Describe the thoughts that cross the speaker's mind on his last ride together with his beloved in the poem, 'The Last Ride Together' by Robert Browning. How do these thoughts help him to reconcile with himself about his fate?
The Last Ride Together is one of Robert Browning's most notable dramatic monologues. It focuses on the wishes of a man for the last ride together with his lover and this journey is both passionate and evocative.
First published in 1855 in the book Men and Women, it has received much attention over the years, especially with the regards to the possible psycho-sexual content. Some critics see Freudian symbols within the poem, the title in particular interpreted as a metaphor for the sexual act. This is debatable but does open up a discussion which could lead to a greater understanding of this classic poem. Suffice to say, as the poem progresses it does become clear that this is no ordinary horse ride through the gentle countryside. This is a journey that takes place in heart and mind. Browning taps into the mindset of the modern man.
In the end, the speaker wishes for the journey to never end, to carry on in some eternal instant. For Victorian readers this was cutting edge romantic material - how could a rejected lover carry on so, and be such a complicated soul?
Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning were the most famous poetic couple of the age. Their publications became very popular and their life as lover-poets was well known.
They also travelled a lot and it was on one of these journeys that Robert Browning perhaps echoed the sentiments of The Last Ride Together.
In a letter of 1858 Elizabeth wrote to one Isa Blagden following their pleasant journey from Florence to Paris 'I was nearly sorry to arrive, & Robert suggested the facility of travelling on forever so.'
The Last Ride Together encapsulates Browning's principal philosophies - life is always greater than art and love is the best thing life can bring. The experience here on earth is the ultimate and one doesn't have to wait for heaven to have a blissful life in the here and now.
The Last Ride Together is one of Robert Browning's most notable dramatic monologues. It focuses on the wishes of a man for the last ride together with his lover and this journey is both passionate and evocative.
First published in 1855 in the book Men and Women, it has received much attention over the years, especially with the regards to the possible psycho-sexual content. Some critics see Freudian symbols within the poem, the title in particular interpreted as a metaphor for the sexual act. This is debatable but does open up a discussion which could lead to a greater understanding of this classic poem. Suffice to say, as the poem progresses it does become clear that this is no ordinary horse ride through the gentle countryside. This is a journey that takes place in heart and mind. Browning taps into the mindset of the modern man.
In the end, the speaker wishes for the journey to never end, to carry on in some eternal instant. For Victorian readers this was cutting edge romantic material - how could a rejected lover carry on so, and be such a complicated soul?
Robert Browning and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning were the most famous poetic couple of the age. Their publications became very popular and their life as lover-poets was well known.
They also travelled a lot and it was on one of these journeys that Robert Browning perhaps echoed the sentiments of The Last Ride Together.
In a letter of 1858 Elizabeth wrote to one Isa Blagden following their pleasant journey from Florence to Paris 'I was nearly sorry to arrive, & Robert suggested the facility of travelling on forever so.'
The Last Ride Together encapsulates Browning's principal philosophies - life is always greater than art and love is the best thing life can bring. The experience here on earth is the ultimate and one doesn't have to wait for heaven to have a blissful life in the here and now.
