The Laboratory BY ROBERT BROWNING , Short summary and analysis

The Laboratory

BY ROBERT BROWNING

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-smithy—

Which is the poison to poison her, prithee?

   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.

   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.

   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?

   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 filigree basket!

   Soon, at the King’s, a mere lozenge to give

And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!

But to light a pastile, and Elise, with her head

And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead!

   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!

   What a drop! She’s not little, no minion like me—

That’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.

   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!

   Not that I bid you spare her the pain!

Let death be felt and the proof remain;

Brand, burn up, bite into its grace—

He is sure to remember her dying face!

   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 fee—

If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?

   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!

Short  summary and analysis 

* Robert Browning was a Victorian poet, famed for writing dramatic monologues, of which "The Laboratory" is a fine example. 

* “The Laboratory” by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue. 

* In this poem, a high-class woman explains her desires, feelings, and plans after facing the betrayal of her ex-lover. So the bloodthirsty sadistic, and jealous woman plans to kill her enemies. 

* For this purpose, she goes to a laboratory of an Alchemist to get the poison. Then, she intends to kill her rival with that poison.

* The poem begins when a woman masks herself up and talks about devilish poison and  she recalls how her ex-boyfriend played with her emotions. Furthermore, she explains that he and his new girlfriend mocked her feelings. It seems that the lady has endured a lot in the name of love. But now, she has grown so strong.

* The poem is narrated by a young woman to an apothecary(Lab technician) , who is preparing her a poison with which to kill her rivals at a nearby royal court.

* She (the narrator of the poem) pushes him to complete the potion of poison  while she laments how her beloved is not only being unfaithful, but that he is fully aware that she knows of it. While her betrayers think she must be somewhere in grief, but she is proud to be instead plotting their murder.

* She notes the ingredients he uses, paying particular attention to their texture and colour. She hopes the poison will "taste sweetly" so she can poison the two ladies she has in her sights. 

*Though she thinks herself  a "minion" unlike her competitors, she will have the last laugh by having them killed in a painful way that will also torment her beloved.

* When the poison is complete, she promises the apothecary both her fortune (her "jewels" and "gold") but also lets him kiss her. Finally, she is ready to go dancing at the king's and end her torment.

* In the poem the writer has wonderfully captured the voice of a woman , and we see that this woman is enlivened by more than just revenge; she is invigorated by the power that murder allows her to have.

* When the narrator  first mentions her untrue beloved, she only mentions one woman, but a few stanzas later, she mentions both "Pauline" and "Elise" as targets. 

* She is already being taken away with the potential to kill. While the rhyme scheme is regular, the enjambments stress that she is willing to lose a bit of control, letting this impulse take her.

* Further, if winning her husband or lover back were the only goal, she would not take so much glee in the prospect of causing painful death to the ladies and moral torment to him. 

* Her intense focus on the ingredients further confirms the ecstasy she feels at suddenly giving herself over to this wickedness. 

* The narrator thinks that this scheme of killing will cost her - her "whole fortune" only validates the choice – we get the sense that she will be forever defined by this act.

* In closing with "next moment I dance at the King's," the poem implies her intent to carry herself as a woman who has accomplished a great deed.

* Psychologically, the narrator's  resentment could be motivated by class expectations. She considers herself a "minion," which probably means a lady-in-waiting or some low-level servant, whereas her competitors are not so lowly. That her beloved is involved with them and that both expect that the speaker is grieving away in an "empty church" is the worst offense. She is considered less worthy than them, which only strengthens her resolve to demonstrate her superiority through the murder.

* One could argue that the speaker has never actually been involved with her beloved, since she gives no direct proof of a relationship. 

*Further, as her lover and competitors all know that she is aware of the dalliance, it is possible that they do not even know they are offending her in any way. She could be like the monk of "Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister," whose hatred and resentment is known only to him. 

* In the poem, there is also, in the "empty church" line, the slightest indication that perhaps she is a nun, and so her grief would be due to their sexuality out of marriage. Much can be conjectured from Browning's masterful subtly.

* Finally, sexuality is presented in this poem as something capable of great grotesqueness. 

* In the same way that the bright, pretty poison will ultimately cause painful death, so does the allure of sexuality have a dark side. Sexuality is certainly behind whatever actions have led this woman to the apothecary, but note her willingness to use it on the apothecary in the final stanza, when she tells him, "You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!" 

* Certainly, the poet Browning is no prude and we should not read a moral message in this, but rather read it as one of his many uses of objects or values which also contain their opposite. What drives men and women to celebrate life can also cause that life to end.

* Moreover, she is all set to decide her horrible end. She closely observes the making of that deadly poison. Also, she shares details of the poisonous ingredients with readers. 

* While watching the preparation of the poison,  she accounts for the silly assumptions of her boyfriend and his girlfriend. She thinks they might be having fun while teasing her.

* Unfortunately, the reality is the opposite. The lady is not mourning or cursing herself. Instead, she is planning something terrific for them. 

* Throughout the poem, she seems curious and full of hatred. She even instructs the alchemist to get the desired result. Finally, when the poison is ready, she rewards the alchemist. Also, she offers him a kiss and leaves the laboratory to fulfill her mission.

Themes

* Jealousy, hatred, pain, and love are the poem’s central themes.

The poem provides vivid detail of a woman’s hatred toward her enemies. The description shows that she suffered a great loss when her boyfriend rejected her. She bluntly describes how painful it was for her to survive during the trying times.

 However, she did not let that trauma ruin her life. Instead, it infused her with negative emotions and made her stand at a place where she dared to be a murderer.

* On a deeper level, the poem sheds light on the dark side of human nature. It shows that if a lady becomes revengeful, she can go to any extent. She even does not fear killing someone to satisfy her instinct. To conclude, “The Laboratory” by Robert Browning Analysis reflects how evilness and enmity turns people into devils and beasts.