The Laboratory
Robert Browning 1845
Taking pleasure in
watching this take
place.
ANCIEN REGIME
Apothecary –
seen here as
creator of evil
Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly,
May gaze thro' these faint smokes curling whitely,
As thou pliest thy trade in this devil's-smithyWhich is the poison to poison her, prithee?
Alliteration draws
attention to intended
violence.
Question marks used
throughout highlight her
keen interest in the
production of the poison.
Her lover has left her
for another woman –
she uses a pronoun
rather than naming him.
They think she is
wasting away in grief,
not planning revenge.
Repetition of ‘they’
highlights her jealousy.
He is with her; and they know that I know
Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow
While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear
Empty church, to pray God in, for them! -- I am here.
No refuge or
consolation in religion
Exclamation marks highlight
her malicious laughter,
excitement and pleasure in
the preparation of murder.
Powerful verbs and
alliteration
foreshadow the
violence that is to
come .
She will wait for as long
as it takes to exact her
perfect revenge .
Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,
Pound at thy powder, -- I am not in haste!
Better sit thus, and observe thy strange things,
Than go where men wait me and dance at the King's.
Implies a loss of femininity – she would rather
watch poison prepared than dance at court.
Punctuation continues
to emphasise how keen
she is to learn about
the poison.
That in the mortar -- you call it a gum?
Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!
And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,
Sure to taste sweetly, -- is that poison too?
Rich and vivid
imagery signifies
great pleasure.
Alliteration highlights her
increasing desire and greed.
Had I but all of them, thee and thy treasures,
What a wild crowd of invisible pleasures!
To carry pure death in an earring, a casket,
A signet, a fan-mount, a filligree-basket!
signet
= ring
fan-mount = fan holder
filligree = delicate lace
Though she never names
her lover, here she names
other women she could
easily murder.
Punctuation again highlighting her
excitement at the thought of death.
Soon, at the King's, a mere lozenge to give
And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!
But to light a pastille, and Elise, with her head
And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead!
Getting very excited –
said at the start of the
poem that she could wait
but desire for revenge
taking over now.
Adjectives emphasising beauty
as in fourth stanza. She wants
the poison to be beautiful, for
the victim to enjoy it.
Quick - is it finished? The colour's too grim!
Why not soft like the phial's, enticing and dim?
Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir,
And try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer!
Insulting – the victim is a
far larger lady than she is
and will need more than a
‘drop’ of poison to kill her.
Verb implies a trap. Perhaps
easier to believe that her
lover was stolen away than
that he chose to leave.
What a drop! She's not little, no minion like meThat's why she ensnared him: this never will free
The soul from those masculine eyes, - say, 'no!'
To that pulse's magnificent come-and-go.
Imagines the heartbeat stopping.
Like the repetition of the
pronoun ‘they’ in second
stanza; shows she is
obsessed with the idea of
them together and here
describes spying on them.
Feels so much hatred she
imagines killing her just by
looking at her.
For only last night, as they whispered, I brought
My own eyes to bear on her so, that I thought
Could I keep them one half minute fixed, she would fall,
Shrivelled; she fell not; yet this does it all!
Poison much more effective than an evil stare.
As before, exclamation
mark highlights her
obvious pleasure in
inflicting suffering as she
takes revenge.
Alliteration emphasises the
pain her victim will face.
Not that I bid you spare her the pain!
Let death be felt and the proof remain;
Brand, burn up, bite into its graceHe is sure to remember her dying face!
Again use of
pronoun rather
than his name.
Imperative verb
(command) signifies her
powerful character.
She is prepared to pay
anything for revenge.
Is it done? Take my mask off! Nay, be not morose
It kills her, and this prevents seeing it close:
The delicate droplet, my whole fortune's feeIf it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?
Might the deed
backfire?
Only time she appears at
all interested in passion;
made grotesque by image
of old man.
Alliteration emphasises rich
imagery and symbolises the
greed of both of them.
Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill,
You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!
But brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings
Ere I know it - next moment I dance at the King's!
Assonance emphasises the
horror of the poison.
Change in thought, signals a goodbye as
she dashes off. Very determined ending,
reader left imagining her poisoning the
mistress.