Ned Bratts by Robert Browning
At a sweltering Bedford Assize, publican Ned Bratts recounts how his wife Tabby's visit to an imprisoned preacher and the preacher's book brought them to repentance. Confessing their crimes and fearing that their resolve will fade, the couple beg for immediate hanging. The Chief Justice accepts their request, stays the punishments imposed on the Puritans tried earlier, and the couple are hanged.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Religious Poetry, Satire · 5,457 words
First lines
'T was Bedford Special Assize, one daft Midsummer's Day: / A broiling blasting June, -- was never its like, men say. / Corn stood sheaf-ripe already, and trees looked yellow as that; / Ponds drained dust-dry, the cattle lay foaming around each flat. / Inside town, dogs went mad, and folk kept bibbing beer, / While the parsons prayed for rain. 'T was horrible, yes -- but queer: / Queer -- for the sun laughed gay, yet nobody moved a hand / To work one stroke at his trade: as given to understand / That all was come to a stop, work and such worldly ways, / And the world's old self about to end in a merry blaze, / Midsummer's day moreover was the first of Bedford Fair; / With Bedford Town's tag-rag and bobtail a-bowsing there.
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhyming verse recounts the Bedford court proceedings, the couple's conversion and confession, and their execution.
- Religious Poetry — The imprisoned preacher's promise of salvation and his book move Tabby and Ned to repentance, while Ned fears returning to sin.
- Satire — Spectators bet on death sentences, and the Chief Justice admits that Ned's suspect testimony helped secure convictions while saving the court time and expense.
Tags
religious conversion · repentance · criminal confession · capital punishment · judicial corruption · religious persecution
What this Textopian page supports
Ned Bratts 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, Religious Poetry, Satire
- Length: 5,457 words
- Structure: 1 section, 21 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Ned Bratts by Robert Browning
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph