Dramatis Personæ

Sonnet

Robert Browning


EYES, calm beside thee, (Lady, could’st thou know!)
    May turn away thick with fast-gathering tears:
I glance not where all gaze: thrilling and low
    Their passionate praises reach thee—my cheek wears
Alone no wonder when thou passest by;
Thy tremulous lids bent and suffused reply
To the irrepressible homage which doth glow
    On every lip but mine: if in thine ears
Their accents linger—and thou dost recall
    Me as I stood, still, guarded, very pale,
Beside each votarist whose lighted brow
Wore worship like an aureole, “O’er them all
    My beauty,” thou wilt murmur, “did prevail
Save that one only:”—Lady, could’st thou know!

Was written on August 17th, 1834, and published in
“The Monthly Repository,” 1834.


Dramatis Personæ - Contents


Back    |    Words Home    |    Robert Browning Home    |    Site Info.    |    Feedback