Victorian Literature Talim Enam 

Browning’s Optimism
Robert Browning, (1812-1899), one of the major Victorian poets, is an
optimist and as an optimist he places himself above almost all writers of his
era. We, in his poems, find his optimistic attitude towards love which make
him optimist in every aspects of life. Browning, as an optimist, tends to
believe in essential goodness of man and the salvation of man through the
hard struggles. Now we will look into his optimistic views scattered in his
poems especially in his dramatic monologue.
Browning’s optimistic attitude towards love is clearly disclosed in the
poem “The Last Ride Together”, one of his greatest love poems. In the poem
the rejected lover is manly, brave and optimistic like a typical Browning’s
character. He consoles himself for his failure to gain his beloved’s love with
great optimism. The lover does not consider his failure as defeat rather it is
“written and needs must be”. He even blesses his beloved “in pride and
thankfulness”. He now appeals a last ride together that he can keep as his
memory of his love.
“I claim
---Only a memory of the same,”

Eventually she gives her consents which the lover regards as a great
achievement against the past hopes of his getting united. He is so optimistic
that he does not want to regret the frustrating past.
“What need to strive with a life awry?
Had I said that, had I done this”

The lover grants the gap between the desire and the achievement positively.
He argues:
“She might have hated, who can tell!
Where had I been now if the worst befell?
And here we are riding, she and I.”

Moreover, the speaker universalizes that failure in common to all human

beings.
“Fail I alone, in words and deeds?
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  Victorian Literature Talim Enam 

Why, all men strive and who succeeds?”

The lover argues that his achievement is not less than those of other
men in the world – the state man, the poets, the musicians who gets less
reward than their work. Thus Browning holds positive approach the present
that might have been worst.
Browning’s optimistic attitude also nicely exposed in “Rabbi Ben
Ezra” with the Rabbi’s statements. The rabbi does not regret for last youth
and never consider old age as useless rather regards it as the most excellent
part of life. So he invites everybody to grow old eagerly:
“Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:”

Actually the life is planned by God and both the youth and old are equally
significant.
Browning, as an optimist, believes in salvation of human through in
hard struggle. As Rabbi encourages.
“Strive, and hold cheap the strain;
Learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe!”
Moreover, to Browning, a man should judge his success not by the
result but by the labour which has put to accomplish his goal. A man should
possess the noble aspiration even though he fails to accomplish them. As the
Rabbi says:
“Shall life succeed in that it seems to fail:
What I aspired to be,
And was not, comforts me:
A brute I might have been, but would not sink i' the scale.”

Browning has optimistic attitude towards failure. To him, some of the desires
mu8st be left unfulfilled on the earth so that, they can be accomplished in the
next life. So he is now ready face the death.
“Earth being so good, would heaven seem best?
Now, heaven and she are beyond this ride.”

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  Victorian Literature Talim Enam 

Browning’s optimism is based on immortality of soul. In “The Last

Ride Together” the speaker perceives that, through their death his and his
beloved’s soul will enter into eternity and their ride will be continuing
eternally. They will achieve in the next world what they cannot gain here.
“ The instant made eternity,---
And heaven just prove that I and she
Ride, ride together, for ever ride?”

Browning’s optimism is strictly founded on the fair faith in God. He

constantly talks the relation between god and human. As Rabbi in “Rabbi
Ben Ezara” says:

“Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure:

What entered into thee,
That was, is, and shall be:
Time's wheel runs back or stops: Potter and clay endure.”

Here the wheel stands for time, potter for God and clay for man.
In the poem “Andrea del Sarto” we see Browning’s optimism attitude to love.
He does not want to quarrel with his wife Lucrazia, rather he just wants one
chance to draw a painting. He is even ready to give all the money in her hand.
As he says:
“And shut the money into this small hand
When next it takes mine. Will it? tenderly?”

Though his wife does not pay any heed to him, he has no objection or anger
to her. He loves her so much and seeks inspiration for the painting. He thinks
her smile will inspire him in his works. So he wants to pay for this smile:
“Well, let smiles buy me! have you more to spend?
While hand and eye and something of a heart
Are left me, work's my ware, and what's it worth?”

Browning’s optimism is clear in his characterization. He usually picks

up his main character in the crisis then the crisis reaches the climax and
finally finishes with optimism. His characters are usually manly, brave and
optimistic. In “Lost Mistress” the lover cannot marry his beloved but he is
happy to be her friend. In “Fra Lippo Lippe” the Fra finds the meaning of
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  Victorian Literature Talim Enam 

life in the love of a woman. The Fra compares loveless life with a grave. In
“Love Among the Rune” the lover sings the victory of love.
Last of all we can terminate our discussion saying that, Browning is a
strong voice against the Victorian skepticism and pessimism. “He seeks
optimism in any situation of life, preaches the universality of soul, advocates
god and encourages people to be optimistic”.

   

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  Victorian Literature Talim Enam 
 

If you have any query, suggestion or complain regarding the article, please do
not hesitate to contact me at +8801722 33 59 69, 01919 87 87 03. You find
more notes on my blog http://enamsnote.blogspot.com and also follow me
at www.fb.com/enamsnote well as www.fb.com/enamur

If you find the article beneficial to you, please share it on your facebook and
never forget to add your valuable comments. It will encourage me to post more
articles for you.
Your discussion is my inspiration.
 

   

Prepared by: Talim Enamur Rahman, BA (Hons.), MA, in English, IU, Kushtia
  For many more: www.enamsnote.blogspot.com , Cell: 01722 33 59 69, 01919 87 8703 [Page 5 of 5]