Robert Browning was a well-known English poet and playwright. He has written poems of several genres. He was born in 1812 and two of his important works were published in 1840 “Sordello” and “Pauline” 1833 which exceptionally touched the heart of readers.
Robert Browning married his love Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1846 when her works were quite more popular than his. When two people complimented each other greeting their flaws then such an interchange is referred to as the concept of ideal love. The connection that forms between the two beholds the power to break all prejudices of society.
Rhyming Scheme of “Now
The poem “Now” by Robert Browning is depicted as a lyric poem. It neither falls under the category of Petrarchan style nor abides by the style of the Shakespearean sonnet. The poem consists of 14 lines which are of almost equal length.
Although the scheme of iambic pentameter has been inculcated but the rhyming scheme is often irregular and the stress of the syllables fails to resist its consistency. Therefore, the spontaneity of the poem is slightly inclined towards traditional sonnet often dealing with the theme of intimacy and love.
In the poem “Now” the depiction of love is prominent and this sonnet will help the readers to explore various pleasures of life and the power of love that can be attained with exact purity in every moment of life. Whatever it expresses, it captures as a reflector. Hence, it is referred to as a style of writing.
The poem is accurate in its conjecture of the heartening and absolute aspects of tenderness in a continuous flow of verses. It has rendered in its splendid form with a representation of love in an isolated landscape.
Summary of “Now”
Robert Browning begins the poem “Now” with an explanation of the title. He addresses his lover to give him a moment or an instance to let him undergo the pleasure of ideal love that will turn the rest of their lives insignificant. He wants to showcase the fact by spreading awareness among the readers that ideal love is temporal.
It is entirely inconsistent and thus he simply tells his lover to commit to the transitory moment leaving all the scuffling behind in order to attain strength for the rest of their lives. He is trying to make the utmost use of the present. In a grammatical sense, it depicts a complete action and the functioning of the past following the present tense which depicts the action undergone at its present.
Such momentary love and intimacy will grow stronger gradually which will ratify the past preserving it with an ability of perfection. Such characteristics that help a couple grow an ideal love exist within the poem “Now” which also focuses on the euphoric moments.
The “tick of a lifetime” depicts how earthly it feels after achieving the ideal love. Although such pleasure is momentary, the feeling which they undergo is terrestrial indeed. He is ready to indulge in such short-lived love which would enable him to refill his mind with morality and freshness.
Such ecstasy enables them to work ahead on their relationship further. Browning states that when his lover will surround him, he will be entirely lost in her arms. Gradually he will fulfill all his desires. This proclaims that his mind is entirely comprised of pragmatic thoughts where all his experiences of old, present, and doubts of upcoming days are exterminated and their lives will be furnished with the warmth of the instance.
Browning ponders identifying how long will he be able to captivate his zeal for the other which makes them different bringing them out of their normal living. He wants to lock his cycle of love at this moment. “Just that and no more” is slightly ironic dedicating his unattainability of the aforesaid wish.
The lovers try to capture every essence when their state of intimacy reaches this ideal state which ends with a union of corporeal dissemination. Robert Browning in the entire poem “Now” applies artistic words to express his desire for a union with his beloved.
This poem carefully manages the finest parts of love between two people and his attempt of isolating such moments permanently is astonishing to look after. Browning tries to emphasize the special episodes of life which incur the capability to gather earthly and pure characteristics of day-to-day pursuit. Hence, he has relinquished the love as eternal.
Analysis
The poem consists of fourteen lines and in some places, the invocation of iambic pentameter is clearly visible. The poem perceives a constant rhythm of love and passion. “Out of your whole life give but one moment” Browning states that you (probably he is indicating his lover) have the capability to put forward an artistic pure moment to someone then the pain that your mind has undergone will be erased eventually with the touch of the special moment which feels heavenly.
After they come across the ideal state of love the two lovers will automatically pave their way toward celestial glee. The present consequences will be distinctive enough to efface the former experience.
When I was young, I fell in love with a person. The moments spent together were indeed special. But the things that were meant to be special then are just a matter of recollection of memories now.
When a particular part or story in our life performs well, we tend to deliquesce them but when that phase disappears it feels like a “rapture of rage”. Browning is trying to say that through his enduring integrity he would not mind “Perfect the present”. He has married her and he has the right to fulfill all his desires. Certainly, love can also be protected and captivated in such a way.
When time binds a person’s thoughts and creativity then other external feelings can be merged. Browning points out this as an ideal love. The woman he loves has occupied his intellect, his body, his soul, and his entire self.
This is quite threatening as he has been trapped in her lover’s thoughts and feels his lover’s presence in every place. He knows that he will undergo tremendous sorrow as soon as he will be separated from his wife. He vigorously searches for solutions to such consequences.
When she goes out for her work it becomes difficult and torturing for him to resist but somehow, he manages to feel her presence as he always feels that her warmth is surrounding him. We hope that she reciprocates his love with absolute avidity.
Hence, this poem is ideal and appropriate for those especially who have undergone grief due to separation and also shared a union of terrestrial love between them. Robert Browning’s sonnet has indeed helped the readers to revive their past while reading this alluring sonnet.
Questions and answers
When was “Now” written by Robert Browning?
The poem “Now” was published in 1889 in one of Robert Browning’s books named Asolando.
What is the poetic style of Robert Browning?
Browning possesses a writing style that is unique compared to other poets. Due to his insertion of Dramatic Monologue, his write-ups at times tend to become difficult for the readers to interpret. Such styles are probably referred to as the listener who remains silent throughout helping the speaker to initiate a character analysis of the listener.
Does Robert Browning fall under the Romantic poet genre?
Browning has remarkably succeeded in the field of Romanticism especially when it comes to love poems such as in “Love Among the Ruins” or his gothic poetries like “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”. His way of handling such poetry is indeed multifaceted.
What are symbols in a poem?
A symbol is a place, person, or action due to a historical event that replicates more than its factual meaning.
What type of poetry is Robert Browning famous for?
Robert Browning was well known for his dramatic verse along with the formulation of 12 long books The Ring and the Book, encapsulates the technique of blank verse.
Author: Anushka Joardar