'The Last Ride Together' as a dramatic monologue (2023)

A major poet of the Victorian period, Browning was basically a dramatic poetry. Though a great admirer of Shelly, he drew more from the tradition of John Donne. As a dramatic poet his chief interest lay in the drama of the human mind. Obviously in his poetry the stress was on 'incidents in the development of the soul'. Browning perfected the dramatic monologue form, and this remains his distinct contribution to English poetry. As a poet his supreme achievement lies in his dramatic lyrics and monologues. Borrowing held a dynamic view of life, based on trust in the love of God and faith in a life after death. Though modern critics view him more as a septic, a faith that looks through death informs his entire poetry.

The poem as a dramatic monologue

Through the poem, Browning presents the self-consolation. It's based on the underlying theory of '

'. Of course the poem talks about love and its attendant failures. The speaker thinks that failure is inevitable and as he himself has failed. He is attempting to reduce his pain by trying to curtail his desires. Some words are chosen to convey the feeling of polite resignation and acceptance of defeat. Moreover, the diction is superficial, and of super human psychology because a man who has been ditched can't have too many good things to say about the former flame unless of course he is ironical about it.

The next paragraph deals with the anticipation of a response by the speaker from the mistress. It is this dilemma and wait for the answer that contributes to the dramatic effect of the poem. The stanza progresses thus - from spine chilling excitement and anticipation to joy to relief and finally to ecstasy. The images of the mistress bending her brow, her "

", her breathing and consequent heavily of the bosom and her blush conveys and all most erotic charm to the poem. In a superb metaphor - "

". The speaker compares yes with life and no with death.

The diction provides a picture of the action in the man with which Browning was more concerned. It clearly brings out the anxiety and the emotional turmoil in the speaker's brain. Words like - 'bent that brow' refers to the brooding of the lady over the proposal. '

' and '

' clearly brings out the anxiety of the speaker. The condition of 'yes' and 'no' has been beautifully painted as 'life' and 'death' respectively. The stanza could also be memorable for line - "

." This line affirms the stupid optimism of the speaker who becomes as much a butt of ridicule as the people he satirizes for their failure.

'The Last Ride Together' deals with the beautiful feeling that follows after being with one's beloved the feeling of being on the top of the world after achieving one's goal. It also deals with the more physical part of love. The tone is of being overwhelmed in love in which everything is blessed. The next stanza provides us with a touch of Browning's philosophy. Dealing with the present and stop being bothered about the past. The tone of the poem presents a mix of consolatory and philosophical musings. With the "

" metaphor, the speaker compares the soul with a long-crammed scroll. In itself it is a fresh metaphor unparalleled in literature.

The poet's achievement is great. His brain throbs with music, and he puts into words what others can only experience. He considers beautiful things as the best things in the world, and makes thoughts ride in rhyme. All the same he does not get for himself what the world values most highly in life -the health, wealth and youth. Though he risks his health, wealth and youth, he does not come one bit nearer his goal than the lover and his lady. His vocation, the lover thinks, is indisputably superior to that of a poet.
The sculptor dievotes his entire time to art and is her slave. After years of his toiling, at last he creates his Venus, his masterpiece. But it is still inferior to an ordinary village girl one may see crossing a stream. The lot of the composer is no better. He also grows grey in the service of his art. But after all his labour, when he gives his masterpiece to the world the only praise he gets is that through ambitious, it cannot be popular for long.
If he had succeeded in love, then he would have no 'bliss to die with' nothing to look forward to, after death. Then heaven would have no meaning for him. It is therefore, inevitable that he should fail here, in order to succeed in heaven. If heaven is a perpetuation and perfection of the earthy conditions - 'the instant made eternity' - then he and his lady will ever be as they are now, riding together in each others company.
In the monologue there is less probing of the self and development of character. The poem is in fact, a sustained reflection on the role of love, even when rejected, as a maker of happiness, and the meaning of failure. As a maker of happiness love is superior to all the arts - poetry, sculptor and music. And, failure is the token of triumph.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, we can conclude that the poem contains the core of Brownings philosophy. Browning is an optimist. He firmly believed that "

." He is personal in nature. He holds that life is persistent struggle for an ideal or perfection. He believes that "

" It implies that man is imperfect or imperfection or failure is part of human nature something inevitable in life. Heaven is where '

'. In other words, Browning believes that there is a life after that for man - a heavenly life. Heavenly life, therefore, is a perfect version of earthly life - '

'. Heaven will have meaning only if man has '

', an unrealized ambition. Brownings monologues are spiritual and sensuous together. It is a part drama, part philosophy, part poetry and part life all rolled into one.