Re-reading Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologue

Robert Browning (1812-1889), noted for his innovative practice of the dramatic monologue, is considered as one of the most important Victorian poets. This thesis is a more updated overview of Browning and his dramatic monologue. It consists of five parts. The introduction is a biographical survey and an evaluation of the previous studies of this poet. Chapter One gives a brief introduction to the major theories on Robert Browning's dramatic monologue: its definitions and characteristics, its genesis and developments during the Victorian Age, to which Browning contributes remarkably, and finally its internal dynamics. Chapter Two presents Browning's recurrent and relevant themes in his poems on art, poems on religion and poems on love. Chapter Three analyzes three prominent literary devices recurring in Browning's dramatic-monologue writing: paradox, irony and intertextuality. Finally, this dissertation is rounded off with a brief introduction to the criticism of Browning's dramatic monologue and its influence over the later generations.