The merciless criticism which greeted Sordello had a wholesome effect on Browning, as is shown in the better work of his second period.  Moreover, his new power was developing rapidly, as may be seen by comparing the eight numbers of his famous Bells and Pomegranates series (1841-1846) with his earlier work.  Thus, the first number of this wonderful series, published in 1841, contains Pippa Passes, which is, on the whole, the most perfect of his longer poems; and another number contains A Blot in the ’Scutcheon, which is the most readable of his dramas.  Even a beginner must be thrilled by the beauty and the power of these two works.  Two other noteworthy dramas of the period are Colombe’s Birthday (1844) and In a Balcony (1855), which, however, met with scant appreciation on the stage, having too much subtle analysis and too little action to satisfy the public.  Nearly all his best lyrics, dramas, and dramatic poems belong to this middle period of labor; and when The Ring and the Book appeared, in 1868, he had given to the world the noblest expression of his poetic genius.

In the third period, beginning when Browning was nearly sixty years old, he wrote even more industriously than before, and published on an average nearly a volume of poetry a year.  Such volumes as Fifine at the Fair, Red Cotton Night-Cap Country, The Inn Album, Jocoseria, and many others, show how Browning gains steadily in the power of revealing the hidden springs of human action; but he often rambles most tiresomely, and in general his work loses in sustained interest.  It is perhaps significant that most of his best work was done under Mrs. Browning’s influence.

WHAT TO READ.  Of the short miscellaneous poems there is such an unusual variety that one must hesitate a little in suggesting this or that to the beginner’s attention.  “My Star,” “Evelyn Hope,” “Wanting is—­What?” “Home Thoughts from Abroad,” “Meeting at Night,” “One Word More” (an exquisite tribute to his dead wife), “Prospice” (Look Forward); songs from Pippa Passes; various love poems like “By the Fireside” and “The Last Ride Together”; the inimitable “Pied Piper,” and the ballads like “Herve Riel” and “How They Brought the Good News,”—­these are a mere suggestion, expressing only the writer’s personal preference; but a glance at the contents of Browning’s volumes will reveal scores of other poems, which another writer might recommend as being better in themselves or more characteristic of Browning.[237]

Among Browning’s dramatic soul studies there is also a very wide choice.  “Andrea del Sarto” is one of the best, revealing as it does the strength and the weakness of “the perfect painter,” whose love for a soulless woman with a pretty face saddens his life and hampers his best work.  Next in importance to “Andrea” stands “An Epistle,” reciting the experiences of Karshish, an Arab physician, which is one of the