APOLLO AND THE FATES.
APPARENT FAILURE
ARCADES AMBO
ARTEMIS PROLOGUIZES
ASOLANDO. EPILOGUE
ASOLANDO. PROLOGUE
BAD DREAMS I
BAD DREAMS II
BAD DREAMS III
BAD DREAMS IV
BEATRICE SIGNORINI
BEFORE
BEN KARSHOOK’S WISDOM
BISHOP BLOUGRAM’S APOLOGY
BY THE FIRE-SIDE
CALIBAN UPON SETEBOS
CAVALIER TUNES I. MARCHING ALONG.
CAVALIER TUNES II. GIVE A ROUSE.
CAVALIER TUNES III. BOOT AND SADDLE.
CHERRIES.
CHILDE ROLAND TO THE DARK TOWER CAME
CHRISTMAS-EVE
CLEON
CLIVE
CONFESSIONS
COUNT GISMOND
COUNT GUIDO FRANCESCHINI
CRISTINA
CRISTINA AND MONALDESCHI
DE GUSTIBUS —
DEAF AND DUMB
DEVELOPMENT
DÎS ALITER VISUM;
DOCTOR — —
DOMINUS HYACINTHUS DE ARCHANGELIS
DONALD
DUBIETY
EARTH’S IMMORTALITIES
EASTER-DAY
ECHETLOS
EPILOGUE
EPILOGUE.
EPILOGUE. THE HOUSEHOLDER.
EURYDICE TO ORPHEUS
EVELYN HOPE
FAME
FERISHTAH’S FANCIES.
FIFINE AT THE FAIR.
FLUTE-MUSIC, WITH AN ACCOMPANIMENT
FRA LIPPO LIPPI
FUST AND HIS FRIENDS.
GARDEN-FANCIES
GIUSEPPE CAPONSACCHI
GOLD HAIR
GUIDO
HALBERT AND HOB
HALF-ROME
HOLY-CROSS DAY
HOME-THOUGHTS, FROM ABROAD
HOME-THOUGHTS, FROM THE SEA
HOW IT STRIKES A CONTEMPORARY
HOW THEY BROUGHT THE GOOD NEWS FROM GHENT TO AIX
HUMILITY
I. — JAMES LEE’S WIFE SPEAKS AT THE WINDOW
I. — THE FLOWER’S NAME
II. — BY THE FIRESIDE
II. — SIBRANDUS SCHAFNABURGENSIS.
III. — IN THE DOORWAY
IMPERANTE AUGUSTO NATUS EST —
IN A BALCONY
IN A GONDOLA
IN A YEAR
IN THREE DAYS
INAPPREHENSIVENESS
INCIDENT OF THE FRENCH CAMP
INSTANS TYRANNUS
IV. — ALONG THE BEACH
IVÀN IVÀNOVITCH
IX. — ON DECK
IXION
JAMES LEE’S WIFE
JOCHANAN HAKKADOSH
JOHANNES AGRICOLA IN MEDITATION I. — MADHOUSE CELL
JOHANNES AGRICOLA IN MEDITATION II. — MADHOUSE CELL
JURIS DOCTOR JOHANNES-BAPTISTA BOTTINIUS
LA SAISIAZ
LIFE IN A LOVE
LOVE
LOVE AMONG THE RUINS
LOVE IN A LIFE
MARTIN RELPH
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT AND FUSELI
MASTER HUGUES OF SAXE-GOTHA
MAY AND DEATH
MEETING AT NIGHT
MEMORABILIA
MESMERISM
MIHRAB SHAH.
MISCONCEPTIONS
MR. SLUDGE, “THE MEDIUM”
MUCKLE-MOUTH MEG
MULÉYKEH
MY LAST DUCHESS
MY STAR
NATIONALITY IN DRINKS
NED BRATTS
NEVER THE TIME AND THE PLACE
NOTE
NOW
OLD PICTURES IN FLORENCE
ONE WAY OF LOVE
ONE WORD MORE
PACCHIAROTTO, AND HOW HE WORKED IN DISTEMPER
PACCHIAROTTO. I
PACCHIAROTTO. II
PACCHIAROTTO. III
PACCHIAROTTO. IV
PACCHIAROTTO. IX
PACCHIAROTTO. V
PACCHIAROTTO. VI
PACCHIAROTTO. VII
PACCHIAROTTO. VIII
PACCHIAROTTO. X
PACCHIAROTTO. XI
PACCHIAROTTO. XII
PACCHIAROTTO. XIII
PACCHIAROTTO. XIV
PACCHIAROTTO. XIX
PACCHIAROTTO. XV
PACCHIAROTTO. XVI
PACCHIAROTTO. XVII
PACCHIAROTTO. XVIII
PACCHIAROTTO. XX
PACCHIAROTTO. XXI
PACCHIAROTTO. XXII
PACCHIAROTTO. XXIII
PACCHIAROTTO. XXIV
PACCHIAROTTO. XXIX
PACCHIAROTTO. XXV
PACCHIAROTTO. XXVI
PACCHIAROTTO. XXVII
PACCHIAROTTO. XXVIII
PAMBO
PAN AND LUNA
PARLEYINGS WITH CERTAIN PEOPLE OF IMPORTANCE IN THEIR DAY
PARTING AT MORNING
PAULINE
PHEIDIPPIDES
PICTOR IGNOTUS
PIETRO OF ABANO
PLOT-CULTURE.
POETICS
POMPILIA
PONTE DELL’ ANGELO, VENICE
POPULARITY
PORPHYRIA’S LOVER
PRINCE HOHENSTIEL-SCHWANGAU, SAVIOUR OF SOCIETY
PROLOGUE.
PROLOGUE: AMPHIBIAN.
PROSPICE
PROTUS
RABBI BEN EZRA
RED COTTON NIGHT-CAP COUNTRY, OR, TURF AND TOWERS
REPHAN
RESPECTABILITY
REVERIE
ROSNY
RUDEL TO THE LADY OF TRIPOLI
SAUL
SAUL
SHAH ABBAS.
SOLILOQUY OF THE SPANISH CLOISTER
SOLOMON AND BALKIS
SONG
SONNET
SORDELLO BOOK THE FIFTH.
SORDELLO BOOK THE FIRST.
SORDELLO BOOK THE FOURTH.
SORDELLO BOOK THE SECOND.
SORDELLO BOOK THE SIXTH.
SORDELLO BOOK THE THIRD.
SPECULATIVE
SUMMUM BONUM
TERTIUM QUID
THE BEAN-FEAST
THE BISHOP ORDERS HIS TOMB AT SAINT PRAXED’S CHURCH ROME
THE BOOK AND THE RING
THE BOY AND THE ANGEL
THE CARDINAL AND THE DOG
THE CONFESSIONAL
THE EAGLE.
THE ENGLISHMAN IN ITALY
THE FAMILY.
THE FLIGHT OF THE DUCHESS
THE GLOVE
THE GUARDIAN-ANGEL
THE HERETIC’S TRAGEDY
THE INN ABLUM
THE ITALIAN IN ENGLAND
THE LABORATORY
THE LADY AND THE PAINTER
THE LAST RIDE TOGETHER
THE LOST LEADER
THE LOST MISTRESS
THE MELON-SELLER
THE OTHER HALF-ROME
THE PATRIOT
THE PIED PIPER OF HAMELIN
THE POPE
THE POPE AND THE NET
THE RING AND THE BOOK
THE STATUE AND THE BUST
THE SUN.
THE TWINS
THE WORST OF IT
THREE SONGS FROM PARACELSUS
THROUGH THE METIDJA TO ABD-EL-KADR
TIME’S REVENGES
TOO LATE
TOUCH HIM NE’ER SO LIGHTLY
TRANSCENDENTALISM:
TRAY
TWO CAMELS.
TWO IN THE CAMPAGNA
UP AT A VILLA–DOWN IN THE CITY
V. — ON THE CLIFF
VI. — READING A BOOK, UNDER THE CLIFF
VII. — AMONG THE ROCKS
VIII. — BESIDE THE DRAWING BOARD
WANTING IS — WHAT?
WARING
WARNING II.
WHICH?
WHITE WITCHCRAFT
WITH BERNARD DE MANDEVILLE.
WITH CHARLES AVISON.
WITH CHRIS
TOPHER SMART.
WITH DANIEL BARTOLI.
WITH FRANCIS FURINI.
WITH GEORGE BUBB DODINGTON.
WITH GERARD DE LAIRESSE.
WOMEN AND ROSES
YOU ARE SICK, THAT’S SURE
YOUTH AND ART
The Plays
St. Marylebone Parish Church, where Robert and Elizbateh were married in secret, due to her father having expressly forbidden his children to marry. Mr. Barrett disinherited Elizabeth, as well as her other siblings that had married, and Elizabeth’s brothers accused Browning of being a lower-class gold-digger, refusing to see him.
The church today
Elizabeth Barrett, 1849
PARACELSUS
In 1834 Browning accompanied the Chevalier George de Benkhausen, the Russian consul-general, on a brief visit to St Petersburg, which is where he began writing Paracelsus, published the following year. The dramatic poem concerns a 16th century alchemist, which was most likely suggested to him by the Comte Amédée de Ripart-Monclar, to whom the work was dedicated. Paracelsus (1493-1541) was also an astrologer, medical doctor and general occultist. He was born Phillip von Hohenheim, but changed his name first to Philippus Theophrastus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, and later to Paracelsus, meaning “equal to or greater than Celsus”, a Roman encyclopedist known for his tract on medicine. He made significant contributions in the fields of toxicology, medicine and psychology.
Paracelsus enjoyed some commercial and critical success, being noticed by such writers as Wordsworth, Dickens and Tennyson. A monodrama with little action, Paracelsus explores the problems confronting an intellectual trying to find his role in society. With the success of this work, Browning gained access to the London literary world.
The first edition of Browning’s first literary success
CONTENTS
Persons
Part I. Paracelsus Aspires
Part II. Paracelsus Attains
Part III. Paracelsus
Part IV. Paracelsus Aspires
Part V. Paracelsus Attains
Paracelsus
Inscribed to
AMÉDÉE DE RIPERT-MONCLAR
by his affectionate friend
R. B.
London, March 15, 1835.
Persons
Aureolus Paracelsus, a student.
Festus and Michal, his friends.
Aprile, an Italian poet.
Part I. Paracelsus Aspires
Scene. —
Würzburg; a garden in the environs. 1512.
Festus, Paracelsus, Michal.
Paracelsus.
Come close to me, dear friends; still closer; thus!
Close to the heart which, though long time roll by
Ere it again beat quicker, pressed to yours,
As now it beats — perchance a long, long time —
At least henceforth your memories shall make
Quiet and fragrant as befits their home.
Nor shall my memory want a home in yours —
Alas, that it requires too well such free
Forgiving love as shall embalm it there!
For if you would remember me aright,
As I was born to be, you must forget
All fitful strange and moody waywardness
Which e’er confused my better spirit, to dwell
Only on moments such as these, dear friends!
— My heart no truer, but my words and ways
More true to it: as Michal, some months hence,
Will say, “this autumn was a pleasant time,”
For some few sunny days; and overlook
Its bleak wind, hankering after pining leaves.
Autumn would fain be sunny; I would look
Liker my nature’s truth: and both are frail,
And both beloved, for all our frailty.
Michal.
Aureole!
Paracelsus.
Drop by drop! she is weeping like a child!
Not so! I am content — more than content;
Nay, autumn wins you best by this its mute
Appeal to sympathy for its decay:
Look up, sweet Michal, nor esteem the less
Your stained and drooping vines their grapes bow down,
Nor blame those creaking trees bent with their fruit,
That apple-tree with a rare after-birth
Of peeping blooms sprinkled its wealth among!
Then for the winds — what wind that ever raved
Shall vex that ash which overlooks you both,
So proud it wears its berries? Ah, at length,
The old smile meet for her, the lady of this
Sequestered nest! — this kingdom, limited
Alone by one old populous green wall
Tenanted by the ever-busy flies,
Grey crickets and shy lizards and quick spiders,
Each family of the silver-threaded moss —
Which, look through near, this way, and it appears
A stubble-field or a cane-brake, a marsh
Of bulrush whitening in the sun: laugh now!
Fancy the crickets, each one in his house,
Looking out, wondering at the world — or best,
Yon painted snail with his gay shell of dew,
Travelling to see the glossy balls high up
Hung by the caterpillar, like gold lamps.
Michal.
In truth we have lived carelessly and well.
Paracelsus.
And shall, my perfect pair! — each, trust me, born
For the other; nay, your very hair, when mixed,
Is of one hue. For where save in this nook
Shall you two walk, when I am far away,
And wish me prosperous fortune? Stay: that plant
Shall never wave its tangles lightly and softly,
As a queen’s languid and imperial arm
Which scatters crowns among her lovers, but you
Shall be reminded to predict to me
Some great success! Ah see, the sun sinks broad
Behind Saint Saviour’s: wholly gone, at last!
Festus.
Now, Aureole, stay those wandering eyes awhile!
You are ours to-night, at least; and while you spoke
Of Michal and her tears, I thought that none
Could willing leave what he so seemed to love:
But that last look destroys my dream — that look
As if, where’er you gazed, there stood a star!
How far was Würzburg with its church and spire
And garden-walls and all things they contain,
From that look’s far alighting?
Paracelsus.
I but spoke
And looked alike from simple joy to see
The beings I love best, shut in so well
From all rude chances like to be my lot,
That, when afar, my weary spirit, — disposed
To lose awhile its care in soothing thoughts
Of them, their pleasant features, looks and words, —
Needs never hesitate, nor apprehend
Encroaching trouble may have reached them too,
Nor have recourse to fancy’s busy aid
And fashion even a wish in their behalf
Beyond what they possess already here;
But, unobstructed, may at once forget
Itself in them, assured how well they fare.
Beside, this Festus knows he holds me one
Whom quiet and its charms arrest in vain,
One scarce aware of all the joys I quit,
Too filled with airy hopes to make account
Of soft delights his own heart garners up:
Whereas behold how much our sense of all
That ‘s beauteous proves alike! When Festus learns
That every common pleasure of the world
Affects me as himself; that I have just
As varied appetite for joy derived
From common
things; a stake in life, in short,
Like his; a stake which rash pursuit of aims
That life affords not, would as soon destroy; —
He may convince himself that, this in view,
I shall act well advised. And last, because,
Though heaven and earth and all things were at stake,
Sweet Michal must not weep, our parting eve.
Festus.
True: and the eve is deepening, and we sit
As little anxious to begin our talk
As though to-morrow I could hint of it
As we paced arm-in-arm the cheerful town
At sun-dawn; or could whisper it by fits
(Trithemius busied with his class the while)
In that dim chamber where the noon-streaks peer
Half-frightened by the awful tomes around;
Or in some grassy lane unbosom all
From even-blush to midnight: but, to-morrow!
Have I full leave to tell my inmost mind?
We have been brothers, and henceforth the world
Will rise between us: — all my freest mind?
‘T is the last night, dear Aureole!
Paracelsus.
Oh, say on!
Devise some test of love, some arduous feat
To be performed for you: say on! If night
Be spent the while, the better! Recall how oft
My wondrous plans and dreams and hopes and fears
Have — never wearied you, oh no! — as I
Recall, and never vividly as now,
Your true affection, born when Einsiedeln
And its green hills were all the world to us;
And still increasing to this night which ends
My further stay at Würzburg. Oh, one day
You shall be very proud! Say on, dear friends!
Festus.
In truth? ‘T is for my proper peace, indeed,
Rather than yours; for vain all projects seem
To stay your course: I said my latest hope
Is fading even now. A story tells
Of some far embassy despatched to win
The favour of an eastern king, and how
The gifts they offered proved but dazzling dust
Shed from the ore-beds native to his clime.
Just so, the value of repose and love,
I meant should tempt you, better far than I
You seem to comprehend; and yet desist
No whit from projects where repose nor love
Has part.
Paracelsus.
Once more? Alas! As I foretold.
Festus.
A solitary briar the bank puts forth
To save our swan’s nest floating out to sea.
Paracelsus.
Dear Festus, hear me. What is it you wish?
That I should lay aside my heart’s pursuit,
Abandon the sole ends for which I live,
Reject God’s great commission, and so die!
You bid me listen for your true love’s sake:
Robert Browning - Delphi Poets Series Page 236