Cenciaja by Robert Browning
Addressing Shelley, a speaker recounts a manuscript linking Paolo Santa Croce’s murder of his mother to the Pope’s refusal to pardon Beatrice Cenci. Paolo flees and is later killed, while his brother Onofrio is arrested over an ambiguous letter, worn down by interrogation and beheaded; the judge receives a cardinal’s hat. The account reports allegations of the prosecuting cardinal’s romantic jealousy, and the speaker questions its claim of divine justice.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Social Criticism · 3,425 words
First lines
Ogni cencio vuol entrare in bucato. -- _Italian Proverb._
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — The verse follows Paolo’s matricide, Onofrio’s arrest, interrogation and execution, and the judge’s promotion.
- Social Criticism — The promised reward for securing a conviction and the closing challenge to divine justice question the conduct of papal authorities.
Tags
matricide · inheritance · papal justice · interrogation · execution · judicial corruption
What this Textopian page supports
Cenciaja is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Browning, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Browning
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Narrative Poetry, Social Criticism
- Length: 3,425 words
- Structure: 1 section, 22 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Difficult (10th-12th Grade)
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