The Laboratory Poem

Eleanor Roosevelt once said "A woman is like a teabag you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." The persona in Robert Brownings, "the laboratory" took this quote to a new extreme. Here is yet another eye grabbing dramatic monologue by Robert Browning where a jealous women takes revenge to the next level. Shockingly, there is some true events behind this poem. It was based off of a French women, Marie-Madeleine-Marguérite d'aubray marquise de Brihvillers. She had killed her father and two brothers, and after her failed attempt of trying to kill her husband, she was caught and later on beheaded. Robert Browning waste no time jumping into the conflict of the poem. The persona feels betrayed by a man she used to be in love
The first form of a hyperbole that stood out in the poem was when the persona began comparing herself with her enemy. She held nothing back as she said, "What a drop! She's not little, no minion like me" (29) She insists that one drop of poison is not enough to kill her rival because she is much more large in size. She goes on to add that the women is not as thin as she is. The persona had nothing delightful expressed about the woman. Her exaggerated jealousy shows just how painful she wants her enemies death to be. Then, another area where tense hyperboles was shown was when the persona began describing her rivals facial features. She made it clear to the readers that this was not a women she respected, "The soul from those masculine eyes,- say, 'no!'" (31) She implies that her enemy just so happens attain the same features as a male. The way she describes the woman, saying she is not nearly as pretty as she is, shows her true hatred towards her. In a sense, she's jealous because the man she loves, no longer loves her and has moved onto to a new woman. Clearly, the persona despised every ounce of this woman and she was never afraid to hold it back with the help of extreme