The Laboratory

1
The Laboratory

• Robert Browning

2
Subject Matter

• A woman goes to an apothecary, to brew up a
  poison to kill her lover and his two mistresses.
  The husband has been cheating on her and she is
  planning her revenge. She is telling the old man
  at the apothecary her plans for big REVENGE!!

3
Themes

• The themes that occupy this poem are
• Violence
• Pain
• Jealousy
• Anger
• Revenge
• Hatred
• Loneliness
• Loneliness is shown by the repetition of I.
• These themes show that the woman is disturbed and
  psychotic.

4
Language

• The poem is written in archaic language which
  gives us a clue to when it is set.
• The alliteration Brand, burn up, bite helps us
  understand her emotions as it makes the tone
  angry and bitter. The words also remind us how
  she feels branded as someone who has been cheated
  on, she is marked and scarred by her deceitful
  lover. She burns with shame and the word bite
  gives us a clue to how much the cheating lover
  has hurt her.
• The poem is written in first person, giving the
  characters view.

5
Structure

• There is lots of enjambment in the poem which
  makes it sound more like a story which helps it
  flow so it shows her emotions more.
• Also the poem follows A A B B rhyming structure
  and uses rhyming couplets. This also helps the
  poem flow and makes it a bit more catchy. It
  gives us a good idea of how excitied she is about
  her revenge.
• The first and last stanzas are similar, which
  shows that nothing has changed for her by telling
  the story at the apothecary, she will take her
  revenge.
• The poem is a monolgue, written in first person
  and showing her point of view.

6
Alternative Interpretation

• The Repetition of I shows that she is
  egotistical and also shows that she only cares
  about herself and her feelings and doesnt care
  who she has to hurt to be happy again. It could
  also show that she feels lonely and isolated. A

7
Comparison

• This poem compares to
• Education For Leisure, through a psychotic
  character and a belief that they have control
  over life and death.
• Hitcher, through strong feeling of death,
  violence, hatred and anger

8
Success?

• This poem is successful because it shows her
  emotions clearly and uses the themes in a blatant
  and obvious way, helping the reader to understand
  the character and her feelings of jealousy and
  hatred.

9
We would like to thank

• Google
• Our Chairperson Shereen Dopwell
• Our Judge Anisa Wizard
• Our Scribe Elliott Silk
• Our Pioneer Charlie Dew
• Philip Alan Updates GCSE Student Text Guide
• Thanks for reading!