“Richelieu” [unidentified], Vanity Fair 1 (November 28, 1868):46-47

Summary:

               This passage begins with the basic summary of conflict throughout The Ring and the Book. The idea that lies will be found out and that they can greatly change things. The passage then complements Browning in his ability to write about and portray reality in The Ring and the Book. Ending by saying that if people don’t want reality “… they had better not trouble themselves to open the book,…”

Analysis:

               I would have to agree with the author of this passage. Reality of the consequences of lying is made very well apparent by Browning throughout his retelling of this story in The Ring and the Book. The adulterous wife and her lover the priest were found out by the husband. The husband then after committing murder to his wife, her parents, and her lover is found out. Then the husband after being sentenced to death tries appeal to the pope and creates a fictional account of the events to maybe get the pope and others to sympathize with him. He fails and is sentenced to death again. So all of those who lied were all ultimately killed. Browning truly shows the negative consequences of lying.

[Unsigned], Saturday Review 26 (December 26, 1868): 832-34

Summary:

               This small passage sums up the immoral and evil happening in Book I-III of The Ring and the Book. The evil of adultery and murder do not fore shadow and moral right of any characters accept maybe the pope.  

Analysis:

               I would agree that the accounts of the first three books are evil and cunning and show no hope for any moral right doings. I do believe this over the top immoral evil seen by several characters in the beginning books is purposely crafted by Browning to better the experiences of reader in the monologues of Count Guido.

[John R. deC. Wise], Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review 91 (April 1869): 577

Summary:

               John criticizes Browning’s style of focusing on the details of the villain and his/her villainous acts. He says that this style may be pleasing for ordinary people but is dull for the intellectual. John believes that Browning’s focus on the villain over shadows the light that should be shed from a resolution to the stories conflicts.

Analysis:

               I would have to disagree in this case with John. I believe that because Browning turns the readers focus to the villain he creates a better experience for the reader when the conflict is resolved. In Book V of The Ring and the Book Browning focuses the reader on Count Guido fictional account of the murders. This focus on the cunning of Count Guido in Book V gives the reader a better experience in Book XI when Guido becomes self-aware and no longer tries to lie and trick.