Doctor -- by Robert Browning
In a tale relayed by a Rabbi, Satan takes human form and marries to test the claim that a bad wife is stronger than Death. He enables his son to see him as Death, allowing the son to predict patients’ outcomes and prosper as a doctor. When Satan refuses to spare an emperor, the doctor summons his mother, whose arrival drives Satan away; he then refuses the emperor’s offer of his daughter and her dowry.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Satirical Poetry · 3,156 words
First lines
A Rabbi told me: On the day allowed / Satan for carping at God's rule, he came, / Fresh from our earth, to brave the angel-crowd.
"What is the fault now? " "This I find to blame: / Many and various are the tongues below, / Yet all agree in one speech, all proclaim
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed verse recounts Satan’s marriage, his son’s medical career, and the trick that saves the emperor.
- Satirical Poetry — The doctor’s success depends on seeing Death rather than medical knowledge, while his boastful speeches ridicule professional rivalry.
Tags
medicine · death · marriage · Satan · trickery · medical rivalry
What this Textopian page supports
Doctor -- 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: Narrative Poetry, Satirical Poetry
- Length: 3,156 words
- Structure: 1 section, 86 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Doctor -- by Robert Browning
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