Song from Paracelsus

Read 'Song from Paracelsus' by 'Robert Browning' and provide your summary and literary analysis in the comments section below.

Song from Paracelsus by Robert Browning

 HEAP cassia, sandal-buds and stripes 
 Of labdanum, and aloe-balls, 
Smear'd with dull nard an Indian wipes 
 From out her hair: such balsam falls 
 Down sea-side mountain pedestals, 
From tree-tops where tired winds are fain, 
Spent with the vast and howling main, 
To treasure half their island-gain. 

And strew faint sweetness from some old 
 Egyptian's fine worm-eaten shroud 
Which breaks to dust when once unroll'd; 
 Or shredded perfume, like a cloud 
 From closet long to quiet vow'd, 
With moth'd and dropping arras hung, 
Mouldering her lute and books among, 
As when a queen, long dead, was young.

Form: Lyric Comments

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