"The Laboratory" is one of English poet Robert Browning's famous dramatic monologues—poems written in the voice of a particular character, as if they were speeches from a play. In this poem, a 17th-century French lady from the court of Louis XIV visits a chemist's laboratory with a dark purpose in mind: tormented by jealousy, she intends to poison her romantic rival. Her sadistic cheerfulness at the prospect suggests that jealousy is itself a poison, able to corrode a person's very soul. The poem was first published in Browning's important 1845 collection Dramatic Romances and Lyrics.
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The Full Text of “The Laboratory”
Ancien Régime
1Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly,
2May gaze thro’ these faint smokes curling whitely,
3As thou pliest thy trade in this devil’s-smithy—
4Which is the poison to poison her, prithee?
5He is with her, and they know that I know
6Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow
7While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear
8Empty church, to pray God in, for them!—I am here.
9Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,
10Pound at thy powder,—I am not in haste!
11Better sit thus and observe thy strange things,
12Than go where men wait me and dance at the King’s.
13That in the mortar—you call it a gum?
14Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!
15And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,
16Sure to taste sweetly,—is that poison too?
17Had I but all of them, thee and thy treasures,
18What a wild crowd of invisible pleasures!
19To carry pure death in an earring, a casket,
20A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket!
21Soon, at the King’s, a mere lozenge to give
22And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!
23But to light a pastile, and Elise, with her head
24And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead!
25Quick—is it finished? The colour’s too grim!
26Why not soft like the phial’s, enticing and dim?
27Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir,
28And try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer!
29What a drop! She’s not little, no minion like me—
30That’s why she ensnared him: this never will free
31The soul from those masculine eyes,—say, “no!”
32To that pulse’s magnificent come-and-go.
33For only last night, as they whispered, I brought
34My own eyes to bear on her so, that I thought
35Could I keep them one half minute fixed, she would fall,
36Shrivelled; she fell not; yet this does it all!
37Not that I bid you spare her the pain!
38Let death be felt and the proof remain;
39Brand, burn up, bite into its grace—
40He is sure to remember her dying face!
41Is it done? Take my mask off! Nay, be not morose;
42It kills her, and this prevents seeing it close:
43The delicate droplet, my whole fortune’s fee—
44If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?
45Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill,
46You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!
47But brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings
48Ere I know it—next moment I dance at the King’s!
The Full Text of “The Laboratory”
Ancien Régime
1Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly,
2May gaze thro’ these faint smokes curling whitely,
3As thou pliest thy trade in this devil’s-smithy—
4Which is the poison to poison her, prithee?
5He is with her, and they know that I know
6Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow
7While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear
8Empty church, to pray God in, for them!—I am here.
9Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,
10Pound at thy powder,—I am not in haste!
11Better sit thus and observe thy strange things,
12Than go where men wait me and dance at the King’s.
13That in the mortar—you call it a gum?
14Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!
15And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,
16Sure to taste sweetly,—is that poison too?
17Had I but all of them, thee and thy treasures,
18What a wild crowd of invisible pleasures!
19To carry pure death in an earring, a casket,
20A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket!
21Soon, at the King’s, a mere lozenge to give
22And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!
23But to light a pastile, and Elise, with her head
24And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead!
25Quick—is it finished? The colour’s too grim!
26Why not soft like the phial’s, enticing and dim?
27Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir,
28And try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer!
29What a drop! She’s not little, no minion like me—
30That’s why she ensnared him: this never will free
31The soul from those masculine eyes,—say, “no!”
32To that pulse’s magnificent come-and-go.
33For only last night, as they whispered, I brought
34My own eyes to bear on her so, that I thought
35Could I keep them one half minute fixed, she would fall,
36Shrivelled; she fell not; yet this does it all!
37Not that I bid you spare her the pain!
38Let death be felt and the proof remain;
39Brand, burn up, bite into its grace—
40He is sure to remember her dying face!
41Is it done? Take my mask off! Nay, be not morose;
42It kills her, and this prevents seeing it close:
43The delicate droplet, my whole fortune’s fee—
44If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me?
45Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill,
46You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!
47But brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings
48Ere I know it—next moment I dance at the King’s!
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“The Laboratory” Summary
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“The Laboratory” Themes
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The Terrible Power of Jealousy
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Sexism and Women's Oppression
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The Power and Danger of Scientific Knowledge
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Laboratory”
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Lines 1-4
Now that I, tying thy glass mask tightly,
May gaze thro’ these faint smokes curling whitely,
As thou pliest thy trade in this devil’s-smithy—
Which is the poison to poison her, prithee? -
Lines 5-8
He is with her, and they know that I know
Where they are, what they do: they believe my tears flow
While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear
Empty church, to pray God in, for them!—I am here. -
Lines 9-12
Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste,
Pound at thy powder,—I am not in haste!
Better sit thus and observe thy strange things,
Than go where men wait me and dance at the King’s. -
Lines 13-16
That in the mortar—you call it a gum?
Ah, the brave tree whence such gold oozings come!
And yonder soft phial, the exquisite blue,
Sure to taste sweetly,—is that poison too? -
Lines 17-20
Had I but all of them, thee and thy treasures,
What a wild crowd of invisible pleasures!
To carry pure death in an earring, a casket,
A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree basket! -
Lines 21-24
Soon, at the King’s, a mere lozenge to give
And Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live!
But to light a pastile, and Elise, with her head
And her breast and her arms and her hands, should drop dead! -
Lines 25-28
Quick—is it finished? The colour’s too grim!
Why not soft like the phial’s, enticing and dim?
Let it brighten her drink, let her turn it and stir,
And try it and taste, ere she fix and prefer! -
Lines 29-32
What a drop! She’s not little, no minion like me—
That’s why she ensnared him: this never will free
The soul from those masculine eyes,—say, “no!”
To that pulse’s magnificent come-and-go. -
Lines 33-36
For only last night, as they whispered, I brought
My own eyes to bear on her so, that I thought
Could I keep them one half minute fixed, she would fall,
Shrivelled; she fell not; yet this does it all! -
Lines 37-40
Not that I bid you spare her the pain!
Let death be felt and the proof remain;
Brand, burn up, bite into its grace—
He is sure to remember her dying face! -
Lines 41-44
Is it done? Take my mask off! Nay, be not morose;
It kills her, and this prevents seeing it close:
The delicate droplet, my whole fortune’s fee—
If it hurts her, beside, can it ever hurt me? -
Lines 45-48
Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill,
You may kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will!
But brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings
Ere I know it—next moment I dance at the King’s!
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“The Laboratory” Symbols
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Poison
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“The Laboratory” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Imagery
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Allusion
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Metaphor
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Repetition
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Parallelism
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Irony
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Caesura
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Assonance
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Alliteration
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“The Laboratory” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thy, Thou, Thee
- Thro'
- As thou pliest thy trade
- Devil's-smithy
- Prithee
- Drear
- The King's
- Mortar
- Gum
- The brave tree whence such gold oozings come
- Yonder soft phial
- A casket, a signet, a fan-mount, a filigree-basket
- Lozenge
- Pastile
- Ere she fix and prefer
- Minion
- Ensnared
- Brand
- Nay, be not morose
- Gorge
- Lest
- Ere
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Laboratory”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Laboratory” Speaker
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“The Laboratory” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Laboratory”
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More “The Laboratory” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to a dramatic reading of the poem.
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Browing at the Victorian Web — Find a wealth of resources on Browning's life and work at the Victorian Web research site.
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A Brief Biography — Learn about Browning's life and times via the Poetry Foundation.
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The Poem Illustrated — See Pre-Raphaelite artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti's painted interpretation of the poem.
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The Poem's Inspiration — Learn about the Marquise de Brinvilliers, one of the real-life poisoners upon whom this poem was based.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Robert Browning
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