In 1843 he
published a tragedy entitled _A Blot on the 'Scutcheon_, and a play
called _The Dutchess of Cleves_. In 1850 appeared _Christmas Eve_ and
_Easter Day_. Concerning all these, it may be said that it is singular and
sad that a real poetic gift, like that of Browning, should be so shrouded
with faults of conception and expression. What leads us to think that many
of these are an affectation, is that he has produced, almost with the
simplicity of Wordsworth, those charming sketches, _The Good News from
Ghent to Aix_, and _An Incident at Ratisbon_.
Among his later poems we specially commend _A Death in the Desert_, and
_Pippa Passes_, as less obscure and more interesting than any, except the
lyrical pieces just mentioned. It is difficult to show in what manner
Browning represents his age. His works are only so far of a modern
character that they use the language of to-day without subsidizing its
simplicity, and abandon the old musical couplet without presenting the
intelligible if commonplace thought which it used to convey.
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