Mesmerism by Robert Browning
A speaker claims that concentrated thought and gestures can compel an absent woman to cross the woods and come to him. He describes her silent arrival and union with the figure he has imagined, then asks God to restrain him and wonders what price he will pay for his guilt.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Dramatic Monologue, Psychological · 1,168 words
First lines
All I believed is true! / I am able yet / All I want, to get / By a method as strange as new: / Dare I trust the same to you?
If at night, when doors are shut, / And the wood-worm picks, / And the death-watch ticks, / And the bar has a flag of smut, / And a cat 's in the water-butt --
Genres
- Dramatic Monologue — One speaker addresses a listener, describes his attempted control over an absent woman, and finally turns to God in prayer.
- Psychological — The speaker's sustained concentration, imagined bodily presence, conviction of mental power, and acknowledgment of guilt drive the account.
Tags
mental control · obsession · guilt · imagined presence
What this Textopian page supports
Mesmerism 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, Psychological
- Length: 1,168 words
- Structure: 1 section, 27 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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