Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1941- 1942 was better but his mind was gone, as he could not understand two lines of an English poem Y Several years later, Browning was attracted by the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett, who was his senior by six years. She was an invalid, having fallen from a horse and injured her thigh during her childhood. Her father, a widower named Edward Barrett, was very strict, not allowing any of his children to marry. At this time, the doctors suggested to her father that she should go to Italy for her health. He refused. Finally, Elizabeth Barrett agreed to Browningls proposal. Yvithout the knowledge of her father, they were quietly married on Sept. 12th, 1346. A week later, Mrs. Browning left her home for the last time, accompanied by her maid and her dog, who was only with difficulty prevented from barking. It is interesting to think that, if the dog had barked, her whole future might have been changed. The Brownings travelled to Pisa in Italy, and soon went to Florence. On hearing of their marriage, Wordsworth, then an old man, is said to have remarkedz- I hope they understand each other, for nobody else can. Browning had a great love for Italy, which can be compared with that of Byron and Shelley for Greece. This is shown in his poem De Gustibus , where he says in the last few lines: - Ifalv, my Itali' .' Q-116611 .l,Ia11v',v ,va-ying Jw':'a.tfor me, 1lyht'H.f0I'fIHIt .f malice Lax! her Calaix, Open my heart amz' you will iff, Graz'erli11.i'irle of il, Daly , Szzrh lozwzv olzl are I and She: So it always wax, .to .vhalle:'f'1'he ! At that time, many of the leading Englishman used to go to Italy for the winter. Browning shows no great love of Germany, where his maternal grandfather was born. He shows a violent hate of Austria in The Italian in England H, written in I8-15, where he says: - I w01zhz'gra.rp .Ut'frer1zivh zmfil I-felt hi.f rm' wr! lhroal flixiil 111 hloml fhmngh fhexe Iwo handy . Browning is also famous for his plays. One of these is Pippa Passes , in which he wrote what I consider to be his best lines: f The -war'5 at lhe xpring, .ind dayfv af lhe moi-ng .Uozvziizglr at ,vezwig The 1Iill,fif2IL9,.f dew-pf'a1'l.nlg The larlc'.v on lhe wing, G01l'.t in hi.v heaawzg .illllr righ! with the tvorlal .' He is also famous for his dramatic monologues, among them being Andrea del Sarto , The Laboratory , Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloistern, and Bishop Blou- gram's Apology U. The Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloistern is not really a dramatic monologue, since Brother Lawrence is not present to hear the monk swearing at him. llll

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SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE JUNIOR SL.-XLOlXI. C12 and 1c'nder.l lst Run Ind Run Total 1-- W. Redpath. , . . 16 lo .32 If-1. Morgan. . 16 17 .33 3 M. Prest ..,.,. 17 18 .35 4 li. Black ....... 18 18 .36 5' Nl. Ballantyne ,,.. 17 21 .38 5 A. Powell ,. .. 20 18 .38 T R. blolson, , 23 lo .39 8 G. Miller. . . 20 20 .40 8 hlorison , ., 21 19 .40 10 M. Magor .,,, 21 21 .42 114 H. XYelsl'ord, . 19 24 .43 124 .-X. .-Xitl-:en ..... 27 17 .44 12 lidg. Bronfman 25 19 .44 14 NY. Palmer. . , 18 27 .45 1-1 Al. Russell .. . 27 18 .45 lfi G Stairs. , , 211 25 .51 17 -1. l,yman ,, . 30 24 .54 18 H. Klein ..., 31 25 .56 19 lf. LelNlessurier 36 W 1.05 20 P. Bronfman, 35 31 1.06 llff. Beaubien. 40 32 1.12 22 Nl. Daubeny. .. . . ... ST 31 1.28 Robert Browning The poetry ot' Robert Browning, the youngest and perhaps the best of the Romantic Poets, gives the average person a good idea of his characterf a dashing young man with violent passions, a man with strong political opinions who loves freedom and hates tyran- ny these are the impressions created by this energetic person. Born in 1812, he began to take an early interest in poetry. He greatly admired the works of the poets of that time, Byron, Keats, and Shelley, especially those of the latter. He soon began to write verse himself, and, in 1833, he wrote Pauline . This poem was followed by several othersg amongst them was Sordello H, published in 1840. Tennyson, his senior by three years, said that the lirst lineg... 1Yho will, may hear Sordello's story told , and the last lineg... Who would, has heard Sordello's story told , were the only ones that he could understand, and that they were lies. Another example of Sordello's obscurity is seen when a certain man, who was re- covering from an illness, picked up a book lying beside him, which happened to be Sordello . Soon he put the book down. called his family, and told them that his health l2'Pl

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SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE Nlrs. Browning died in 1861. The only matter on which they had ever disagreed was that of spiritualism. Their marriage was a perfect one, unlike that of Byron, another Romantic poet. She was considered to be a better poet than he was at that time. This was shown when it was suggested that she should become Poet Laureate on Wordsworth's death in 18512. However, the Laureateship was given to Tennyson. Her father never saw her again before her death, and was never reconciled. Browning died in 1339. .-Xsolando was published on the day of his death. On hearing this, he murmured, How gratifying . Those were his last words. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, an honour of which he is certainly worthy. J. NI., Form 6. The Jfar QEast Yes l ln spite of what people say, the new member of the :Xxis is going to be harder to beat than we had realized. The Allies were caught napping and have already paid dearly for their unpreparedness, with the loss of Hong Kong and the damage to Pearl Harbour. Now the so-called impregnable Singapore is threatened. The loss of Singapore would mean a few extra years added to the length of the war. Australia would be our last stand. India and Burma are two very strategic points, especially the latter, which would be an excellent point for either defensive or offensive operations. But we must not forget the Netherlands Fast Indies, one of our best .-Xll:es. They protect Australia, and are said to be very well defended. .-Ind lastly, the Philippines, which are being bravely defended by General Mac.-Xrthur and his American and Philippino troops. But, even with all these places, can we defend ourselves against Japan P Don't forget she has bases too. They are strung out from Japan itself to the Hawaiian Islands. However, if we put enough energy and money into the effort we should be able to over- come the Japanese. M. M., Form 3. There was a young mem qf' Greeee ll'ho rough! the Golden Fleece. I IITUIITI know his name, Bn! he won grealfame, So rhey failed him lhe Hero of Greece. T. P., Form A. l22l