Robert Browning, one of the most talented poets of the Victorian period, is famous especially for
his dramatic monologues. Often these long poems deal with such issues as love, death, and faith. Much of
his work is directly reflective of his life and of those issues that were of direct concern to him. One conflict
seen throughout Browning's poetry is one of spirituality. His poetry forms a spiritual timeline; it reveals his
spiritual influences and opinions. It formed his own Bible of beliefs which he possessed. Because
Browning's views on spirituality changed, his poetry also gives insight on the internal conflicts within his
life. The paper will explore Robert Browning's spiritual journey as is reflective in his poetry.
Robert Browning was born in Camberwell, near London, England on May 7, 1812. He was raised
by his father, also Robert Browning, and by his deeply religious mother, Sarah Anna Weideman-Browning.
His often indulgent parents gave him the freedom to explore new literary and philosophical ideas of the time
period, yet he was also instructed to believe the unexplained mysteries of the Christian faith(Miller, 1953).
His mother, who had strong ties to the congregational church, took great time to instruct Robert in his
religious studies. With this open atmosphere, however, Browning exhibited signs of disinterest in religion
during his early childhood. The town preacher, in fact , found it necessary to publicly scold "for
restlessness and inattention Master Robert Browning"(as cited in,Miller, 1953, p.9). Robert Browning's
tendency toward skepticism was recorded early on.
Robert Browning's first deviation from his faith was at the age of fifteen or sixteen. His primary
influences were the Flower family and the writing of P.B Shelley. Browning often traveled to the Flower's
house to discuss music, poetry, and aethism (Irvine &...