How does Browning tell the story in 'The Laboratory'?

Robert Browning's, The Laboratory,  tells the story of a woman seemingly scorned, entering a apothecary or as it is referred to a "devil's-smithy" in order to create an evil poison. This is seemingly due to her seeing a man, who has no connotations of her lover//husband, appearing to flirt with women known as "Pauline" and "Elise", therefore she becomes entranced when creating a concoction that will end the women's lustful attempts at the man, forever.




In the opening, Browning establishes the setting for the rest of the poem, this is shown in the line that states "trying thy glass mask tightly". This within the opening creates the sense of clear and present danger to the woman if she stays in her initial environment, this is due to the fact she must wear a "mask", creating the feel that all is not right with the reasons she is in this "devil's-smithy". The woman's vulnerability in this apothecary is further shown through the line "these faint smokes curling whitely", this is through Browning's use of sibilance in the line, as it portrays these deadly gases to be soft and gentle, therefore helping to suggest that this mirrors the woman's mind set so far within the poem. 




Characterisation is also a key factor when telling the story in 'The Laboratory', this is important as it establishes the woman as self centred, arrogant and overall, a psychopath. Portrayed in the line "go where men wait me", ergo painting the image of a woman who views herself as class above the man she has chosen, as she could seemingly have whoever she chooses. She can be perceived as a psychopath through the line "she would fall shrivelled", meaning she would inflict pain on the woman in question for speaking to a man that has his own free will, not ordinary behaviour. Furthermore, the Woman can be viewed as scornful, shown in the line "he is sure to remember her dying face", suggesting she wants a seemingly innocent woman to die ugly, simply because she spoke to a man she should not have by the woman.

The journey that Browning portrays the woman to forego in the poem is likewise important when describing how the story is told, this is because the woman is shown to become evidently increasingly menacing as the poem continues. This is shown through the contrasting lines, where the woman says "you call it gum", showing she is exciting as questions provoke connotations of excitement, therefore suggesting she is thrilled by the thought of murder, but will struggle when attempting the task itself. However, as the play draws to a close the reader becomes increasingly aware that the woman is no longer excited about the prospect of eradicating the women from the man's life, but instead she is now examining the possible effects of her act, shown in the line "can it ever hurt me?". This suggests she wants to get away with her treacherous, consequently suggesting that the woman now knows what she will do.


Browning's ending to 'The Laboratory' helps to finalise his poem, he does this by furthering the readers understanding of the woman's psychopathic//self indulgent nature. Browning does this in the line "kiss me, old man, on my mouth if you will", this reinforces the suggestion that the woman is seen to believe she is the 'powerful' character within this poem, as she assumes that the man would want to 'kiss her', whereas after reading the poem it becomes evident that the unspoken character of the man is the more dominant in the poem. This is due to the fact that the woman has accepted she must end two women's lives in order to keep control of a man, who may or may not have a strong//stable relationship with her, showing her to be the less dominant character between the two of them, suggesting why she must attempt to act a higher standard than the professor as it will satisfy her overall need for authority in the poem.