Gold Hair: a Story of Pornic by Robert Browning
A dying girl at Pornic begs that her golden hair remain untouched and is buried near the church altar, remembered as saintly. Years later, repairs expose her grave and reveal coins concealed in her hair; the priest uses the hoard to build a new altar. The narrator makes her hidden greed the basis of a sermon on the mixed human heart and an argument for Christian teaching on original sin.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Religious Poetry · 1,768 words
First lines
A Story of Pornic
Oh, the beautiful girl, too white, / Who lived at Pornic, down by the sea, / Just where the sea and the Loire unite! / And a boasted name in Brittany / She bore, which I will not write.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed five-line stanzas recount the girl's death, her burial, the later discovery of her concealed coins, and their use for a new altar.
- Religious Poetry — The narrator turns the discovery of greed beneath apparent sainthood into a sermon defending the Christian doctrine of original sin.
Tags
greed · hidden wealth · burial · sainthood · original sin · religious doubt
What this Textopian page supports
Gold Hair: a Story of Pornic 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, Religious Poetry
- Length: 1,768 words
- Structure: 1 section, 32 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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