Imagery and Theme in Browning's Men and Women

Résumé du livre

In this thesis I propose to discuss patterns of imagery in relation to central themes which they develop or reveal in Browning's Men and Women . In Chapter I various critical approaches which have been taken towards Browning in the past will be briefly considered, in order to stress the need for a re-evaluation of him as a poet . The main categories of imagery will then be introduced, namely animal and plant images and images from the Bible. Also, the themes of Incarnation and time will be viewed in the light of their relation to imagery. Chapter II will be devoted to a detailed examination of particular kinds of images falling within the main categories, with close readings of relevant passages in the poetry. Gradually, through emphasis upon certain emerging patterns, the way will be open in Chapter III for an extensive reading of "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came," a difficult poem in Browning's canon, which will illuminate the body of Men and Women . I shall move from Browning's "Childe Roland" to psychological and archetypal considerations only to substantiate and bring into focus what has already been discovered in the poetry, through the analysis of imagery and theme.