"A Light Woman"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the poem, "A Light Woman," written by Robert Browning. It focuses on Browning's depiction of two friends and a woman and the relationships between them. The paper discusses the characters, the use of metaphor and the choice of title. The paper finally discusses the use of irony and how it is a binding element throughout the poem.

From the Paper:

"A binding element throughout the poem appears to be irony in terms of the above-mentioned claim to truth. The claim to sincerity and truth throughout the poem is the very thing that reveals the speaker to be false and insincere. His initial claims to these qualities soon break down in the face of his friend's reaction and the final lines of the poem. For Robert Browning, broken friendships and hearts are much more interesting artistic material than truth and sincerity. Both the poet and the speaker then appear to use the friend's tragedy for their own gain."
"Once again, to return to the question in the first stanza: the friend is to be pitied most, as both the speaker and the woman are "light" enough in their lack of loyalty to hurt him for the sake of a frivolous fling."

More papers on "A Light Woman":

• Analytical Essay # 16115 : "Faulkner's "A Light in August"
• Descriptive Essay # 74907 : " The Death of a Beautiful Woman in Poe's "The Raven"
• Poem Review # 147394 : "The Light in Ted Kooser's Poetry"

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