Rabbi Ben Ezra by Robert Browning
A speaker invites a listener to grow old with him, arguing that pain, doubt, and unrealized aspirations contribute to a life whose worth God can judge beyond outward achievements. He presents old age as a time to assess youth and, comparing himself to a cup shaped by God, prays that age and death complete the work.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Philosophical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Religious Poetry · 2,049 words
First lines
Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be, / The last of life, for which the first was made: / Our times are in his hand / Who saith, "A whole I planned, / Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!"
Not that, amassing flowers, / Youth sighed, "Which rose make ours, / Which lily leave and then as best recall? " / Not that, admiring stars, / It yearned, "Nor Jove, nor Mars; / Mine be some figured flame which blends, transcends them all!"
Genres
- Philosophical Poetry — Rhymed stanzas argue that human worth includes unrealized aspirations and that old age enables judgment of earlier struggles.
- Dramatic Monologue — A single speaker addresses a listener, defends his convictions about aging and human worth, and finally addresses God.
- Religious Poetry — The speaker trusts God's design and develops the potter-and-cup metaphor into a prayer for completion through age and death.
Tags
aging · unrealized aspirations · body and soul · divine judgment · mortality · potter metaphor
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Rabbi Ben Ezra 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: Philosophical Poetry, Dramatic Monologue, Religious Poetry
- Length: 2,049 words
- Structure: 1 section, 32 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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