Poems

by Robert Browning

Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only

Written
1842-1864
Language
English
Length
Medium · 250 pp120 to 300 pages
Difficulty
Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader

We recommendRobert Browning, Selected PoemsPenguin Classics, 2004Daniel Karlin's selection with the major dramatic monologues and full notes.

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Browning's shorter poems, chiefly from Dramatic Lyrics, Dramatic Romances and Lyrics, Men and Women and Dramatis Personae. His characteristic form is the dramatic monologue, in which a speaker such as the duke of My Last Duchess, the painter Andrea del Sarto or the dying Bishop ordering his tomb unwittingly reveals himself. The Harvard Classics selection favours the patriotic and lyric pieces, including The Lost Leader on Wordsworth's apostasy, Home-Thoughts from Abroad, How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix, and Rabbi Ben Ezra.

No reading guide yet

The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Poems are verified against each program's published list.

What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.

Browse the 48 works that do have a guide →

Selected Poems, Dramatic Lyrics, Men and Women, Dramatis Personae, dramatic monologue, My Last Duchess, The Lost Leader, Home-Thoughts from Abroad, Andrea del Sarto, Rabbi Ben Ezra, Fra Lippo Lippi, Childe Roland