Since 1900 the term "verse-novel" has frequently
appeared in discussions of certain long narrative poems of
the Victorian Period. The critics and literary historians
who use the term, however, have applied it very loosely.
Several critics, for example, have referred to Robert
Browning's The Ring and the Book as a verse-novel, while a
number of others have called it a form of epic. Again, while
Mrs. Browning herself spoke of her Aurora Leigh as a novel-poem
(i.e. a verse-novel), one critic refers to it as a
metrical romance. There seems to be no general agreement on
the exact meaning of the term, and, so far as I know, no
critic has ever offered a precise definition. This study
attempts to work out a descriptive definition of the term
"verse-novel", especially as it has been applied to longer
Victorian narrative poems.
Two problems arise in attempting such a definition.
First, while the term ''verse'' may be generally understood,
the term ''novel '1 has never been exactly defined or
described. It is necessary, then, to examine the prose
novel at considerable length to determine the special
characteristics of the form. Then, since most critics
insist that the novel is necessarily in prose, I examine
the historical relationship between the prose-novel and
verse. This examination shows that the novel, since its
very beginning, has usually had some kind of relationship
with verse.
Having determined the distinguishing features of the
novel genre, and using as my touchstone the only English
poem the major critics agree is a verse-novel, Chaucer's
Troilus and Criseyde, I offer a tentative definition of the
verse-novel. The verse-novel, however, in many respects
resembles both the epic and the verse-romance. It is
necessary, therefore, to ascertain the essential differences
between these three forms of narrative.
To differentiate between the verse-novel and the
epic I compare and contrast the special characteristics of
each. Then, having examined a poem critics agree is an
epic fragment, Matthew Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum, I apply
my jury definition to Robert Browning's The Ring and the Book in an attempt to determine whether it is an epic, as
some critics say, or a verse-novel, as several others
maintain.
Distinguishing between the verse-novel and the
verse-romance is sometimes especially difficult. Like the
term "novel", "romance" has apparently never been clearly
defined. A romance, therefore, may be to one commentator
an account of the strange, the wonderful, or the remote, and
to another a story of love relations between the sexes. It
is necessary, then, to examine the romance historically to
establish the distinct . features of the form. This done, I
discuss the verse-romance in relation to the verse-novel.
Then, having examined a poem critics agree is a verse-romance,
William Morris' The Life and Death of Jason, I
attempt to determine whether Mrs. Browning's Aurora Leigh,
called by some critics a verse-romance, really fits my
definition of a verse-novel.
Having tested my definition in this manner, I briefly
examine other Victorian narrative poems critics have called
verse-novels or verse-novelettes to further establish its
validity. Finally, I offer a brief evaluation of the versenovel
in the Victorian Period