicalbons-bonsthrougheverypage。Buthehasprintedno`versusinopesrerum，nugaequecanorae’Hor。adPis。。
Hehashadhigherobjectsinview，andhasdispensedbetterstuffthanthatwhichlingersintheear，andtendstosuppressratherthansupportthehigheractivityofthought。”Whenforamomentheshutshiseyes，andfallspurelyintothelisteningor`musing’mood，hebecomestheinstrumentofarichdeepmusic，breakingoutoftheheartoftheunseenworld，asintheDirgeofunfaithfulPoetsin`Paracelsus’，ortheGypsy’sIncantationinthe`FlightoftheDuchess’，ortheMeditationatthecrisisofSordello’stemptation。”Whenthekeeninquisitiveintelligenceisinitsfullwakingactivitytheregrows`moreofthewords’andthought，and`lessofthemusic’，toinvertaphraseofthepoet’s。Themelodyceases，therhythmisbroken，asinallintense，earnestconversation。
Attimesonlythetinkleofthepairingrhymes，ofwhichBrowninghasmadeamostwittyuse，remindsthatwearecalledtopartakeamoodinwhichcommonplaceassociationsaremeltingintotheideal。
IbelievetheeconomyofmusicisanecessityofBrowning’sart；
anditwouldbeonlyfair，ifthosewhoattackhimonthisgroundwouldconsiderhowfarthoughtofsuchqualityashisadmitsofbeingchanted，orotherwisemusicallyaccompanied。Inplainwordstheproblemis，howfarthepleasuresofsoundandofsensecanbeunitedinpoetry；anditwillbefoundineverycasethatapoetsacrificessomethingeithertotheoneortotheother。
Browninghassaidsomethinginhisarchwayonthispoint。Ineffect，heremarks，ItalianprosecanrenderasimplethoughtmoresweetlytotheearthaneitherGreekorEnglishverse。Itseemsclearfrommanyotherofhiscriticalremarksthatheconsidersthedemandformusicinpreferencetothoughtinpoetry，asthesymptomofafalsetaste。”Browning’spoetryistobegazedat，ratherthanlistenedtoandrecited，forthemostpart。Itisinfinitelyeasiertolistenforanhourtospiritualmusicthantofixone’swholeattentionforafewminutesonaspiritualpicture。Inthelatteractofmindwefindarichmusicalaccompanimentdistracting，whileaslightmusicalaccompanimentisprobablyhelpful。AndperhapswemaycharacterizeBrowning’spoetryasaseriesofspiritualpictureswithafaintmusicalaccompaniment。”Forillustrationbyextremecontrast，MiltonmaybecomparedwithBrowning。Miltonwasagreathearsaypoet，Browningrepeatsnohearsay。InreadingMilton，thedifficultyistokeepupthementaltensionwherethereissolittlethought，strictlyspeaking。
WithBrowningthehighesttensionisexacted。”Heispre-eminentlythelooker，theseer，the`maker-see’；
thereporter，thepainterofthesceneryandeventsofthesoul。
Andifthesenseofvisionisournoblest，andweinstinctivelyexpresstheactsofintelligenceintermsdrawnfromphysicalvision，thepoetwholeansmosttowardsthe`SEERofPowerandLoveintheabsolute，BeautyandGoodnessintheconcrete’，takesthehigherrank。Thisisnomatterforbigotryoftaste。
Singersandseers，musiciansandreporters，andreproducersofeverydegree，whohavesomethingtotellusortoshowusofthe`worldasGodhasmadeit，whereallisbeauty’，wehaveneedofall。Butofsingerstherearemany，ofseerstherearefew，thatisall。”
Inthemostdifficultformofverse，namely，blankverse，Browninghasshownhimselfagreatmaster，andhaswrittensomeoftheverybestintheliterature。Andgreatasistheextentofhisblankverse，the`RingandtheBook’alonecontaining21，116verses，itneverentirelylapsesintoprose。
OnegrandmeritofblankverseisintheSWEEPofit；another，initspause-melody，whichcanbesecuredonlybyaskilfulrecurrenceofanunbrokenmeasure；withoutthis，varietyofpauseceasestobevariety，andresultsinametricalchaos；
athirdisinitslightsomenessofmovement，itsgo，whenwell-freightedwiththought。AllthesemeritsarefoundunitedinmuchofBrowning’sblankverse，especiallyinthatof`TheRingandtheBook’。Asanexampleofthis，takethefollowingpassagefromthemonologueoftheCanonCaponsacchi。
ItgivesexpressiontohisvisionofCountGuido’sspiritualdown-sliding；”inthelowestdeepalowerdeepstillthreateningtodevourhim，openswide”：——”AndthusIseehimslowlyandsurelyedgedOffallthetable-landwhencelifeupspringsAspiringtobeimmortality，Asthesnake，hatchedonhill-topbymischance，Despitehiswriggling，slips，slides，sliddersdownHill-side，lieslowandprostrateonthesmoothLeveloftheouterplace，lapsedinthevale：
SoIloseGuidointheloneliness，Silence，anddusk，tillatthedolefulend，Atthehorizontalline，creation’sverge，Fromwhatjustistoabsolutenothingness