Lo，whatisthishemeets，strainsonwardstill?
　　Whatotherman，deepfurtherinthefate，Who，turningattheprizeofafoot-fallToflatterhimandpromisefellowship，Discoversintheactafrightfulface——
　　Judas，mademonstrousbymuchsolitude！
　　Thetwoareatonenow！LetthemlovetheirloveThatbitesandclawslikehate，orhatetheirhateThatmopsandmowsandmakesasitwerelove！
　　There，letthemeachteareachindevil’s-fun，Orfondlethistheotherwhilemaliceaches——
　　Bothteach，bothlearndetestability！
　　Kisshimthekiss，Iscariot！Paythatback，Thatsmatcho’theslaverblisteringonyourlip——
　　Bythebettertrick，theinsulthesparedChrist——
　　Lurehimthelureo’theletters，Aretine！
　　Lickhimo’erslimy-smoothwithjelly-filthO’theverse-and-prosepollutioninlove’sguise！
　　Thecockatriceiswiththebasilisk！
　　Therelethimgrapple，denizenso’thedark，Foesorfriends，butindissolublybound，IntheironespotoutofthekenofGodOrcareofmanforeverandevermore！”
　　Browninghasdistinctlyindicatedthestandardbywhichheestimatesart-work，intheclosingparagraphofhisEssay`OnthePoetobjectiveandsubjective；onthelatter’saim；
　　onShelleyasmanandpoet’。”Iwouldrather，”hesays，”considerShelley’spoetryasasublimefragmentaryessaytowardsapresentmentofthecorrespondencyoftheuniversetoDeity，ofthenaturaltothespiritual，andoftheactualtotheideal，thanIwouldisolateandseparatelyappraisetheworthofmanydetachableportionswhichmightbeacknowledgedASUTTERLYPERFECTINALOWER
　　MORALPOINTOFVIEW，UNDERTHEMERECONDITIONSOFART。
　　ItwouldbeeasytotakemystandonsuccessfulinstancesofobjectivityinShelley：thereistheunrivalled`Cenci’；thereisthe`JulianandMaddalo’too；thereisthemagnificent`OdetoNaples’：
　　whynotregard，itmaybesaid，thelessorganizedmatterastheradiantelementalfoamandsolution，outofwhichwouldhavebeenevolved，eventually，creationsasperfectevenasthose?
　　ButIprefertolookforthehighestattainment，notsimplythehigh，——and，seeingit，Iholdbyit。Thereissurelyenoughofthework`Shelley’tobeknownenduringlyamongmen，and，Ibelieve，tobeacceptedofGod，ashumanworkmay；andAROUNDTHEIMPERFECT
　　PROPORTIONSOFSUCH，THEMOSTELABORATEDPRODUCTIONSOFORDINARYART
　　MUSTARRANGETHEMSELVESASINFERIORILLUSTRATIONS。”
　　Theitalicsaremine。Iwouldsay，butwithoutadmittingimperfectartonthepartofBrowning，forIregardhimasoneofthegreatestofliteraryartists，thatHEmustbeestimatedbythestandardpresentedinthispassage，bythe”presentment”，everywhereinhispoetry，”ofthecorrespondencyoftheuniversetoDeity，ofthenaturaltothespiritual，andoftheactualtotheideal。”
　　Thesamestandardispresentedin`AndreadelSarto’，in`OldPicturesinFlorence’，andinotherofhispoems。
　　V。ArgumentsofthePoems。
　　*Ithasnotbeenthoughtnecessary，intheseArguments，tousequotationmarkswhereverexpressionsfromthepoemsareincorporated；andespeciallywheretheyareadaptedinconstructiontotheplacewheretheyareintroduced。
　　Wantingis——What?”Love，thesoulofsoul，withinthesoul”，theChrist-spirit，thespiritofthe”Comer”o`e’rxo/menos，Matt。11：3，completesincompletion，reanimatesthatwhichwithoutitisdead，andadmitstoafellowshipwiththesoulofthings；`Ubicaritas，ibiclaritas’。Seepassagefrom`FifineattheFair’，quotedunder`MyStar’。
　　MyStar。
　　Thefollowingpassagefrom`FifineattheFair’，section55，isanexpansionoftheideainvolvedin`MyStar’，andisthebestcommentarywhichcanbegivenonit：——”IsearchbutcannotseeWhatpurposeservesthesoulthatstrives，orworldittriesConclusionswith，unlessthefruitofvictoriesStay，oneandall，storedupandguaranteeditsownForever，bysomemodewherebyshallbemadeknownThegainofeverylife。Deathreadsthetitleclear——
　　Whateachsoulforitselfconqueredfromoutthingshere：
　　Since，INTHESEEINGSOUL，ALLWORTHLIES，IASSERT，——
　　ANDNOUGHTI’THEWORLD，WHICH，SAVEFORSOULTHATSEES，INERT
　　WAS，IS，ANDWOULDBEEVER，——STUFFFORTRANSMUTING——NULL
　　ANDVOIDUNTILMAN’SBREATHEVOKETHEBEAUTIFUL——
　　BUT，TOUCHEDARIGHT，PROMPTYIELDSEACHPARTICLE，ITSTONGUE
　　OFELEMENTALFLAME，——nomatterwhenceflamesprungFromgumsandspice，orelsefromstrawandrottenness，Solongassoulhaspowertomakethemburn，expressWhatlightsandwarmshenceforth，leavesonlyashbehind，Howe’erthechance：ifsoulbeprivilegedtofindFoodsosoonthat，atfirstsnatchofeye，suckofbreath，Itshallabsorbpurelife：”etc。
　　TheFlightoftheDuchess。
　　In`TheFlightoftheDuchess’wearepresentedwithageneroussoul-life，asexhibitedbythesweet，gladDuchess，linkedwithfossilconventionalismandmediaevalsim，andaninheritedauthoritywhichbrooksnosubmissiveness，asexhibitedbytheDuke，herhusband，”outofwhoseveinsceremonyandpridehavedriventheblood，leavinghimbutafumigatedandembalmedself”。Thesceneofthepoemisa”roughnorthland”，subjecttoaKaiserofGermany。Thestoryissoplainlytoldthatnoprosesummaryofitcouldmakeitplainer。Itsdeepermeaningcentresintheincantationoftheoldgypsywoman，inwhichismysticallyshadowedforththelongandpainfuldisciplinethroughwhichthesoulmustpassbeforebeingfullyadmittedtothedivinearcanum，”howloveistheonlygoodintheworld”。
　　Thepoemisonewhichreadilylendsitselftoanallegoricalinterpretation。Forsuchaninterpretation，thereaderisreferredtoMrs。Owen’spaper，readbeforetheBrowningSocietyofLondon，andcontainedintheSociety’sPapers，PartIV。，pp。49*etseq。
　　Itistoolongtobegivenhere。
　　TheLastRideTogether。”Thespeakerisamanwhohastogiveupthewomanheloves；
　　buthisloveisprobablyreciprocated，howeverinadequately，forhisappealfor`alastridetogether’isgranted。
　　Thepoemreflectshischangingmoodsandthoughtsas`hereweareriding，sheandI’。`FailIaloneinwordsanddeeds?
　　Why，allmenstrive，andwhosucceeds?’Careers，evencareerscalled`successful’，passinreview——statesmen，poets，sculptors，musicians——eachfailsinhisideal，foridealsarenotattainableinthislifeofincompletions。Butfaithgainssomethingforaman。
　　Hehaslovedthiswoman。Thatissomethinggained。Ifthislifegaveall，whatweretheretolookforwardto?`Now，heavenandshearebeyondthisride。’Again，——andthisishisclosingreflection，——”`Whatifheavenbe，that，fairandstrong’”，etc——
　　BrowningSoc。Papers，V。，144*。
　　BytheFireside。
　　PerhapsinnootherofMr。Browning’spoemsarethespiritualusesof”theloveofweddedsouls”morefullysetforththaninthepoem，`BytheFireside’。
　　TheMonologueisaddressedbyahappyhusbandtohis”perfectwife，myLeonor”。Helooksforwardtowhathewilldowhenthelong，darkautumneveningscome——theeveningsofdecliningage，whenthepleasanthueofhissoulshallhavedimmed，andthemusicofallitsspringandsummervoicesshallbedumbinlife’sNovember。
　　Inhis”wakingdreams”hewill”liveo’eragain”thehappylifehehasspentwithhislovedandlovingcompanion。Passingoutwherethebackwardvistaends，hewillsurvey，withher，thepleasantwoodthroughwhichtheyhavejourneyedtogether。
　　Tothehazel-treesofEngland，wheretheirchildhoodpassed，succeedsararersort，till，bygreendegrees，theyatlastslopetoItaly，andyouth，——Italy，thewoman-country，lovedbyearth’smale-lands。Shebeingthetrustedguide，theystandatlastintheheartofthings，theheapedanddimwoodsallaroundthem，thesingleandslimthreadofwaterslippingfromslabtoslab，theruinedchapelperchedhalf-wayupintheAlpinegorge，reachedbytheone-archedbridgewherethewaterisstoppedinastagnantpond，wherealldaylongabirdsings，andastraysheepdrinksattimes。Here，whereatafternoon，oralmosteve，thesilencegrowsconscioustothatdegree，onehalffeelsitmustgetridofwhatitknows，theywalkedsidebyside，arminarm，andcheektocheek；
　　crosssilentthecrumblingbridge，pityandpraisethesweetchapel，readthedeadbuilder’sdate，’five，six，nine，recrossthebridge，takethepathagain——butwait！Ohmomentoneandinfinite！thewestistender，withitsonestar，thechrysolite！thesightsandsounds，thelightsandshades，makeupaspell；amomentafter，andunseenhandsarehangingthenightaroundthemfast，buttheyknowthatabarhasbeenbrokenbetweenlifeandlife，thattheyaremixedatlastinspiteofthemortalscreen。”Theforestshaddoneit；theretheystood；
　　Wecaughtforamomentthepowersatplay：
　　Theyhadmingledusso，foronceandforgood，Theirworkwasdone——wemightgoorstay，Theyrelapsedtotheirancientmood。”
　　Browningeverywherelaysgreatstressonthosemomentsofexaltedfeeling，whenthesoulhasanuncheckedplayandisrevealedtoitself。SeeinthesectionoftheIntroductiononPersonalityandArt，thepassagequotedfromtheCanon’sMonologuein`TheRingandtheBook’，andtheremarksonconversion。
　　Mr。Nettleship，inhis`EssaysonBrowning’sPoetry’，hastracedsomewhatminutelythesymbolicalmeaningwhichheseesinthesceneryandcircumstancesof`BytheFireside’。
　　ReadersarereferredtotheseEssays。
　　Prospice。
　　Thespeakerinthisnoblemonologueisonewho，havingfoughtagoodfightandfinishedhiscourse，livedandwroughtthoroughlyinsense，andsoul，andintellect，isnowreadyandeagertoencounterthe`Arch-Fear’，Death；andthenhewillclaspagainhisBeloved，thesoulofhissoul，whohasgonebefore。HeleavestheresttoGod。
　　Withthismonologueshouldbereadthemysticaldescription，in`ThePassingofArthur’Tennyson’sIdyllsoftheKing，of”thelast，dim，weirdbattleofthewest”，beginning，——”Adeathwhitemistsleptoversandandsea。”
　　Amphibian。
　　ThispoemisthePrologueto`FifineattheFair’。
　　Amphibianisonewhounitesbothliveswithinhimself，thematerialandthespiritual，incompleteconcordandmutualsubservience——
　　onewho”livesandlikeslife’sway”，andcanalsofreehimselfoftether，leavethesolidland，and，unabletofly，swim”inthespherewhichoverbrimswithpassionandthought”，——
　　thesphereofpoetry。SuchanonemaybesaidtobeBrowning’sidealman。”Thevalueandsignificanceofflesh”iseverywhererecognizedinhispoetry。”Allgoodthingsareours，”RabbiBenEzraismadetosay，”norsoulhelpsfleshmore，now，thanfleshhelpssoul。”
　　Thefullphysicallife，initsrelationtothespiritual，wasnevermorebeautifullysungthanitissungbyDavid，inthepoemof`Saul’。Seethepassagebeginning，”Oh！ourmanhood’sprimevigor！”andthepassagein`Balaustion’sAdventure’，descriptiveofHercules，ashereturns，afterhisconflictwithDeath，leadingbackAlkestis。
　　JamesLee’sWife。
　　Theoriginaltitlein`DramatisPersonae’firstpublishedin1864
　　was`JamesLee’。
　　Thepoemconsistsofasuccessionofsoliloquiesratherthanmonologues*，separated，itmustbesupposed，bylongerorshorterintervalsoftime，andexpressiveofsubjectivestatesinducedinawifewhosehusband’slove，ifiteverwerelove，indeed，graduallydeclinestoapathyandfinallyentiredeadness。WhatmannerofmanJamesLeewas，isonlyfaintlyintimated。Theinterestcentresin，iswhollyconfinedto，theexperiencesofthewife’sheart，underthecircumstances，whatevertheywere——
　　*Forthedistinctionbetweenthesoliloquyandthemonologue，seethepassagegiveninanote，fromRev。Prof。Johnson’spaperon`BishopBlougram’sApology’，underthetreatmentofthemonologue，p。85{partIIIofIntro。}。