Attitudes Toward Death In Prospice And The Laboratory

Compare and contrast how attitudes towards death are presented in Prospice and The Laboratory by Robert Browning.
In both poems Prospice and The Laboratory, Browning conveys the semantic field of death however with opposing attitudes using a variety of literary techniques throughout the poems. In Prospice Browning owns a positive attitude towards death whereas in The Laboratory the female narrator is plotting someone else’s death thus having negative connotations.
Prospice depicts Browning possessing an optimistic and peaceful approach to death because he believes this will reunite him with his deceased wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The first stanza of the poem begins with the rhetorical question “Fear death?” Included by Browning as if to challenge the readers who fear death themselves; their approach to death ultimately juxtaposes to Browning’s himself. Browning’s optimism towards death is confirmed by the connotations of heaven which can be seen in

the pathetic fallacy of “the mist in my face” and “when snows begin”. The whiteness of the snow symbolises the purity of heaven and the mutual love shared between him and his wife and their desire to be together once more.
Browning’s attitude towards death is also heroic, this is evident from where it says “I was ever a fighter, so – one fight more.” This portrays how eager he is to be with his wife as he is willing to fight for their unity.

Furthermore, Browning’s valiant approach to death is confirmed where it says in the text “I would hate that death bandaged my eyes”. This is included by Browning in order to demonstrate how he does not fear death and is willing to physically see his death coming if it means that he is reunited with his wife. Browning’s brave attitude towards death is justified through the quote “the worst turns the best to the brave” which is representative of the suffering he faced without his wife which has consequently has turned him brave enough to finally face death. It is clear that Browning’s motivation behind his lack of fear surrounding death is due to the fact that he longs to be reunited with Elizabeth and this is verified in the poem where it says “O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee

again”.
Contrastingly, the narrator in the Laboratory is anticipating the death of a woman who she plans to poison for associating with her love interest thus the yearning for death is more sinister. This is conveyed through the use of a mask – “glass mask tightly” – which suggests her desire to be hidden is ingrained within her plot to murder a woman and proves there is menacing behaviour involved. The female narrator is expresses how she is not in a rush for death to occur to her victim and this is demonstrated through the quote “I am not in haste” showing that she will wait so the potion is guaranteed to work as long as death is ensured; this shows how her attitude to death is more morbid compared to the attitude displayed within Prospice.
Throughout the poem browning uses asyndentic listing where it says “To carry pure death in an earring, a casket, a signet, a fan mount, a filigree basket!” this is done on purpose in order to create a frantic tone which fastens the pace of the text which ultimately conveys her attitude towards the prospect of death; this is also verified by the use of the explanation mark where it says “just thirty minutes to live!”.
In conclusion attitudes towards death in Robert Browning’s poem “prospice” differentiates from that in “the laboratory”, this is due to the difference in the narrators – Prospice is written from Browning’s own perspective about being reunited with his wife in heaven thus having an optimistic attitude towards dying. Contrastingly, the Laboratory is written from the perspective of a jealous woman who is eager to cause the death of women who associate with her love interest, her attitude towards death is that it is a weapon which can be utilised against those who interfere with her love interest.