The Great Poets--Robert Browning

March 1, 2003
Two additions to the Poetry for Young People series include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. by Frances Schoonmaker, illus. by Chad Wallace, and Robert Browning, ed. by Eileen Gillooly, illus. by Joel Spector. Both follow the format of previous titles, beginning with a brief biography and incorporating a generous sampling of the poet's works. The first volume features an excerpt from Longfellow's "The Song of Hiawatha" and his complete "Paul Revere's Ride." Browning's "My Last Duchess" and his relationship to his wife, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, gain attention in the latter volume.

Thinking of the poems of Browning, one imagines Mediterranean lushness, sensuous music without rival. At first hearing, therefore, Frederick Davidson's voice--austere, clipped, world-weary--seems inappropriate, that is, until one hears how he carves the verse with his voice. Instead of producing the anticipated melodies, he delivers sound in slabs with ironic angles. Davidson's renderings are marvelous and unexpected. The recording doesn't list its contents. Besides making it difficult for a listener to locate favorite poems, this oversight conceals the absence of significant poems. J.F.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine