579. RB to André Victor Amédée de Ripert-Monclar
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 3, 264–266.
[London]
August 9. 1837.
My dear Amédée,
The circumstances under which my poems have been produced are as follows: I can only conceive of their interesting you from the feeling with which, I confess, I should regard a similar and if possible less important communication on the subject of your own pursuits.
I cannot remember the time when I did not make verses and think verse-making the finest thing in the world: my father still keeps some very early attempts—laughable enough, I dare say. This itch for rhyming had not the least connection with the development of a poetic nature, but was the mere result of the notion that “a poet” was the grandest of God’s creatures; and all poets rhymed. When subsequently real and strong feeling called for utterance, either Drawing or Music seemed a much fitter vehicle than “verses:” and for a long time I resorted to them, chiefly to music. I never, however, ceased holding a Poet’s calling in pre-eminent reverence, and in my thirteenth year collected a batch of performances of all sorts and sizes for publication, under the judicious title “Incondita.” These were submitted by a friend of mine [1] to the Rev. W. J. Fox, then unknown to me. He praised some of them, prophecied great things of the future, and advised me to consign the present work to the fire: [2] You may suppose how grateful I have been since. Upon this I betook myself to music again and to general study, particularly of Greek Literature for which I have always had a passion: as for music, even now I frequently detect or express feelings in harmonic combinations or melodic amplifications rather than in language.
“Pauline”, a poem not forgotten because never remembered, was written in pursuance of a foolish plan, which was suggested to me by witnessing a performance of Kean’s [3] at Richmond, (October 22. 1832)—and which contemplated the assumption of I know not how many different individualities and characters in each of which I was to expatiate and take my pleasure: meanwhile the world was never to guess that “Brown, Smith, Jones, and Robinson” (as our Spelling-books have it) the respective Authors of such a poem, such an opera, such a comedy, such a speech &c &c were no other than one and the same. The Abortion in question [4] was the “tentative” of “the Poet” of the company—who would have been more legitimately “myself” than most of the others, but I had planned a very delicious and romantic life for him. Only this crab remains of the stately Tree of Life in my fool’s Paradise. [5] It was published; praised extremely by Mr Fox to whom it had been conveyed anonymously [6] and made the subject of a long and clever review in his “Monthly Repository”, and lauded not a little in one or two other Journals. [7] Thereupon I got sick of my scheme, destroyed “Pauline, Part 2”, and some other works written in pursuance of it, and set about a genuine work of my own. Then followed “Paracelsus”, with all the circumstances attending which you are acquainted. The success was much beyond my expectations.
“Strafford” was written in a hurry but was beautifully acted by Macready and succeeded as you know. [8]
In a few months I hope to produce “Sordello”, my first poem: it has occupied me more or less for the last two years and is now undergoing a final revision. May it be not unworthy of your friend, my dear Amédée, and may I ever preserve as the most delightful of all titles that of
Your most affectionate
R Browning.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Yale University.
1. Eliza Flower.
2. Some of the poems (later retrieved and destroyed by RB—see p. 312) were copied by Eliza Flower into an album, but Sarah Flower transcribed two of them and included them in a letter to Fox. They were “The Dance of Death” and “The First-Born of Egypt” (see SD627, where they are reprinted). The poems were first published in The Cornhill Magazine (36, January 1914, pp. 1–9), in an article by Bertram Dobell, the bookseller. Based on this article, and comments by Mrs. Orr (pp. 31–32), DeVane stated (pp. 554–555) that the two poems were from “Incondita.” Maynard (p. 427, note 40) questions DeVane’s statement, basing his doubts on an apparent conflict regarding the age at which RB wrote these poems and the assembling of “Incondita.” However, the last paragraph (hitherto unpublished) of Sarah Flower’s letter to Fox (SD627) says “there is a whole book full from which these two are extracted”; as there is no evidence whatever that a second collection of juvenilia existed, her statement indicates that they were taken from “Incondita.”
3. In Richard III.
4. Despite his very negative feeling for Pauline, RB gave Monclar a copy (see Reconstruction, B22).
5. RB used a similar explanation of the genesis of Pauline when inscribing two presentation copies of the work (see Reconstruction, B20 and B23).
6. A strange comment, in view of letters 473 and 475.
8. RB gave Monclar a copy of Strafford in June 1837 (see Reconstruction, C589).
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