Dramatis Personae
Encyclopedia
Dramatis Personae is a poetry collection by Robert Browning
. It was published in 1864.
, which is widely considered his greatest work, were enough to begin a critical re-evaluation of the writer.
, his previous collection, and along with The Ring and the Book these poems embody a turning point in Browning's style. Browning's poetry after this point most notably touches on religion and marital distress, two potent issues of his time period.
This new style was appreciated, as Dramatis Personae sold enough copies for a second edition to be published, which was a first in Browning's career. However, though he gained respect, Browning didn't have much commercial success as a poet. The sales of this work and most notably his Collected Poems were helped by public sympathy after the death of his wife.
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
. It was published in 1864.
Background
Browning wrote the collection in London, where he had returned with his son after his wife's death. It was his first publication after a nine-year hiatus. During this time, Browning's reputation was fluctuating, and Dramatis Personae along with The Ring and the BookThe Ring and the Book
The Ring and the Book is a long dramatic narrative poem, and, more specifically, a verse novel, of 21,000 lines, written by Robert Browning...
, which is widely considered his greatest work, were enough to begin a critical re-evaluation of the writer.
The poems
The poems in Dramatis Personae are dramatic, with a wide range of narrators. The narrator is usually in a situation that reveals to the reader some aspect of his personality. Instead of speeches that are intended for others' ears, most are soliloquies. They are generally darker than the poems found in Men and WomenMen and Women (poetry collection)
Men and Women is a collection of fifty-one poems in two volumes by Robert Browning, first published in 1855. While now generally considered to contain some of the best of Browning's poetry, at the time it was not received well and sold poorly....
, his previous collection, and along with The Ring and the Book these poems embody a turning point in Browning's style. Browning's poetry after this point most notably touches on religion and marital distress, two potent issues of his time period.
This new style was appreciated, as Dramatis Personae sold enough copies for a second edition to be published, which was a first in Browning's career. However, though he gained respect, Browning didn't have much commercial success as a poet. The sales of this work and most notably his Collected Poems were helped by public sympathy after the death of his wife.
Poems in the collection
- James Lee’s Wife
- Gold Hair: A Story of Pornic
- The Worst of It
- Dîs Aliter Visum
- Too Late
- Abt Vogler
- Rabbi Ben EzraRabbi ben EzraRabbi ben Ezra is a poem by Robert Browning about Abraham ibn Ezra , one of the great poets, mathematicians and scholars of the 12th century...
- A Death in the Desert
- Caliban upon SetebosCaliban upon SetebosCaliban upon Setebos is an 1864 poem written by the British poet Robert Browning. It deals with Caliban, a character from Shakespeare's The Tempest, and his reflections on Setebos, the brutal god he believes in. Some scholars see Browning as being of the belief that God is in the eye of the...
- Confessions
- May and Death
- Deaf and Dumb
- Prospice
- Eurydice to Orpheus
- Youth and Art
- A Face
- A Likeness
- Mr. Sludge, "The Medium"
- Apparent Failure
- Epilogue