A Light Woman by Robert Browning
Claiming to protect his friend, a speaker courts his friend's mistress and wins her away, leaving his friend distraught. He admits he does not want her, questions his conduct, and offers the unresolved situation to Robert Browning as material for his writing.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Dramatic Monologue, Narrative Poetry · 656 words
First lines
So far as our story approaches the end, / Which do you pity the most of us three? -- / My friend, or the mistress of my friend / With her wanton eyes, or me?
My friend was already too good to lose, / And seemed in the way of improvement yet, / When she crossed his path with her hunting-noose, / And over him drew her net.
Genres
- Dramatic Monologue — A speaker recounts his interference in his friend's affair, responds to a listener's disapproval, and defends and questions his own conduct.
- Narrative Poetry — Fourteen rhymed quatrains recount the speaker's courtship of his friend's mistress and its painful, unresolved consequences.
Tags
romantic rivalry · friendship · betrayal · manipulation · self-justification
What this Textopian page supports
A Light Woman is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Browning, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Browning
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Dramatic Monologue, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 656 words
- Structure: 1 section, 14 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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