The Lost Mistress

How to Decide if you’re Good or Evil

All’s over, then: does truth sound bitter As one at first believes? Hark, ’tis the sparrows’ good-night twitter About your cottage eaves!

And the leaf-buds on the vine are woolly, I noticed that, today; One day more bursts them open fully – You know the red turns grey.

Tomorrow we meet the same then, dearest? May I take your hand in mine? Mere friends are we, – well, friends the merest Keep much that I resign:

For each glance of the eye so bright and black, Though I keep with heart’s endeavor, – Your voice, when you wish the snowdrops back, Though it stay in my soul for ever! –

Yet I will but say what mere friends say, Or only a thought stronger; I will hold your hand but as long as all may, Or so very little longer!

The Lost Mistress is a poem about a man (the speaker) lamenting the loss of his relationship with his mistress. She has ended their relationship for reasons unknown, regardless, the speaker attempts to remain hopeful about their newfound relationship- friendship. His emotions soon start to spiral and his behavior starts to become more obsessive and controlling of his mistress, a common theme in Browning’s poetry.

• Title-

The title of this poem like Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess, and A Light Woman directly refers to the woman in the title but fails to take her thoughts and emotions into consideration in the poem itself. Furthermore, it immediately makes the woman in the poem appear as the antagonist of the situation in two different ways, thus solidifying the reader’s opinion of her. Firstly, the word ‘lost’ indicates that the woman has been led astray, that is, doesn’t have the agency to make her choices. Secondly, the title seems to indicate that the speaker has been wronged by the Mistress and is suffering due to it. Perhaps one of the ways in which the speaker ”suffers” is through the woman’s apparently blatant sexuality which is emphasized in the title.

The title, The Lost Mistress, is also ironic because it implies that the speaker is resigned to the decision of the woman. Although the character of the speaker develops and he avoids a terrible decision, he does not accept the woman’s decision with dignity. His anger fades through the poem but his determination is only softened to hope. He has not learned to let go of this woman and hence, she can never be lost to him, nor what is scarier, he to her.

• Setting-

We open on a cottage basking in the twilit evening and two former lovers bidding farewell to one another. The reader should actively avoid being tricked into thinking this to be a conversation between two rational adults. These touching closing ceremonies are conducted almost entirely by our speaker who stands just outside the little house. This placement of characters serves as a metaphor for the situation and relationship of the couple. The speaker is effectively evicted from the listener’s home and life in one fell stroke. As houses are common symbols of structure, the setting could represent a societal rejection of the speaker. Alternatively, the cottage is a feminine symbol or even a sexual symbol if one refers to Freudian philosophy further building the tone of rejection.

The pair are situated directly below the ‘eaves’ of the cottage according to the last line of the first stanza. This deliberate mention of a trivial detail is made significant when the reader recognizes the pun on the word ‘eaves’. The word conjures up the old story of a woman, desire, and a lost paradise.

• Meter-

The speaker seems to be a perfect, understanding man, who is willing to let go of his love for her happiness. Though it seems like a bittersweet tale of the end of a relationship, it may not be the reality. Perfection, especially in Browning’s works, is a red flag. Our flaws make us human. Through analyzing Browning’s poems for a year, we have come to understand that perfection is synonymous with possession and control. The speaker’s carefully measured words in dealing with this situation is another warning sign. All of this ties into the meter of the poem. It is a troche, which in our understanding, emphasizes the speaker’s dangerous nature (which in this case is controlling and possessive).

The number of syllables per line alternates. The longer lines have nine syllables, hence have a feminine end. These lines seem to domineer the shorter ones. Assuming that the longer lines are representing the mistress, it is possible that Browning is telling his readers that she possesses the true power in their relationship. Perhaps the meter allows the mistress to share her side of the story with the readers since the entire poem is from the speaker’s point of view.

On the other hand, the shorter lines have six syllables (trimeter). This gives the poem a constant rhythm, allowing the poet to create an emotional work, as done in this poem. Interestingly, the continuity of these lines is cut short by the longer lines, similar to the sudden end of their relationship.

• Rhyme Scheme-

The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABABCDCD…

The Rhyme scheme of this poem is very interesting as it is indicative of the speaker’s true nature. In this case, it can be understood that the speaker is a controlling man who tries to ensure that he can control every aspect of his Mistress’ life. The fact that it is maintained throughout the poem, without any breaks is rather telling. It shows that his feelings for her are obsessive. Perhaps he wants to be with her because he can control her. While many interpretations of the poem describe him as a loving man who is willing to let go of his love for her sake, we believe that this loving approach is but a facade. It seems too perfect to be true, like the rhyme scheme. Further, we have realized that Browning never writes anything with our it having a meaning behind it. Perhaps this is a poem about an emotionally abusive relationship. We shall never truly know.

• Enjambment-

The poem has many lines that are not end-stopped. Browning has used this technique in many of his poems. Most times it signifies the overwhelming emotion of a character, to an extent such that the words trickle into the next line, overcoming the boundaries of punctuation. This poem utilizes this technique to symbolize the emotions of anger and possessiveness. The speaker puts on a front, one that seems understanding after his presumed lover ended their relationship. However, the enjambment shows that the speaker is truly angered by this event and wants to control his mistress’s actions. This dark nature may seem overbearing, hence is contrasted with his light, friendly words of acceptance. Nevertheless, upon further analyses, it becomes apparent that the speaker has darker motives than what is apparent. The lines which are indeed end-stopped, serve as a buffer and facade, as it makes the speaker seem like a cool and collected man who has accepted the untimely demise of their relationship. The usage of caesura further emphasizes the speaker’s erratic behavior in the given situation. His hurt feelings and sadness play a key role in his characterization.

• Symbolism-

This poem deals with a speaker who is rejected or liberated one might say from the confines of a relationship. The reader is often left wondering what the speaker’s true reaction is. The superficial meaning of the words seem beautiful and touching on the surface but their deeper significance is thought-provoking. One instance of symbolism is in the mention of sparrows in the first stanza. There are so many contradictory accounts of their meaning in literature. They represent death and springtime and simultaneously are small and inferior in stature but symbolize power. One significance that repeated was that sparrows are symbols of freedom especially the freedom for the soul to choose between good and evil. It is this choice that we see the speaker struggling with throughout the poem.

In the second stanza, the speaker refers to a vine that has grown wooly. Vines have come to represent strength, faith, and endurance in literature over the years. It bears many similarities to the love of the speaker. The speaker also calls attention to the wooly leaf-buds on the vine- the adjective ‘wooly’ could have many connotations. It creates images of mold in the minds of the readers and could also mean comfort if it is thought of in the context of the word ‘wool’. Regardless of the interpretation, wooly leaf buds on a vine represent the fading of the speaker’s love.

In the last line of the second stanza, the speaker issues a delicate threat or warning to the listener. The fading of color from the image is always ugly. The speaker could be warning the speaker that even his love may fade or that time’s clock is ticking mercilessly and she will grow old and unbeautiful. He may also be so livid as to threaten her life by saying that her red-blooded body may fade to a dull grey corpse if he chose to exercise his power.

Thankfully, we are informed of his choice in the fourth stanza where the speaker talks of snowdrops. Snowdrops represent innocence, purity, hope, and sympathy and are seen at the very beginning of spring.

Through the use of symbols, the readers are made to feel that the speaker was at the precipice of a river of sin before backing away and choosing to hope and love.

• Alliteration, consonance, and assonance-

The poem begins on a strong melodramatic note that is slightly softened by the ‘o’ assonance in the first line. The phonetics of the line gives a more natural and calming tone to the poem which leads the reader to believe that the speaker is resigned to his fate.

Contrasting with the softening ‘o’ sound is the ‘t’ consonance prominent in alternating lines of the first stanza, those lines where the speaker is asking for more from the listener or is expressing strong emotions. The ‘t’ consonance gives the stanza an undercurrent of danger and the abrupt beat it invokes is reminiscent of an irregular heartbeat.

In the fourth stanza, Robert Browning continues to use phonetics to express the speaker’s true intentions. When describing the listener’s eyes, the speaker uses ‘b’ alliteration which adds a new, more sinister dimension to his words. All of the speaker’s residual anger towards his ex-lover is expelled in the words “bright and black”.

Representative of the sweet lines following the harrowing description of the woman’s eyes, the speaker uses ‘l’ consonance in the last two lines of the poem. The calming sounds serve their purpose and an initially terror-inducing poem ends on a quiet, dignified albeit unfinished note.

In essence, the Lost Mistress is a poem that captures some of Browning's most common themes- those of possession and obsession. The speaker seems to have let himself go in his obsession with the woman and to such an extent that he starts to view her as his possession rather than a human being. At first glance, the poem seems to portray a man who is deeply in love with a woman. However, Browning subtly expresses his disdain for him by the use of various poetic devices, thereby revealing his true intent.