I do not believe, moreover, that any woman in the whole world from the very beginning was ever so obscure in her speech to the man she loves as Lady Carlisle was to Strafford.

And the motive of her obscurity--that if she discloses the King's perfidy she robs Strafford of that which is dearest to him--his belief in the King's affection for him--is no doubt very fine, but the woman was either not in love who argued in that way, or a fool; for Strafford knew, and lets her understand that he knew, the treachery of the King.

But Browning meant her to be in love, and to be clever.
* * * * * The next play Browning wrote, undeterred by the fate of _Strafford_, was _King Victor and King Charles_.

The subject is historical, but it is modified by Browning, quite legitimately, to suit his own purposes.

In itself the plot is uninteresting.