19th Century: Adam, Lilith and Eve by R. Browning

Browning is another poet to write on the subject of Lilith, but his portrayal is very different from the works of Rossetti. His poem, Adam, Lilith and Eve is almost a positive version of Lilith.

Adam, Lilith and Eve
One day, it thundered and lightened.
Two women, fairly frightened,
Sank to their knees, transformed, transfixed,
At the feet of the man who sat betwixt;
And "Mercy!" cried each--"if I tell the truth
Of a passage in my youth!"

Said This: "Do you mind the morning
I met your love with scorning?
As the worst of the venom left my lips,
I thought, 'If, despite this lie. he strips
The mask from my soul with a kiss--I crawl
His slave,--soul, body, and all!'"

Said That: "We stood to be married;
The priest, or some one, tarried;
'If Paradise-door prove locked?' smiled you.
I thought, as I nodded, smiling too,
'Did one, that's away, arrive--nor late
Nor soon should unlock Hell's gate!'"

It ceased to lighten and thunder.
Up started both in wonder,
Looked round and saw that the sky was clear,
Then laughed "Confess you believed us, Dear!"
"I saw through the joke!" the man replied
They re-seated themselves beside.

It is interpreted that the woman who says “Do you mind the morning/I met your love with scorning?” is Lilith. If that is the case, Lilith is more of a trickster character than a malevolent woman. Her demands, whatever they were (perhaps the author is assuming a familiarity with the Lilith legend), were not heartfelt, they were to test his love! (“His slave – soul, body and all!” However, the validity of this statement can be contested due to the ending of the poem, as their statements might have simply been teasing, and if that is true, then Lilith’s motives can be presumed to be in line with the older thoughts.

Unlike Rossetti, there is also more of a focus on Lilith emotionally rather than physically and desires, making her more three dimensional than before.