chief stress is laid upon the character portrayal.

He adopted the bold and unique plan of having different classes of
people in Rome and the various actors in the tragedy tell the story
from their own point of view and thus reveal their own bias and
characteristics. Each relation makes the story seem largely new.
Browning shows that all this testimony is necessary to establish a
complete circle of evidence in regard to the central truth of the
tragedy. The poem thus becomes a remarkable analytic study of the
psychology of human minds.

The four important characters,--Guido, the husband; Caponsacchi, the
priest; Pompilia, the girl-wife; and the Pope,--stand out in strong
relief. The greatest development of character is seen in Guido, who
starts with a defiant spirit of certain victory, but gradually becomes
more subdued and abject, when he finds that he is to be killed, and
finally shrieks in agony for the help of his victim, Pompilia. In
Caponsacchi there is the inward questioning of the right and the
wrong. He is a strongly-drawn character, full of passion and noble
desires. Pompilia, who has an intuitive knowledge of the right, is one
of Browning's sweetest and purest women. From descriptions of Mrs.
Browning, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne gave, we may conclude that she
furnished the suggestion for many of Pompilia's characteristics. The
Pope, with his calm, wise judgment and his lofty philosophy, is
probably the greatest product of Browning's intellect.

The books containing the monologues of these characters take first
place among Browning's writings and occupy a high position in the
century's work. They have a striking originality, intensity, vigor,
and imaginative richness. The remaining books are incomparably
inferior, and are marked at times by mere acuteness of reason and
thoroughness of legal knowledge.

A Dramatic Poet.--Although Browning's genius is strongly dramatic,
his best work is not found in the field of the drama. _Strafford_
(1837), _A Blot in the 'Scutcheon_ (1843), and _Colombe's Birthday_
(1844) have been staged successfully, but they cannot be called great
acting plays. The action is slight, the characters are complex, the
soliloquies are lengthy, and the climaxes are too often wholly
dependent upon emotional intensity rather than upon great or exciting
deeds. The strongest interest of these dramas lies in their
psychological subtlety, which is more enjoyable in the study than in
the theater.