32/37 The next thing I have to say about _Sordello_ concerns what I call its illustrative episodes. Browning, wishing to illuminate his subject, sometimes darts off from it into an elaborate simile as Homer does. But in Homer the simile is carefully set, and explained to be a comparison. It is short, rarely reaching more than ten lines. In Browning, it is glided into without any preparation, and at first seems part of the story. |