Robert Browning-Philosophy of Life and Love

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Robert Browning is an optimist, and as an optimist, he is a moralist and a religious teacher holding a very distinct place among the writers of the Victorian Age. He is “an uncompromising foe of scientific materialism” as Hudson states. What we call Browning’s philosophy is not actually a philosophy of strictly technical sense of the term. Rather it consists of some frequent attitudes, opinions and views scattered in his poems especially in his dramatic monologues. Browning seeks optimism in any situation of life, preaches universality of soul and advocates God. Browning’s optimism is clear in the very style of writing a poem that he picks up his central character in crisis or in some critical situation, then this crisis reaches the climax and ultimately resolved and he ends his poem with optimism. Such a poem is The Last Ride Together which, as Wikipedia writes, “stands for optimism, treatment of spiritualistic love where materialistic love is not seen, or is ignored.” In this poem the rejected lover considers his failure to gain his beloved’s love to be “written and needs must be”; even bless his beloved’s name “in pride and thankfulness” and; realizes “what need to strive with a life awry?”. However, he claims for “only a memory of the same”, i.e. a last ride together. Eventually she gives her consent; and the lover regards it as a great achievement against the past hopes of ger getting united. He The speaker takes the gap between desire and 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 is common to all human beings. “Fail I alone, in words and deeds? Why, all men strive and who succeeds?” Thus Browning holds positive approach to the present that may be

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