1. Life and literary activity of Robert Browning. Analysis of Robert Browning's works

Detailed Analysis
Stanza One
It is a lie—their Priests, their Pope,
Their Saints, their … all they fear or hope
Are lies, and lies—there! through my door
And ceiling, there! and walls and floor,
There, lies, they lie—shall still be hurled
Till spite of them I reach the world!
In stanza one of ‘The Confessional,’ we begin the story with a woman distraught and angered by the church. She says they are liars. She points out all the most notable aspects of the church, including its priests, pope, and saints, as well as their buildings. It’s unknown to the reader why the woman is upset at the church this early in the poem. But, in the last line, it is mentioned that she is possibly locked up, as “I reach the world” infers she is unable to get her words to the outside listeners, and “Till spite of them” implies that the church is the one who locked her up. For what we do not yet know.

Stanza Two

You think Priests just and holy men!
Before they put me in this den
I was a human creature too,
With flesh and blood like one of you,
A girl that laughed in beauty’s pride
Like lilies in your world outside.
The speaker now tries to pull your opinion in her favor. For example, She says you thought priests were just and holy? So did I, but now I am locked up by them. She then describes herself to the reader. First, she states her humanity, then her overwhelming beauty, comparing herself to a lily. It’s important to note that a lily is chosen, as it is a beautiful flower but also very gentle and breakable, unlike a rose which is often used to represent beauty but with the toughness of thorns.
Stanza three
I had a lover—shame avaunt!
This poor wrenched body, grim and gaunt,
Was kissed all over till it burned,
By lips the truest, love e’er turned
His heart’s own tint: one night they kissed
My soul out in a burning mist.
The woman tells her tale of why the church had locked her up and why she was so upset with them. However, she had a lover, and they had a night of sexual pleasure. She says it was passionate, and she uses beautiful language to describe the details. The first line is essential, as the word “had” implies she no longer has this lover for a reason we do not know. 

Stanza Four

So, next day when the accustomed train
Of things grew round my sense again,
“That is a sin,” I said: and slow
With downcast eyes to church I go,
And pass to the confession-chair,
And tell the old mild father there.
The next day the woman wakes up and feels guilty for having sex out of wedlock, as it is a sin in her mind. So she decides to go to church, to confessional, to rid herself of this burden, and confess to the father what she has done. Confession often has its special section of the church, where individuals may privately tell their sins to the priests, and the priests help wash away their sins.