pe, other than dramatic elements. In exalted poetry the
allegoric, lyric, epic and dramatic seem to be blended. An effort to
separate them often seems academic and mechanical.

Pippa, a poor little silk-winding girl, who has never known father or
mother, opens the poem. It is the early morning and she wakes with
joyous anticipation of her holiday, her only one. She goes forth, and we
hear her singing and we see her influencing, from her humble position in
the background, "Asolo's four happiest ones," who are brought by the
action of the drama into the foreground.

Her character and that of the other persons of the play are
well-defined; but the real theme of the poem is the unconscious
influence that she exerts upon others. The primary element of dramatic
art is the meeting of people and the influence they exert upon each
other. There is no direct influence seemingly exerted upon Pippa herself
save at one point and even that is scarcely a conscious one.

We feel that she is a type of the human soul. Specific scenes, though
intensely dramatic, are entirely separated from one another.

Accordingly if it is a drama, it is a drama of an unusual type. It
regards the events of only one day; still that day is not literal; it is
a symbol of the life of everyone. It is New Year's Day, but every day is
the beginning of a new year. It is a holiday, yet all life, when
normally lived, is dominated by love and sympathetic service, and is
full of happiness.

Pippa sings as everyone should sing with the spirit of thanksgiving and
love. She welcomes the day with joy as everyone should welcome life and
its opportunities. She lies down to sleep at night, as we all do; her
sun drops into a "black cloud" and she knows nothing of what she has
really accomplished or of the revelation that is coming on the morrow.

Moreover, observe that the link of unity in the play is found in the
songs of Pippa. One might easily conceive her beautiful character as
embodying the very soul of lyric poetry. Hence, in reading the poem, we
are impressed from the first with allegoric, lyric and epic, as well as
dramatic elements.

Observe more closely her awakening. Note the beautiful description, the
gradually lengthening lines, indicative of the coming morning. [See page
16.]

She expresses joy as she meditates over her New Year's hymn. Into this
devotional lyric Browning has breathed the spirit of all true life and
service.

"Now wait!--even I