Cristina by Robert Browning
A speaker admits he cannot tell what a woman's glance meant, yet insists it revealed a union of their souls. He claims that worldly honors extinguished her insight while her soul remains his, and anticipates another life once this one has proved their powers.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Dramatic Monologue, Love Poetry, Philosophical Poetry · 684 words
First lines
She should never have looked at me / If she meant I should not love her! / There are plenty... men, you call such, / I suppose... she may discover / All her soul to, if she pleases, / And yet leave much as she found them: / But I'm not so, and she knew it / When she fixed me, glancing round them.
What? To fix me thus meant nothing? / But I can't tell (there's my weakness) / What her look said! -- no vile cant, sure, / About "need to strew the bleakness / Of some lone shore with its pearl-seed, / That the sea feels" -- no "strange yearning / That such souls have, most to lavish / Where there's chance of least returning."
What this Textopian page supports
Cristina 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, Love Poetry, Philosophical Poetry
- Length: 684 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Cristina by Robert Browning
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Dramatic Monologue — A single speaker defends his interpretation of a woman's glance, admitting uncertainty while asserting possession of her soul.
- Love Poetry — The speaker treats a moment of apparent connection with a woman as the fulfillment of his life through love.
- Philosophical Poetry — The speaker argues that souls exist before and after earthly life and that their purpose here is union through love.
Tags
love · union of souls · afterlife · worldly honors · dramatic monologue