Robert Browning: Poems

Browning is more concerned with the drama of human psychology than with the problems of his age.

Browning is more concerned with the drama of human psychology than with the problems of his age.

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I think it can be argued that the psychology was a part of the problems of his age. If any prevailing philosophy can be found throughout all of Browning's poetry, it is that humans are not composed of fixed perspective, but instead are full of contradiction and are always changing. Therefore, a wise man acknowledges that every person sees the world differently not only from other people but even from himself as his life changes. Many of the dramatic monologues make this implicit argument, by suggesting the remarkable human facility to rationalize our behavior and attitudes. Consider "My Last Duchess" or "Porphyria's Lover." Even those who believe that there is a truth to be discovered, like Rabbi Ben Ezra or St. John, acknowledge that each man must get to it in his own way and through his own journey.