DEAN BRIGGS GIVES FIRST OF SANDERS THEATRE LECTURES

Dean L. B. R. Briggs '75 yesterday gave the first lecture of the series arranged for the benefit of the Radcliffe Endowment Fund at Sanders Theatre on the subject, "The Ring and the Book". Dean Briggs outlined the story at some length, frequently quoting passages, and commenting on the personality of the author.

Dean Briggs said that the facts of the poem were essentially true and that they were brought to Browning's notice through an old document which he picked up for a pittance. The author introduced his imagination and into the story wove a complex plot. The author shows a wide knowledge of Italy, but his most remarkable understanding is of the relations between man and woman. Browning was masculine to the core and it was this quality which enabled him to write so well on the subject. He put everything he had into his writing and this included human insight and psychology. But he was not primarily a preacher or psychologist but an artist and it was in this line that he excelled.

Dean Briggs went on to quote passages from the poem and to comment on the characters and the author, ending by stating: "If he had written nothing but the monologues in the story he would yet have been among the great English poets."