Robert Browning and John Betjeman Essay

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The final line depicts the persistent contrast between the monk's inner and outer lives. Externally, he is -- or believes he is -- piety itself. His inner world however seethes with a bitterness that is utterly unchristian. In this, Browning depicts him as the worst of religious hypocrites: he believes he is righteous, and remains completely unaware of his own shortcomings, while condemning others for their significantly smaller sins.

The same unawareness is manifest in the female speaker depicted by Betjeman's poem.

Her external and internal worlds also contrast, but much less clearly than that of Browning's monk. From the beginning, it is clear that she highly values status and leadership. For her, Westminster Abbey is significant not only for its purpose as a place of worship, but also for its use as a final resting place for "England's statesmen." The importance of this idea is indicated both by its position in the poem and its repetition. The word "statesmen" in the first stanza also occurs in the final stanza, combined with the idea of leadership, where the speaker refers to the "bones of leading statesmen." This idea of status occurs throughout the poem.

The contrast in this poem is then between religious piety and an awareness of human importance as opposed to sincerity of worship. This speaker is then as hypocritical as the monk, but less violently so. Her faith is replaced by an awareness of her own status and importance as opposed to those of others.

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In the poem, the woman refers to herself as a "lady" at the beginning. This establishes her self-importance already at the beginning of her poem. Like Browning, Betjeman also uses language to depict the idea of hypocrisy in his speaker. Her entire supplication is occupied by giving God a series of commands rather than requests. She demands that God spare the English population, but especially herself, from being victims of Hitler's Blitzkrieg.

She also makes a clear distinction between races and classes, grouping such a distinction with democracy and freedom as desirable Western values that God must surely see as valuable as well. The final audacity comes towards the end of the poem, where the "lady" offers God her servitude in exchange for his protection. This is on the same level as the monk's deal with Satan, although not as extreme or destructive. She sees herself in a position to make bargains with a spiritual deity, when the reader can clearly see her flaws. In conclusion, both poems address the human aspect of faith -- when excessively extreme, it can lead to a complete loss of faith......

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