The Pope and the Net by Robert Browning
A fisherman’s son rises to cardinal and displays his father’s net as a reminder of his humble origins, winning support for his election as pope. When the electors find the net gone, he explains that it has already caught its fish.
By Robert Browning · Genre: Narrative Poetry, Satirical Poetry · 396 words
First lines
What, he on whom our voices unanimously ran, / Made Pope at our last Conclave? Full low his life began: / His father earned the daily bread as just a fisherman.
So much the more his boy minds book, givesproof of mother-wit, / Becomes first Deacon, and then Priest, then Bishop: see him sit / No less than Cardinal erelong, while no one cries "Unfit!"
Genres
- Narrative Poetry — Rhymed tercets recount a fisherman’s son advancing through church offices, displaying a net, and removing it after becoming pope.
- Satirical Poetry — The electors praise the cardinal’s apparent humility, but his final answer makes their support the catch secured by his displayed net.
Tags
papal election · performed humility · ecclesiastical ambition · fishing net · religious satire
What this Textopian page supports
The Pope and the Net 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: 396 words
- Structure: 1 section, 8 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Pope and the Net 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