R491215A. Poems (Boston, 1850)
The Home Journal, 15 December 1849, p. 2.
Addendum to The Brownings’ Correspondence, vol. 16.
These elegant volumes, the publication of which by Ticknor and Co. of Boston we recently announced, should be read by all interested in poetical literature. They constitute one of the most original specimens which have appeared for several years. Whatever may be thought of Browning, he cannot be deemed an imitator. With a singular individuality of aim and independence of spirit, he writes according to his own ideas, both as to form and substance. “Paracelsus,” the most elaborate of the dramatic pieces, contains many glorious sentences, exalted in sentiment and beautiful in imagery. It teaches the inadequacy of knowledge without love; and the folly of wandering from the sphere of humanity into barren idealisms. Now and then, an exquisite metaphor occurs, and there are numerous passages of magnificent declamation. “The Blot on the ’Scutcheon,” in our opinion, is the nearest approach to the best exemplars of the old English drama to be found in modern poetry. “My Last Duchess,” and several of the minor pieces are conceived in a fresh and striking vein. Fancy and philosophy, and epicurean zest of the voluptuous in sensation, with a keen and high relish for truth, alternate, on these clear pages, in a rare and impressive manner; and the lover of genuine poetry will find gems enough in Browning’s Poems to delight and surprise him, and lead him to recognize with joy the advent of a new and orginal bard.
Reviewed:
Poems (RB), Boston: Ticknor, Reed, & Fields, 1850.
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