Development by Robert Browning
A speaker recalls how his father taught him about Troy through household play, then led him to Pope's translation and the Greek Iliad. Later criticism unsettles his belief in Troy and Homer, but he retains the heroes as inward truths. He considers whether direct lessons in ethics could have replaced those childhood stories, noting that Aristotle remains difficult even in old age.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 1,496 words
First lines
My Father was a scholar and knew Greek. / When I was five years old, I asked him once / "What do you read about? " / "The siege of Troy. " / "What is a siege, and what is Troy? " / Whereat / He piled up chairs and tables for a town, / Set me a-top for Priam, called our cat / -- Helen, enticed away from home (he said) / By wicked Paris, who couched somewhere close / Under the footstool, being cowardly, / But whom -- since she was worth the pains, poor puss -- / Towzer and Tray, -- our dogs, the Atreidai, -- sought / By taking Troy to get possession of / -- Always when great Achilles ceased to sulk, / (My pony in the stable) -- forth would prance / And put to flight Hector -- our page-boy's self. / This taught me who was who and what was what: / So far I rightly understood the case / At five years old; a huge delight it proved / And still proves -- thanks to that instructor sage / My Father, who knew better than turn straight / Learning's full flare on weak-eyed ignorance, / Or, worse yet, leave weak eyes to grow sand-blind, / Content with darkness and vacuity.
What this Textopian page supports
Development is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Browning, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Browning
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 1,496 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Development by Robert Browning
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The first-person verse follows the speaker's learning from childhood games through translation, Greek study and later critical scholarship.
- Philosophical Poetry — The speaker weighs the value of stories whose historical truth is disputed against direct ethical instruction that a child might not understand.
Tags
childhood memories · education · storytelling · translation · Greek study · literary criticism · ethical instruction