Summary of "The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning's Dramatic Monologues"

Dramatic monologue was not invented by poets of the nineteenth century but was made famous by them especially by Robert Browning

Robert Browning's dramatic monologues often have an aggressive speaker who is often threatening and is almost always superior. Browning's poetry usually has a silent auditor. It's actually quite fascinating the reasoning behind doing this because by silencing the auditor the speaker actually gets put on the spotlight and keeps the implied listener in the dark. In Browning's poetry the silent listener is crucial. Not only does the silent listener increase the drama in a situation, but the drama is only created because of the others presence. There are disagreements in Browning’s usage of the speaker however. According to linguistic pragmatics, having a speaker who is narcissistic and aggressive violates the access rights of the auditor.

Jennifer A. Wagner-Lawlor, the author of The Pragmatics of Silence, and the Figuration of the Reader in Browning’s Dramatic Monologues silence is a crucial part of dramatic monologues and especially for Browning’s dramatic monologues. The separation and distinction between the speaker and the auditor is an important factor in creating this silence since the speaker overtakes the auditor making the auditor silent. Having a passive, non-aggressive, and silent listening figure creates a gap in dramatic monologue, perhaps the biggest gap in dramatic monologue. Browning’s monologues highlights that the reader will have difficulty to have sympathy for either the speaker or the auditor. This lack of sympathy from the reader will allow for them to have more freedom in to analyze the silences in the text from the auditor mainly and allows them to further explore the silences that they can make speak themselves.

Browning, Robert, James F. Loucks, and Andrew M. Stauffer. Robert Browning's Poetry. New York:  W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.

A Biography: Robert Browning

On May 7, 1812 a man by the name of Robert Browning was born to parents Robert and Sarah Anna Browning in Camberwell. Robert Browning was the first born in his family and was extremely talented when it came to poetry. Browning loved to read, by the age of fourteen he had already read through fifty volumes of Biographie Universelle as well as learned several different languages. In 1828 Browning attended college at University of London, the first year the university opened but shortly discontinued due to his inability to read at his own pace. Browning tried several different writing styles once he discovered he enjoyed writing and ended up being a master of dramatic monologue. In 1845 Browning’s married a woman by the name of Elizabeth Barrett against her father’s wishes. The two of them were as happy as can be and they both even published books sharing their fondness of one another. The book Robert Browning published is known as Men and Women. Robert Browning published several different poems throughout his lifetime but it wasn’t until the late 1960’s where his career really peaked. More and more people began reading Browning’s poetry, which led to the development of the Browning Society in 1881. Sadly only eight years after creating Browning Society, Robert Browning passed away on the same day of his release of Asolando. Robert Browning was buried in Poet’s Corner of Westminister Abbey where he lies a talented poet even to this day. 

Everett, Glen. "Robert Browning - Biography." Robert Browning - Biography. The Victorian Web, 2007. Web. 26 Aug. 2013.

A Biography: Elizabeth Barrett Browning

On March 6, 1806 a woman by the name of Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born in Durham, England. Elizabeth was the first of twelve children born to Edward and Mary Moulton-Barrett. Elizabeth’s father was very controlling but was well respected and loved by his family. Elizabeth was raised in a lovely house that was referred to as Hope End. As a child Elizabeth spent her free time riding her horse and reading. By the age of ten she had read Shakespeare, many histories about England Rome and Greece, as well as translations by Pope Homeric. Elizabeth’s literacy skills were all self-taught; never did she have any formal education. At the age of twelve Elizabeth began writing her own poetry shortly after learning how to read Homer in Greek. The poems Elizabeth began writing reflected heavily on her concern for human rights. One of the poems Elizabeth had written at age twelve was called “Pope’s Homer done over again, or rather undone” which was a poem consisting of four books of rhyming couplets. In 1838, Elizabeth’s first mature poetry was released called The Seraphim and Other Poems. Life for Elizabeth was not all roses and sunshine. Elizabeth developed a nervous disorder, which was believed to be linked to her constant falling off her horse as a child causing damage to her spine. Despite the nervous disorder, Elizabeth still continued to write poetry. In 1833 she released an anonymous publication called Prometheus Bound: Translated from the Greek of Aeschylus as well as Miscellaneous Poems. In 1844 after losing her closest brother Edward, Elizabeth published a book called Poems, which was the start of her relationship with a poet named Robert Browning. Browning was attracted to Elizabeth through her poetry. On January 10, 1845 the two began writing each other. Elizabeth’s father did not tolerate any of his children getting married so on September 12, 1846 Elizabeth and Browning were married despite Elizabeth’s father’s orders.

Elizabeth was an inspiration for many well-known poets including Emily Dickenson and Virginia Woolf. Sadly on June 29, 1861 Elizabeth passed away supposedly smiling in the arms of her husband. 


Everett, Glen. "The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning." The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The Victorian Web, 1987. Web. 26 Aug. 2013.

"The Dramatic Monologue: Sympathy versus Judgement" by Robert Langbaum

Not much has been written on the dramatic monologue. Often times the dramatic monologue is simply classified rather than picked apart for what it is. Because of this, people often don't have a full understanding of what the dramatic monologue is, and they compare any to Browning's My Last Duchess therefore holding other dramatic monologues to the same standard.

"We see, on the other hand, that dramatic monologue is unprecedented in its effect, that its effect distinguishes it, in spite of mechanical resemblance, from the monologues of traditional poetry; and on the other hand, we welcome as partially illuminating just those 'approximations' that distress the classifiers." pg.525

One of the primary components of the dramatic monologue is sympathy. Apart from judgement, sympathy allows for the reader to relate to the character or the position in the dramatic monologue. Sympathy allows for the reader to feel what it is like to believe the way the writer wants them to believe.Although sympathy plays a huge role in the interpretation and reader involvement in the dramatic monologue, judgement is key in adopting a character's point of view. Readers can use judgement as a way to adopt a character's point of view because it allows for the reader to judge the character and judge the way the reader may think the character sees things based on characteristics of the character such as age.

The dramatic monologue, though first used by Tennyson, is more associated with Browning's name. Browning turns a narrative into a lyrical journey and allows for the reader to identify with the characters.

"Dramatic monologue in the Browning tradition is, in a word, anything but monological." pg. 547

Browning's dramatic monologue represents a depiction of the modern mind. A clear identifier of Browning's dramatic monologue is the shift between the historical line or punctual lyric genre collide into one another.

Dramatic monologue allows for readers to sort out and distinguish poetry that is both related and non-related to the dramatic monologue.  Unlike texts that can lack a speaker, dramatic monologue often times has a distinguished speaker that allows readers to fully relate and understand the story that is being told.

Browning, Robert, James F. Loucks, and Andrew M. Stauffer. Robert Browning's Poetry. New York:  W.W. Norton, 2006. Print.