Class Year
2023
Document Type
Student Research Paper
Date of Creation
Fall 2020
Department 1
English
Abstract
In his poem describing a performance of a Baldassare Galuppi toccata, Robert Browning uses music theory terminology and historical context to explain the emotions inspired by the piece. Browning’s 19th-century narrator reflects on the lives of past audiences and on his own mortality as he addresses the deceased composer. This paper analyzes the use of musical references in explaining the narrator’s response to the performance. The analysis includes an examination of Galuppi’s compositional period and a discussion of the specific terminology that Browning uses to convey his narrator’s wariness of death.
Copyright Note
This is the author's version of the work. This publication appears in Gettysburg College's institutional repository by permission of the copyright owner for personal use, not for redistribution.
Recommended Citation
Dolan, Natalie M., "Music Terminology and Context in Robert Browning’s “A Toccata of Galuppi’s”" (2020). Student Publications. 884.
https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/student_scholarship/884
Comments
Written for ENG 230A: Introduction to Nineteenth-Century British Literature