The complete works of Robert Browning : with variant readings & annotations / Vol. IX, The ring and the book, books IX-XII / ed. by Roma A. King jr. ... [et al.].

385 Pages·1990·17.11 MB·English

by  Robert Browning

THE COMPLETE WORKS OF ROBERT BROWNING, VOLUME IX
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Photograph, by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1870

EDITORIAL BOARD
J A C K W. H E R R I N G General Editor
ROMA A. KING. JR.
PARK HONAN
A L L A h' C. D 0 0 L E Y Exemfive Editor
(Revised for vol. 9)
Browning, Robert, 1812-1889.
The complete works of Robert Browning, with variant
readings & annotations. Editorial board.
Vol. 7- : general editor, Jack W. Herring.
Vol. 8-9 have imprint: Waco, Tex. : Baylor University;
Athens, Ohio : Ohio University Press.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
I. King, Roma A. (Roma Alvah), 1914-ed. 11. Herring,
Jack W19 .,2 5- . 111. Title.
PR4201.K5 1969 821'.8 68-18389
ISBN 0-8214-0381-8
Ohio University Press books are printed on acid free paper. m
Copyright 0 1989 by Ohio University Press and Baylor University
A11 rights reserved
Printed in the United Stateso f America
CONTENTS
Page Number
PREFACE vii
TABLES xx
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xxiv
THE RING AND THE BOOK
Book IX. Juris Doctor Johannes-Baptista Bottinius 5
Book X. The Pope 71
Book XI. Guido 161
Book XII. The Book and the Ring 253
EDITORIAL NOTES 287
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
PREFACE
This edition of the works of Robert Browning is intended to be
complete. It will comprise at least fourteen volumes and will contain:
1. The entire contents of the first editions of Browning’s works,
arranged in their chronological order of publication. (The poems
included in Dramatic Lyrics, Dramatic Romanceasn d Lyrics, and Men
and Women, for example, appear in the ordeofr their first publication
rather than in the order in which Browning rearrangedt hem for later
publication.)
2. All prefacesa nd dedications which Browning is kntoow hnav e
written for his own works and for those of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
3. The two prose essays thatB rowning is known to have
published: the review of a book on Tasso, generallyr eferred to as the
“Essay on Chatterton,”a ndt he prefacef or ac ollection of letters
supposed to have been written by PercyB ysshe Shelley, generally
referred to as the “Essay on Shelley.”
4. The front matter and thtaeb le of contents of each of thecollect-
ed editions(1849,1863,1865,1868, 1888-1889) which Browning himself
saw through the press.
5. Poems published duringB rowning’s lifetime but nocot llected
by him.
6. Poems not published during Browning’s lifetime which have
come to light since his death.
7. John Forster’s Thomas Wentworth,E arl of Strafford, to which
Browning contributed significantly, though the precise extent of his
contribution has not been determined.
8. Variants appearing in primary and secondary materials as
defined in Section I1 below.
9. Textual emendations.
10. Informational and explanatory notes for each work.
11 PRIMARYA NDS ECONDARYM ATERIALS
Aside from a handfulo f uncollected short works, all of Browning’s
works but Asolando (1889) went through two or more editions during
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his lifetime. Except for Pauline (l833), Strafford (1837), and Sordello
(1840),a ll the works publishbeedfo re 1849 were reviseadn d corrected for
the 1849 collection. Strafford and Sordellow ere reviseda nd corrected for
the collection of1 863, as were all the other works in that edition.
Though no furtherp oems were added in the collectiono f 1865, all the
works were once againc orrected and revised. The 1868 collection added
a revised Pauline and Dramatis Personae (1864) to the other works,
which were themselves again revised and corrected. The printingof the
last edition of theP oetical Works over which Browning exercised
control began in 1888, and thef irst eight volumesaredated thus on their
title-pages. Volumes 9 through1 6 of this first impression are date1d8 89,
and we have designated them 1889a to distinguish them from s ethceo nd
impression of all 16 volumes, which was begun and completed in 1889.
Some of the earlier volumes of the first impression sold out almost
immediately, and in preparation for a second impression, Browning
revised and corrected the first ten volumes before he left for Italy in late
August, 1889. The second impression, inw hich all sixteen volumes bear
the date 1889 on their title-pages, consisted of a revised and corrected
second impression of volumes 1-10, plus as econd impression of volumes
11 -16 altered by Browning in one instance. This impression we term
1889 (see section I11 below).
Existing manuscripts and editionsc l aasrsei fied as either primary or
secondary material. The primary materials include the following:
1. The manuscript of a work when such is known to exist.
2. Proof sheets, when known to exist,t hatc ontaina uthorial
corrections and revisions.
3. The first ands ubsequente ditions of a work that preserve
evidence of Browning’s intentions andw ere under his control.
4. The collected editions over which Browning exercised control:
1849-Poems. Two Volumes. London: Chapman and Hall.
1863“The Poetical Works. Three Volumes. London: Chapman
and Hall.
1865-The Poetical Works. Three Volumes. London: Chapman
and Hall.
1868”The Poetical Works. Six Volumes. London: Smith, Elder
andC ompany. Reissued in stereotype impressionsw ith
varying title pages.
1888-1889- The PoeticalW orks.S ixteen Volumes. London: Smith,
Elder and Company. Existsi n numerouss tereotype impres-
sions, of which two are primary material:
1888-18 89a-The first impression, in which volum1e-s8 are
dated 1888 and volumes 9-16 are dated 1889.
1889-The corrected second impression of volumes 1-10 and
a second impressiono f volumes 11- 16 altered by Browning
viii
only as stated in sectiIo1n1 below; all dated1 889 on the title
pages.
5. The corrections in Browning’s hand int he Dykes Campbell copy
of 1888-1889a, and the manuscript liosft corrections to that impression
in the Brown University Library (see section I11 below).
Other materials (including some in the poet’s handwriting) that
affected the text are secondary. Examples are: the copy of the first edition
of PauZzne which contains annotations by Browning and John Stuart
Mill; the copies of the first edition of Paracelsus which containc orrec-
tions in Browning’s hand; a very early manuscript of A Blot in the
’Scutcheon which Browning presented to William Macready, but not
the one from which the first edition was printed; informal lists of
corrections that Browning included in letters to friends, such as the
corrections to Men and Women he sent to D. G. Rossetti; Elizabeth
Barrett’s suggestions for revisions in A Soul’sT ragedy and certain
poems in Dramatic Romances and Lyriacnsd; the editioofn Strafford by
Emily Hickey for which Browning made suggestions.
The text and variant readinogf st his editiond erive from collation of
primary materials as defined above. Secondary materials are occasion-
ally discussed in the notesa nd sometimes play a partw hen emendation
is required.
111 COPY-TEXT
The copy-text for this edition is Browning’fsin al text: the first ten
volumes of 1889 and the last six volumes of 1888-1889a, as described
above. For this choice we offer the following explanation.
Manuscripts used as printer’s copy fotwr enty of Browning’s thirty-
four book publications are known to exist; others mayy etb ecome
available. These manuscripts, or, ina btsheenirc e, the first editionso f the
works, might be considered as the most desirable copy-text. And this
would be the case fora n author wheox ercised little controol ver his text
after the manuscript orf irst edition stage, owr hose text clearly became
corrupted in as uccession of editions. To preserve the intention of such
an author, one would have to choose an early text and emend it as
evidence and judgment demanded.
With Browning, however, the situation is different, and our copy-
text choice results from thatd ifference. Throughout his life Browning
continually revised his poetry. He did more thacno rrect printer’s errors
and clarify previously intended meanings; hteisx ts themselvesr emained
fluid, subject to continuous alteration. As the manuscript which he
submitted to his publishewr as no doubatl ready a producot f revision, so
each subsequent edition under his control reflects the results of an
ongoing process of creating, revising, and correcting. If we were to
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