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

Stanza Five
But when I falter Beltran’s name,
`Ha?’ quoth the father; `much I blame
`The sin; yet wherefore idly grieve?
`Despair not—strenuously retrieve!
`Nay, I will turn this love of thine
`To lawful love, almost divine;
The woman reveals the name of her lover, Beltran. When she says his name, the priest recognizes it but does not tell the woman why. He thinks he can save both their souls, and if she follows his orders, she can be with her love, and neither of them would have sins to burden them. While we do not see the woman’s reaction to such news yet, we can infer she is excited, as previously she mentions her love for Beltran and guilt at her sins. An option that would solve her problems would make her listen to the priest. 

Stanza Six

`For he is young, and led astray,
`This Beltran, and he schemes, men say,
`To change the laws of church and state
`So, thine shall be an angel’s fate,
`Who, ere the thunder breaks, should roll
`Its cloud away and save his soul.
The priest tells the woman that her lover is young and doesn’t know the sins he is committing. He says he does things that the church does not like or condone. The priest then says that the woman will have an “angles fate” and that her destiny is to save her lover’s soul. The woman does not wonder why the priest knows so much about her lover and does not question him. 

Stanza Seven

`For, when he lies upon thy breast,
`Thou mayst demand and be possessed
`Of all his plans, and next day steal
`To me, and all those plans reveal,
`That I and every priest, to purge
`His soul, may fast and use the scourge.”
The priest says the woman must go to her lover and ask for information about all his plans and schemes. Then she must come back the next day and tell the priest about the plans so that this priest and all others can purge the thoughts from the lover and cleanse his soul from sin. At this point in the poem, the readers may be picking up on the fact that the priest seems to know too much about the lover, but the woman does not.

Stanza Eight

That father’s beard was long and white,
With love and truth his brow seemed bright;
I went back, all on fire with joy,
And, that same evening, bade the boy
Tell me, as lovers should, heart-free,
Something to prove his love of me.
In stanza eight of ‘The Confessional,’ the woman says the priest has a long white beard, is most likely elderly, and that he radiated truth. This shows the woman’s blind trust in this holy figure, as she expects moral and just reasoning from such a man. She then, enthused at the thought of wiping away both her and her lover’s sins, goes back to him and asks him to prove his love to her by telling her things, so one else knows. 

Stanza Nine

He told me what he would not tell
For hope of heaven or fear of hell;
And I lay listening in such pride!
And, soon as he had left my side,
Tripped to the church by morning-light
To save his soul in his despite.
The man tells the woman his plans and other schemes that no one else has been told. The woman listens carefully with pride in two ways. Proud of her love for being able to prove his love to her and trust her, and proud of herself for accomplishing a task that will cleanse their souls. She then goes to church as early as she can the following day, excited to tell the priest all she learned so she can save her lover from sin.