‘Love in a Life’

Robert Browning
Theme & Tone

 Narrator looking for lost love (Theme)

 Determined to find her again (Theme)
 Alludes to a never ending quest (Theme)
 Determined and confident (Tone)
Structure

 ABDCDABC
 Two tercets and one couplet for each
stanza
 Firsttercet in dimeter, the second in
tetrameter and the couplet in pentameter
 Awkward Syntax –
hierarchy of events.
Focus on the room,
then hunting, then
the ‘where’
Room after room,
I hunt the house through
We inhabit together.
Heart, fear nothing, for, heart, thou shalt
find her—

Metonymy of Love – part

of himself indicating full
emotion. Metaphorically
determined, a part of
him
 Metaphor – believes
just left the room,
confident of her
return. Only a
‘disturbance’

Next time, herself!—not the trouble behind

her Alliteration – senses
she is still near
Left in the curtain, the couch's perfume!
As she brushed it, the cornice-wreath
blossomed anew:
Yon looking-glass gleamed at the wave of her
feather.

Metaphorical Eulogy –
as if she were a
goddess animating the
objects she touches
 Repetition –
conscious of time,
Yet the day wears, the repetition of
the search is the
And door succeeds door; same
I try the fresh fortune—
 Metaphor –
determination
Range the wide house from the wing to the is relentless
centre.
Still the same chance! she goes out as I enter.
Spend my whole day in the quest,—who
cares?

Rhetorical Question –
will take as long as is
necessary
Temporal
Imagery – time
is becoming a
factor

But 'tis twilight, you see,—with such suites to

explore,
Such closets to search, such alcoves to
importune!

Strong Adjectives – parallelism of ‘such..’

adds to the urgency, begging, harassing,
looking for an answer