The Last Ride Together

·  Marriage: Married Elizabeth Barrett Browning in 1846. Their relationship was marked by mutual literary admiration, and they lived much of their married life in Italy.

·  Life in Italy: Settled in Florence, which significantly shaped his poetic imagination. Italy’s art, history, and landscapes enriched his dramatic monologues.

·  Major Works: Known for Dramatis Personae (1864), Men and Women (1855), The Ring and the Book (1868-69), and My Last Duchess—a masterful example of dramatic monologue.

·  Psychological Depth: His poetry is renowned for exploring the inner psychology of characters, often portraying their motivations, doubts, and moral dilemmas.

·  Dramatic Monologues: Perfected this poetic form, allowing readers to enter the minds of speakers, revealing their psychology through subtle clues rather than direct narration.

·  Move from Drama to Poetry: Originally aspired to be a playwright, but as drama was not popular during his era, he shifted to poetry, where he found his true voice.

·  Influence of Romanticism: Though he admired Romantic poets like Shelley, Browning’s style was more intellectual and dramatic, leaning towards Victorian realism.

Dramatic Lyric and Dramatic Monologue

·       Dramatic Lyric: A poetic form where the speaker expresses intense emotions, often in a personal or reflective tone, but without a direct narrative focus.

·       Dramatic Monologue: A unique form perfected by Robert Browning, where a single speaker addresses a silent listener, revealing their thoughts, emotions, and psychology through the monologue.

·       Key Features:

o   Strong sense of voice and individuality in the speaker.

o   Implied action or backstory—readers must infer details from the speaker’s words.

o   A balance between self-expression and dramatic revelation, making it both lyrical and theatrical.

·       Publication: Featured in Men and Women, Volume I—a collection showcasing Browning’s mastery of dramatic monologue.

·       Theme: A rejected lover reflects on his fate, accepting the moment of their last ride as an enduring symbol of hope and fulfillment.

·       Psychological Depth: The speaker transitions from despair to philosophical acceptance, contemplating fate, success, and the impermanence of human desires.

·       Symbolism: The ride becomes a metaphor for life’s uncertainties, dreams, and the desire for eternal beauty.

Rhyme Scheme & Rhythm

·       Rhyme Scheme: Consistent structure aa, bb, caa, bb, c in each stanza, creating a musical and rhythmic flow.

·       Meter: Predominantly written in iambic pentameter, giving it a measured and controlled cadence.

·       Effect: The rhythmic movement mirrors the forward motion of the ride, reinforcing the theme of transition and acceptance.

ANS: The title of the poem, The Last Ride Together is fully justified. It refers to the single theme of the poem, namely, the attempt at seeking a resolution to the greatest crisis of the speaker’s life created by the rejection of his love by his beloved. It is during their last ride together that he finds a theological and philosophical solution to his problem.

·       “Since now at length ….needs must be”

ANS: The rejected lover in Browning’s dramatic lyric is the speaker in this instance. He has tried every means to retain her love, but now he understands that he has reached such a point of discord where no reconciliation is possible. Therefore, he tries to rationalise his failure and console himself by accepting the fact that the rejection must have been predestined.

·       “My whole heart rises up to bless/Your name in pride and thankfulness!” Why does he use the words ‘pride’ and ‘thankfulness’?

ANS: Although he has been rejected, he now takes pride in the fact that she once loved him. Again, since she loved him, he thanked her for doing so.

·       What does the speaker in Browning’s The Last Ride Together claim from his lady after being rejected by her? Why does he do so?

ANS: When the speaker of Browning’s poem The Last Ride Together understands that his relationship with the ladylove finally has reached such a point where no reconciliation is possible, he claims two things from her: first, he wants to keep the memory of their affair and secondly he proposes to her for a last ride together. He hopes to transform the ride into a journey towards eternity and find a theological and philosophical resolution to his crisis.

·       “Fixed me a breathing-while or two….in balance”. What is the incident referred to here? What does the speaker try to mean by “life or death in the balance”?

ANS: When the lady begins considering whether she should accept the proposal for the last ride together, she goes through mixed emotions (reflected in her bent eyebrows). On the one hand, her pride objects to accepting such a proposal; on the other, she feels pity for him since it is she who has rejected him.

·       What does the speaker try to mean by “life or death in the balance”?

ANS: After being rejected by his beloved, the speaker proposes one last ride to her. When she begins considering her proposal, it seems to him as if her pronouncement would determine his death or life, as he has invested his sole hope in transforming this journey on earth to heaven and thereby seeking salvation.

·       “The blood…again”. What is the incident referred to here?

ANS: When his beloved begins considering his proposal for a last ride together, the speaker remains in utmost suspense as to whether she will accept it or not. He becomes so pale at the thought of the rejection of his proposal that it seems to him his blood freezes. But as she agrees, he understands that his mission will be fulfilled, and he feels coming back to life again.

·       “So, one day more….end tonight!” Why does the speaker think so?

ANS: As the lady accepts his proposal for a last ride, the speaker feels elated, considering that in love, one experiences the divine and becomes almost god-like. Again, the speaker’s hope is sustained by the impermanence of the present or earthly existence. If the world ends tonight, he thinks, he will carry forward his last ride to eternity.

·       “…if you saw …heaven was here” (ll. 23-31). What makes the speaker to exclaim in this fashion? What is the lover’s concept of love implied here?

OR, “ Conscious grew, your passion drew… star-shine too”. Explain how the speaker makes a comparison between the cosmic events and the effects of the touch of his beloved.
ANS: After accepting his proposal for a last ride, the beloved leans on his breast for a moment. The touch generates such euphoric sensations in his mind that he feels as if he is experiencing some divine events happening with him. Just as a breast-shaped cloud looks a little stooping by the load of light shed at a time by the setting sun, the rising moon, and the rising evening star’s light or blessing, the lover feels experiencing the same kind of bliss at the physical contact with his beloved. Nevertheless, this causes him to forget his physical existence, and he experiences love as a spiritual quality.

·       “My soul/Smoothed…in the wind.” Why does the speaker compare his soul to ‘a long-cramped soul’?

ANS: The rejection of his love by the beloved shattered his mental state. When she agreed to his proposal for a last ride, he felt a great sense of relief, as he had hoped to transform the journey beyond this temporal world into eternity. So while riding with his beloved against the wind, he feels his mind now free, just as a folded paper gets unfolded and flutters in the wind.

·       “Had I done this…/…so might I miss./…the worst befell” What does the speaker mean by this?

ANS: As the lady has accepted his proposal for a last ride and they are out for a ride now, the speaker in Browning’s dramatic lyric The Last Ride Together rationalizes his rejection by her. He says that it is useless to consider how he might have fared had he said or done something different. For, in either case, she would either love him or hate him. He accepts the present as a blessing, since he enjoys the ride with his beloved and hopes to transform it intellectually into one that lasts for eternity.

·       “Fail alone I …/ who succeeds?” Why does he think so?

ANS: …As he is now riding with his beloved for the last time, he remembers the past and rationalizes his failure by saying that he is not the sole person in the world who has failed. All men try hard for success, but a few succeed. He finds satisfaction in the fact that he has succeeded in realizing the favour of riding with his beloved for the last time.

·       “…it seemed my spirit flew/…on either side”

As the speaker in Browning’s dramatic lyric The Last Ride Together began his last ride together with his beloved, he felt so euphoric that it seemed to him that his soul was on its wings. While the landscape rushed past his eyes, he seemed to have seen new regions and cities never explored before.

·       “All labour…/…/…hopeful past.” How does the speaker justify his failure of securing his beloved’s love here?

ANS: In order to justify his failure, the speaker in Browning’s dramatic lyric The Last Ride Together refers to the fate of humanity in general. He says that, despite trying hard for success, men ultimately achieve little in the form of success; there always remains a wide gap between hope and realization, between ambition and achievement. On the other hand, in his attempt to win his beloved’s love, he has at least secured a last ride together, which, according to him, is no mean achievement.

·       “Ten lines, a statesman’s life in each!” Where does the line occur? Explain why the speaker exclaims in this way.

ANS: In order to justify his failure, the speaker in Browning’s dramatic lyric The Last Ride Together speaks of the reward a statesman gets after the end of his active political career. After his death, he is rewarded with a short ten-line obituary. His point is that achievement always falls short of ambition and endeavour.

·       Explain how the speaker in Last Ride Together draws a comparison between his achievement and that of a poet.

ANS: The rejected lover in Browning’s dramatic lyric The Last Ride Together draws a comparison between his achievement and that of a poet in order to justify his failure. According to him, a poet strives to convey feelings and thoughts in rhythm and melody, which others may feel but cannot articulate. The poet holds beauty as the highest ideal and strives throughout his life to glorify it in poetry. But the reward he gets in return, according to the speaker, is a trifling one: he lives in poverty and becomes sick and prematurely old. The poet expresses but does not experience the sublime bliss of love. On the other hand, the rejected lover is now having the bliss of riding with his beloved. In other words, to him, life is greater than art.

·       “And that’s your Venus—whence …/fords the burn!” Explain the significance of the lines in relation to the speaker’s own personal situation.

Q23: “But in music we know how fashions end.” Where do this line occur? Why does the speaker insert this comment into the poem?

·       “…Had fate/ Proposed bliss here should sublimate…bond.” Explain.

ANS: The rejected lover in Browning’s The Last Ride Together justifies his failure to secure his beloved’s love by saying that we can’t know what is good for us and what is not. Even if he had entered into a contract with fate that he should be given the highest happiness on earth itself, he would still seek some happiness after his death. In other words, the speaker’s failure is sustained by his belief in life after death, in the existence of life in heaven.

·       “This foot once planted…ride.”

ANS: The rejected speaker in Browning’s The Last Ride Together justifies his failure to secure his beloved’s love by saying that he will be appalled if he finds the highest happiness of life in this temporal world. For he looks forward to life-after-death or heaven for the fulfilment of his highest ideal. If this world provides the highest happiness, heavenly life, then it will be meaningless. And that is why the speaker is content with and values the last ride so much, as he hopes to continue this beyond this earthly existence to heaven.

·       ”What if Heaven…so abide?” How does the speaker come to this conclusion?

ANS: Towards the end of his monologue, the rejected lover in Browning’s The Last Ride Together projects himself and his beloved, representing the strong and the fair at the prime of their life, as an embodiment of heaven itself. Again, he imagines himself and his beloved partaking of the heavenly quality by remaining constant and fixed in their ride together.

·       Explain the significance of the line, “Whither life’s flower is first discerned…”
What is here referred to by the speaker as “life’s flower” and why?

The speaker in Browning’s The Last Ride Together refers to heaven as the “life’s flower”. According to him, heaven is the culminating point of human life. Human beings can realize the highest reward, the heavenly bliss, only in heaven.

·       “What if we still…eternity…” How does the speaker come to this conclusion?

ANS: Towards the end of his monologue, the rejected lover in Browning’s TLRT speculates on the chance of transforming the present ride into an everlasting one by just continuing it from this world to heaven. If that were the case, then their old relationship would continue, with the difference that the degree of emotional intensity would continue to increase. Thus, he hopes to transform the ‘instant’, that is, the present bliss of riding together, into an everlasting one in heaven.

A.     Self-consolation

A.    Blaming fate

A.    in love one experiences the divine and gets transfigured almost into a god-like personality.

A.     Rhetorical

B.     True

C.    Philosophical

A.    Self-congratulatory

A. He hopes to transform the ride into a journey towards eternity and find out a theological and philosophical resolution to his crisis.

A.    breast-shaped cloud looks a little stooping by the load of light shed at a time by the setting sun’s and the rising moon’s and the rising evening star’s light or blessing

A.    The touch of his beloved generated such euphoric sensations in his mind that he feels to experience some divine events happening with him.

A.    heaven

A.    The present state of bliss in riding with her

A.    The lover here speculates on the chance of transforming the present ride into an everlasting one by just continuing it from this world to heaven.

A.    Optimism

B.     Rhetorical

C.     Ambiguous

D.    Intellectual

A.    It is a dramatic monologue

B.     The speaker talks too much, depends too much on speculation and gets in involved in rhetorical exercises

A.    Browning the poet

B.     The speaker of the poem

A.     Sculptor, statesman, poet, composer

A.     Superiority of life to art

A.    France

B.     Italy

C.    Germany

D.    England

A.     Browning