
Robert Browning (1812-1889) was an English poet, married to Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Biography:
His work is characterized by the use of dramatic monologue and an interest in obscure literary and historical figures. It includes the play Pippa Passes in 1841, and the poems "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" in 1842, "My Last Duchess" in 1842, "Home Thoughts from Abroad" in 1845, and "Rabbi Ben Ezra" in 1864.
Browning, born in Camberwell, London, wrote his first poem "Pauline" in 1833 under the influence of Shelley; it was followed by "Paracelsus" in 1835 and "Sordello" in 1840.
In 1837 he achieved moderate success with his play Strafford, and in the pamphlet series of Bells and Pomegranates 1841-1846, which contained Pippa Passes, Dramatic Lyrics in 1842 and Dramatic Romance
s in 1845, he included the dramas King Victor and King Charles, Return of die Druses, and Colombo's Birthday.
In 1846 he met Elizabeth Barrett; they married the same year and went to Italy.
There he wrote Christmas Eve and Easter Day in 1850 and Men and Women in 1855, the latter containing some of his finest love-poems and dramatic monologues, which were followed by Dramatis Personae in 1864, and The Ring and the Book 1868-1869, based on an Italian murder story.
After his wife's death in 1861 Browning settled in England and enjoyed an established reputation, although his late works, such as Red-Cotton Night-Cap Country in 1873, Dramatic Idylls 1879-1880, and Asolando in 1889, still prompted opposition by their rugged obscurity of style.
Why is Robert Browning famous?
Robert Browning was an English poet, playwright and master of dramatic verse.