1812 Born on
May 7th in Camberwell, "a suburb of the middle classes, with comfortable
detached houses here and there, a village green and a square church-tower
that was visible from the Strand three miles off" (Devane 1).
Browning's father was a banker, but "he was at heart an artist, a scholar,
and a collector of books and pictures" (3) who amassed a large library of
6000 books that was the basis of much of the young Browning's reading and
education. Browning's mother was a member deeply spiritual woman and a
member of the Congregational Church who inspired Browning's own religious
sensibility.
1820-1826 Takes up school, as a weekly boarder in Peckham,
but like many precocious children, he was somewhat bored. By the time he
was twelve (1824), he had read Homer in Pope's English translation and had
begun to read Greek (6-7). In 1826, he left Peckham and began being
educated at home by private tutors and
1826-1828 Begins writing poetry, influenced largely by Shelley.
Under the influence of Shelley, he declared himself an atheist and a
vegetarian. Although Shelley's poetry remained influential for Browning at
least until the publication of Men and Women in 1855, Browning soon
abandoned Shelley as a role model. While still under Shelley's influence,
Browning matriculated at the newly formed London University, but,
dissatisfied with the professional bent of the curriculum, returned to his
parent's home to continue is studies independently. He lived with his
parents until his early thirties.
1833 Pauline, A Fragment of a Confession was published
anonymously. While the volume received some advance praise, it did not
sell. Browning was stung by the criticism of John Stuart Mill who said
that the confessional poem seemed to have been written by a writer who
"'seemed possessed with a more intense and morbid self-consciousness than
I ever knew in any sane man'" (11). Browning took the criticism hard
and from then on made many declarations that his writings were "dramatic"
not autobiographical.
1834 Travels across Europe to Saint Petersburg, Russia; returns
home.
1835 Paracelsus published and receives positive notice from the
literary community. He also began to make the acquaintance of famous men
of letters such as Thomas Carlyle and Walter Savage Landor. He even met
William Wordsworth at a dinner party (13) .
1837 Browning's efforts to write "dramatically" resulted in the
production and publication of
Strafford, but it was not a critical or financial success.
1838 First visit to Italy.
1840 Publishes Sordello, a long narrative poem based on the
murky history of the medieval troubador Sordello. The reviews were very
harsh and it soon came to be know as the most incomprehinsible poem of its
time. It gains a reputation as "unintelligible" and "meaningless,"
establishing Browning as an obscure poet. John Ruskin said the poem was
...worse than the worst Alpine Glacier I
ever crossed. Bright & deep enough truly, but so full of clefts that half
the journey has to be made with ladder & hatchet.' John Ruskin
Another critic termed it "'a collosal
derelict on the sea of literature.' Browning himself came to make light of
the poem say it was "praised by the units, cursed by the tens, unmeddled
with by the hundreds." Ezra Pound began the process of reversing this
legacy when he declared it 'probably the greatest poem in English.'
1841 Begins publishing a series of books under the title Bells
and Pomegranates; composed mostly of plays. Publishes Pippa Passes.
1842 Publishes collection of poems called Dramatic Lyrics,
including notably "My Last Duchess."
1843-1844 Production of three now obscure plays. Visits Italy for a
second time.
1845 Writes a letter to Elizabeth Barrett introducing himself and praising her poetry.
She is an invalid but he gains permission to visit her. He soon tells her
he loves her. Because she initially rebuffed his advances and her father
was against the match, the two began a romance via letters and clandestine
visits.
Dramatic Romances and Lyrics.
1846 Elopes to Italy with Elizabeth Barrett.
They take up residence in Italy, where they live for most of their fifteen
years together.
1849 A son is born, Robert Barrett-Browning ("Pen").
1850 Publishes Christmas Eve and Easter Day.
1851-1852 Visits Paris and London. Strikes friendships with
literary and artistic figures of the day, including Dante Gabriel
Rossetti, Charles Kingsley, and Tennyson.
1855 Publishes a two-volume poetry collection, Men and Women;
it includes many of his best works. The volume marks a turning point in
his career as it is the first work that was widely read.
1861 Elizabeth Barrett Browning dies; Browning moves to London with
his son "Pen. " He never returns to Florence.
1864 Publishes Dramatis Personae.
1868 Publishes The Ring and the Book, a long narrative poem
constructed from a series of long dramatic monologues. He retells a
forgotten murder story from multiple perspectives.
1871-1887 Publishes over a dozen volumes of poetry during this
period, which now reside in near-obscurity. They include narrative poems
such as Red-Cotton Nightcap Country and the two collections of
Dramatic Idyls, verse plays such as The Inn Album, and
translations from Greek such as The Agamemnon of Aeschylus.
1880 Dr. F. J. Furnivall and others establish the Browning Society
in London. They study his works and idolize him.
1889 Publishes Asolando, a last collection of poems, and an
edition of his complete works. Dies in Venice after taking a walk in the
rain and contracting bronchitis. He was buried in in Poets' Comer of
Westminster Abbey on December 31st (38)
From A Browning Handbook by William Clyde Devane
