Description

Browning (1812-89) was an Engllish poet and playwright whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the foremost Victorian poets. His poems are known for their irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings and challenging vocabulary and syntax. In 1846 he married fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett and the couple lived in Italy for the remainder of their lives. Men and Women was first published in 1851 in two volumes as a collection of 51 poems and, whilst now considered to contain some of Browning's best poetry, at the time it was not well received and sold poorly. Thirteen years after publication Browning revisited the first edition and separated the simpler rhymed poems from their more complex companions, most of which were written in blank verse, resulting in a collection of 12 poems all of which are monologues spoken by different narrators taking in a diverse range of historical, religious or European situations, together with a final poem 'One Word More', dedicated to his wife, in which Browning himself is the narrator. Reprinted from the American edition published by Thomas Y Crowell & Co of New York in 1898 which includes an introduction and notes.