He wishes to be a poet; writes in the style of Byron and Pope;
the "Death of Harold"; his poems, written when twelve years old,
shown to Miss Flower; the Rev. W. J. Fox's criticisms on them;
he comes across Shelley's "Daemon of the World"; Mrs. Browning
procures Shelley's poems, also those of Keats, for her son;
the perusal of these volumes proves an important event
in his poetic development; he leaves school when fourteen years old,
and studies at home under a tutor; attends a few lectures
at University College, 1829-30; chooses his career, at the age of twenty;
earliest record of his utterances concerning his youthful life printed
in `Century Magazine', 1881; he plans a series of monodramatic epics;
Browning's lifework, collectively one monodramatic "epic";
Shakespeare's and Browning's methods compared; Browning writes "Pauline"
in 1832; his own criticism on it; his parents' opinions;
his aunt's generous gift; the poem published in January 1833;
description of the poem; written under the inspiring stimulus of Shelley;
its autopsychical significance; its importance to the student
of the poet's works; quotations from "Pauline".


Chapter 3.

The public reception of "Pauline"; criticisms thereupon;
Mr. Fox's notice in the `Monthly Repository', and its results;
Dante Gabriel Rossetti reads "Pauline" and writes to the author;
Browning's reference to Tennyson's reading of "Maud" in 1855;
Browning frequents literary society; reads at the British Museum;
makes the acquaintance of Charles Dickens and "Ion" Talfourd;
a volume of poems by Tennyson published simultaneously with "Pauline";