1. What do we know about this poem? What does the title tell us?
Prospice
What do we know about this poem?
What does the title tell us?
1864, in Dramatic Personae.
Latin for ‘looking forward’

2. Context Prospice = ‘look forward’ in Latin
This poem was written in the autumn following Elizabeth’s death.
Is the speaker Browning? The poem is a powerful portrait of a wife’s death and a husband who is ‘looking forward’ to death when he will see her again.
Browning’s philosophy of life was always one of courage, of making the adventurous attempt in face of difficulty. The Arch Fear (Death) did not terrify him. The poem expresses his undaunted spirit in the face of death and his firm belief in the eventual reunion with his beloved wife. As he had faced the joyous contest of living, so he would meet the final struggle – confidently, with assurance of personal struggle.

3. Language and Imagery

4. Fear death? - to feel the fog in my throat,     The mist in my face, When the snows begin, and the blasts denote     I am nearing the place, The power of the night, the press of the storm, 5     The post of the foe; Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,     Yet the strong man must go: For the journey is done and the summit attained.     And the barriers fall, Though a battle's to fight ere the guerdon be gained,     The reward of it all. I was ever a fighter, so - one fight more,     The best and the last!
Death
reward
1a. More of a challenge than an enquiry– dismissive.
1b. Mysterious and cold world, suggesting a haze that offers no clear sense of place. Landscape and weather are hostile – suggesting the traveller’s journey is close to an end (“i am nearing the place”). Alliteration of ‘f’ & long vowel sounds creates sense of haze around him- a hushed and calm atmosphere. Contrast between this calm atmosphere and the subject matter/coldness of world introduce us to the speaker’s unusual attitude towards death.
2a. Alliteration of ‘p’ = sense of power, contrasts with ‘f’ of previous lines. Pathetic fallacy of this and previous lines, as storm suggests emotions of speaker.
2b. Personification of Death, the ‘Arch Fear’, as a personal “foe” – suggests the private and lonely aspect of dying. The ‘Arch Fear’ is what is feared most- he is the enemy he must stand up to. Is this a battle cry?
2c. Journey = life; barrier = between life and death; summit of a mountain suggests the toil and struggle of life. This is extended over the coming lines.
3. That it is a fight to gain it– the “reward” is death itself. Compares it to a battle and himself to a fighter; this will be his best and last fight. Attitude = death as reward, something to be fought for. Is the fight against one’s fears? Exclamation mark suggests excitement as well as resolution. N.B. The fight against death is one you cannot win – link to philosophy of imperfect.

5. Reference to the practice of bandaging the eyes of those executed by shooting
Refrain from doing something
I would hate that death bandaged my eyes, and forbore, 15     And bade me creep past.
No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers,     The heroes of old, Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life's arrears     Of pain, darkness and cold For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave,     The black minute's at end, And the elements' rage, the fiend-voices that rave,     Shall dwindle, shall blend, Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain, 25     Then a light, then thy breast, O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again, And with God be the rest!
An unpaid, overdue debt or an unfulfilled obligation
4. Suggests he wants to experience every moment of dying- does not want his eyes “bandaged” (to be blind to what is happening, so that death can hold back (forbear) and bid him ‘creep past’ without fully experiencing death, as if fearful or trying to avoid some aspects of it. “taste” suggests that full awareness and sensory perception are important to the speaker at the moment of death. He wants to experience death as a soldier, a “hero of old”.
5. Alliteration = hard consonants/plosives reflecting determination and strength; harsh idea of ‘bearing the brunt’ = death is difficult; one must brave the unknown. “pay life’s arrears” suggests Christian idea that the dying have to account for what they have done in life. They are only here temporarily and must pay their obligations upon death: these obligations are “pain, darkness and cold”. This is the price for a “glad” life. Is he suggesting he has had less of these things than others? Or that all must pay for life’s joys through the struggle and pain of death?
6. Turns the “best” into the “brave” – alliteration joins these together, just as juxtaposition of ‘worst’ and ‘best’ sets up the conflict between man and death, extending the idea of a fight.
7. Pathetic fallacy of ‘element’s rage’ and the “raving” of ‘fiend-voices’ (suggesting pain, horror and suffering) “dwindles” and “blends” until it finally changes into “peace out of pain”– the pain is passing. This “peace” and “light” are Christian images of what is hoped for after death. The tone is now calm. The fight is over. Repetition of “shall” suggests certainty – this is what he knows, not what he simply hopes.
8. Suggests that he shall be reunited with his loved ones, specifically Elizabeth “soul of my soul”. He shall “clasp” her “again” – sense of urgency and intimacy. Whatever happens next is up to God; he has what he wanted. Is this finally the perfect union he explored through his poems?

6. Imagery Personification of Death, as an enemy to fight
Extended metaphor of battle
Use of contrasts to represent the fight with (for?) death: ‘pain’, ‘darkness’, then a ‘black minute’ before ‘peace out of pain’ and ‘light’. This is simplistic, but the polarity underscores his courage.
Does not hide the darkness and pain of death, nor suggest it brings nobility (perhaps to suggest this would be to “creep past” it)- the speaker will face death and its terrors with honesty and strength

7. Form Dramatic monologue, likely Browning as the speaker
Who is the silent listener? This seems like a call to arms for all mankind (cf. Lost Leader)
‘Prospice’ means to ‘look ahead’ – a positive take on death and its rewards. The use of Latin suggests facing death is a timeless issue.

8. Structure
One stanza = singularity of speaker’s mind; he is set on his goal
Majority of poem alternates trimeter (three feet) and pentameter (five feet) but this is not always consistent and breaks down towards the middle (especially lines 15-20) = the struggle/fight with death
Rhyme scheme: ababcdcd = speaker’s steady movement ahead towards death