Pippa’s Song

By Robert Browning

‘Pippa’s Song’ celebrates the

“rightness” of the world in a
deceptively light-hearted and
peaceful moment.

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Robert Browning

Poet Guide

Robert Browning was an English

poet born in 1812.

He is considered one of the

preeminent Victorian poets of the
period.

Biography Poems

Poem Analyzed by Emma

Baldwin
B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing),
B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

‘Pippa’s Song,’ also known as ‘The

year’s at spring,’ can be found in
Browning’s verse drama, Pippa Passes.
It was published in 1841 but it wasn’t
until it was republished in 1848 in
Poems that it received the critical
attention it deserves. This excerpt from
the dramatic verse is by far the most
famous passage. It’s short, to the point,
and has even been set to music as a
kind of nursery rhyme for children.

Lines

Pippa’s Song
Robert Browning

The year's at the spring,

And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven,
All's right with the world!

00:58

Explore Pippa's Song

1 Summary of Pippa’s Song

2 Context

3 Structure and Form

4 Literary Devices

5 Analysis of Pippa’s Song

6 Similar Poetry

Summary of Pippa’s Song

‘Pippa’s Song’ by Robert

Browning is a sweet-seeming
poem about the natural world, it’s
harmony, and God in heaven.

The short and simple lines of this poem

depict everything “right” in the world.
The season is spring, the morning is 7
o’clock and dew is on the hill. In the
speaker’s eyes, everything is as it
should be. The poem concludes with
the speaker reiterating this and also
mentioning God in heaven.

Context
As mentioned above, ‘Pippa’s Song’
can be found in Pippa Passes. It follows
a young girl in Asolo who sings as she
walks, describing the various people
she sees. There are several “matter of
fact” portrayals of characters that
caused controversy when the poem
was released. The lines in this analysis
come after two characters, Sebald and
Ottima discuss their affair and the
successful completion of their murder
of Luca, Ottima’s husband. So,
although the poem is quite upbeat and
optimistic on its own, when placed in
context, it’s much stranger, darker, and
ironic.

Structure and Form

‘Pippa’s Song’ by Robert Browning is
an eight-line poem that is contained
within a single stanza of text. The lines
follow a simple rhyme scheme of
ABCDABCD. Although slightly unusual,
this pattern is quite effective in creating
a flowing feeling of unity from the first
line to the last. This plays into the
themes at the heart of the poem,
interconnectivity, and the power of
God. The same can be said for the
metrical pattern. Each line contains five
syllables the majority of which are
made up of one iamb followed by an
anapaest, or two unstressed syllables
followed by a stressed. The first,
second, fifth, and sixth lines are the
best example of this pattern in action.

Literary Devices
Browning makes use of several literary
devices in ‘Pippa’s Song.’ These
include but are not limited to anaphora,
imagery, parallelism. The latter is a
formal device that occurs when the
poet uses the same structure in
multiple lines. For example, “at the”
connecting “The year’s” to “spring”
and “And day’s” to “morn.” The same
can be said for lines five and six with
“The lark’s on the wing” and “The
snail’s on the thorn.”

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28 6
Caliban upon Sete- De Gustibus by
bos by Robert… Robert Browning
Browning

Anaphora is a kind of repetition that

occurs when the poet repeats a word
or phrase at the beginning of multiple
lines. For example, “The,” which starts
lines one, five, and six. This technique,
just like any kind of repetition, is quite
effective and obvious in a short poem.

Imagery is another quite important

technique. It refers to the moments in
which a poet crafts lines and phrases
that are particularly impactful and
memorable. For example, the image of
the dew-covered hill in line four and the
snail on the thorn in line seven

Analysis of Pippa’s Song

Lines 1-4

“ The year’s at the spring,

And day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven;

The hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;

In the first lines of ‘Pippa’s Song,’ the

speaker begins by making several
statements about the world. On their
own they’re hard to understand, but
after finishing the poem and returning
to them, they make more sense. The
speaker is celebrating how “right” the
world feels in the moment. Everything,
they explain, is as it should be. The first
lines state a few of these “right” things.
The first is the year, which is “at the
spring.” This suggests first that it is the
season of spring and second that
something new and lively is on its way.
This is likely meant to relate to Ottima
and Sebald’s murder and their belief
that it would allow them to start a new
life. The same feeling is carried over
into the next line when the poet
mentions “day’s at the morn.”

The following lines are similar, with the

fourth line using a great example of
imagery to depict the hills covered in
pearl-like dew. This is a beautiful
image, one that is central to the idea of
a new life, a new day, and new
relationships free of old restraints.

Lines 5-8

“ The lark’s on the wing;

The snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in His heaven,

All’s right with the world!

In the following lines, the speaker

brings in animals to their understanding
of the word and its rightness. The
“lark,” a kind of songbird, is flying and
the “snail’s on the thorn.” The animals,
season, time of day, and everything
else is exactly as its supposed to be.

The poem concludes with a reference

to God whose “in His heaven.” Without
the context of the poem, these lines
feel quite innocent and it’s easy to see
why they were popularized.

Similar Poetry
Readers who enjoyed ‘Pippa’s Song’
should also consider reading some of
Browning’s other, better-known poems.
For example:

‘Fra Lippo Lippi’ – details the

scandalous life of the painter of
the same name. The painter
starts off being harassed by
police officers and then starts to
go into the story of his life.
‘Andrea del Sarto’ – is a
dramatic monologue told from
the perceptive of Renaissance
painter, Andrea del Sarto. The
poem appeared in Browning’s
collection Men and Women. The
speaker spends most of the
poem talking about how his
work compares to that of other
artists.
‘Boot and Saddle’ – depicts an
Englishman gong off to fight
during the English Civil War.
‘My Last Duchess’ – is by far
Browning’s most famous poem.
This piece is studied by
students all around the world
who are asked to analyze the
dead of Duchess Ferarra and
her husband’s guilt.

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About
Emma
Baldwin
Emma
graduated
from East
Carolina University with a B.A. in
English, minor in Creative Writing,
B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art
Histories. Literature is one of her
greatest passions which she
pursues through analyzing poetry
on Poem Analysis.

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