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Soliliquy of Poetry


            Soliliquy of the Spanish Cloister by Robert Browning and Sonnets from the Portuguese: Number 43 by Browning's wife, Elizabeth Barrett Browning are as opposite from eachother as two poems can be. Both are written in different styles and both poems have completely opposite tones. However, they do share some similarities as well. Both poems are presented as lists. Sonnets from the Portuguese: Number 43 is a list of reasons why the speaker loves the subject of the poem while Soliliquy of the Spanish Cloister is a list of reasons why the speaker despises the subject. These two poems are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum pertaining to meaning and reason. Sonnets from the Portuguese: Number 43 is a narrative of pure and complete blind love, while Soliliquy of the Spanish Cloister is a narrative of blind rage and pure hatred. Both poems convey the two most primitive and raw emotions in the human psyche: love and hate. These emotions are true and uncontrollable by the people who feel them. .
             Soliliquy of the Spanish Cloister is a poem of immense hatred and rage. The speaker is a bitter and spiteful friar who focuses his anger and frustration on the bland and innocent Brother Lawrence. The speaker's soliloquy is mainly a fit of rage brought on by this deeply rooted hatred. The structure of the work reveals this hatred. The poem is arranged as a pair of lists, each with its own function. After a brief opening where the narrator reveals his bitter feelings, he presents a list of grievances against the hated Brother Lawrence. These lists give an important clue to the narrator's mental state. It takes time to compose lists and even more time to organize them. Yet the speaker has both lists readily available to release in his bitter outburst. This indicates an enduring hatred and not a passing annoyance. His grievances are petty, ranging from indignation at the way Lawrence speaks of his flowers to the brother's frivolous table conversation to his poor table manners.


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