Lyric Poem · Nature

Apparitions

by Robert Browning

Reading room

1Such a starved bank of moss

2 Till, that May-morn,

3Blue ran the flash across:

4 Violets were born!

5Sky — what a scowl of cloud

6 Till, near and far,

7Ray on ray split the shroud:

8 Splendid, a star!

9World — how it walled about

10 Life with disgrace,

11Till God's own smile came out:

12 That was thy face!

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“Apparitions” by Robert Browning — quilloak.com/poems/apparitions

Quick facts

Poem: Apparitions
Poet: Robert Browning
Length: 12 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Nature, Peace

Craft notes

How this poem works

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Shape: 12 lines · 3 quatrains
Line length: Lines run 4-6 syllables (median 6), consistent with trimeter. No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Robert Browning1812–1889
Source record: PoetryDBApparitions by robert-browning, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 92a91bc9bae0f973…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Nature Peace

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