His school life was of meagre extent. He attended a private academy,
read at home under a tutor, and for two years attended the University
of London. When asked in his later life whether he had been to Oxford
or Cambridge, he used to say, "Italy was my University," And, indeed,
his many poems on Italian themes bear testimony to the profound
influence of Italy upon him. In his teens, he came under the influence
of Pope and Byron, and wrote verses after their styles. Then Shelley
came by accident in his way, and became to the boy the model of poetic
excellence.

In 1838 appeared his first published poem, _Pauline_. It bears
the marks of his peculiar genius; it has the germs of his merits and
his defects. Though not widely read, it received favorable notice
from some of the critics. In 1835 appeared _Paracelsus_, in 1837
_Strafford_, in 1840 _Sordello_. From this time on, for the
fifty remaining years of his life, his poetic activity hardly ceased,
though his poetry was of uneven excellence. The middle period of his
work, beginning with _Bells and Pomegranates_ in 1842, and
ending with _Balaustion's Adventure_ (a transcript of Euripides'
_Alcestis_) in 1871, was by far the richest in poetic value.

In 1846 he married Elizabeth Barrett, the poet. They left England for
Italy, where, because of Mrs. Browning's feeble health, they continued
to reside until her death in 1861. The remainder of his life was
divided between England and Italy, with frequent visits to southern
France. His reputation as a poet had steadily grown. He was now one of
the best known men in England. His mental activity continued unabated
to the end. Within the last thirty years of his life he wrote _The
Ring and the Book_--his longest work, one of the longest and,