On the other hand in "Havisham" this hate has grown the desire for his dead which she claims to have "prayed for" "so hard" that she had "dark green pebbles for eyes." The word "pray" usually suggests a ritual performed everyday to thank god however, in this context it shows how miss Havisham has spent her life wishing for death to the man who left her to and extent so that her eyes fill up with hatred hence "green pebbles for eyes". This feeling is created by the word "pebble" which is lifeless and hard possibly suggesting how hard hearted she has become. Likewise, "green" may indicate jealousy and both these emotions have devoured her inside her own hate. And thus with all this hate, she wants to punish the person who left her with death.
Conversely, yet focusing on religious aspects, in "Sonne", the speaker believes that he has "sinned" which resulted in the death of his son. He believed that the "sinne" (which suggests that he has gone against god's will) was to hope for "too much" for his son symbolizing greed. Likewise to "Havisham", this may lead to a theme of punishment however the father figure thinks otherwise when his state of mind contradicts this showing the theme of fate or prosperity.
"Lab" and "Hitcher" both share the theme of death accompanied with jealousy opposed to purity and heaven. With the way the two protagonists act in these two poems, there chances of going to heaven are very slim.
In "Hitcher" we immediately learn what mental state the speak has adopted. There is the very peculiar description of the "ansaphone" "screaming". Implicitly, by mentioning the answer phone in general, it states that the speaker does not pick up the phone calls he has been receiving intentionally. It may symbolize that he is avoiding something or just that he relationship with the outer world is weak. Also, there is the reference to "screaming" as well as the peculiar way or spelling answer as "ansa". My interpretation of it is that is puts emphasis on the S consonance creating the repeated screaming that an answer phone would give until you confront it (or the situation you are in if speaking metaphorically). There is also a reference to being "fired" on the answer machine message which most likely refers to his job. Soon after learning his state of mind, there is a mention of a "Vauxhall Astra". The name isn't important however the use of naming a specific car suggests that the speaker is conscious about his image.
He then meets someone of a 'hippy' like way of thinking who he really envies; ironically when you compare the material things the hippy has opposed to which the speaker has and cares about, it may be unclear why the sense of jealousy appears. The hitcher character has only a "toothbrush" and the "good earth for a bed" which symbolizes the bare minimums for survival shown by the word "toothbrush"- no luxuries, just living life to its fullest where life may be referred to by "earth". The speaker on the other hand has a job, a home and nice cars to rent however he still seems to want what the hitcher has: a calm easy going state of mind.
Similarly, in "Lab" we learn what type of person the speaker is. She herself uses words stating inferiority as she describes herself as "little" or a "minion". The word minion suggests that her potential role in life as a hole is working and helping someone who will always be bigger and more important than her. Likewise, being described as "little" really states how insignificant she may be and erupts with anger due to the patronisation she has experienced. There is also a mention on her fantasies on how she'd want someone to die: "her breast and her arms and her hands should drop dead!" The reference to body parts most likely state how these other women are superior to her and the combination of dead to them for these parts shows how far her jealously goes.
Also, most likely in her mind she describes the man she loves being with another woman. Browning chooses to add that "they know that I know" and "laugh at me" to also show us what the speaker is like mentally. The speaker has probably once seen the couple out together and has conjured the thoughts that "they know that I know" purely from her insecurity. She imagines that they "laugh" at her which suggests mockery and embarrassment as she feels that they are enjoying her pain.
In "Hitcher" the attacking is described rather dramatically and maliciously. Likewise in "Lab", the build up to the killing seems to really be relished by the speaker. In "Hitcher" Armitage chooses to give a vivid description of the attack; "six times with the krooklok" he states and how he hits him "six" times seems rather excessive- as if he's enjoying it so much that he can't stop. Similarly to "Lab" where the speaker wishes for "her breast and her arms and her hands should drop dead", the man in "Hitcher" chooses to hit them "in the face." This may be significant since the face is where all the hippy's emotions which the speaker envies are so he wants to stop him smiling so he can feel better about himself.
In "Lab", the speaker likewise seems to relish the idea of killing. Vivid detail is shown as the poison is being created. "Grind away, moisten and mash" create strong imagery as the verbs used all possess a careful physical task of creating something. How she later states how she is "not in haste" also adds to the fact that she wants to prolong the completion of the poison so that she can enjoy the feeling even longer. On the other hand, another connotation may be that she has felt hesitation that maybe she doesn't really want to kill someone. Both these effects are created by the powerful word "haste" indicating a measure of speed with time. It is shown how strong the temptation to kill is when jealousy possesses someone.
Similarly to "Havisham", the speaker in "Lab" has experienced rejection. We know this as although she mainly feels hate for the person he bests her, she also fantasizes about how she wants to "Brand, burn up and bite" the man who left her. The alliteration used strengthened the effect however the verbs are what really possess the power. The word "brand" shows how strongly she wants to hurt him, she wants to "burn" and scar him with the horrifying memories of death.
In "Havisham", it states her rejection when the "red balloon" bursted in her face. "Red" in general may imply embarrassment hence blushing however a "balloon bursting" suggests a greater shock and surprise. By combining these together, a strong imagery is created on her feelings at the time. These feelings likewise to "Lab" drives the speaker to want to use death as a weapon to hurt someone hence when she mentions that it's not "only the heart that b-b-b-breaks." This may be linked to necrophilia where her hate for men has grown so large that she wants to destroy what makes a man a man hence the emphasised word "b-b-b-break" (emphasised with the stutter of 'b'.)
Ultimately, through strong use of mainly language and theme, the poets of the four poems show how death or the threat of death is presented to people especially the speakers of the poems in different ways. It may be positive some how or caused by something negative such as the woman in "Havisham" however, the strength of feelings possess enough power to stir actions of people involving death for instance in "Laboratory" who also uses death as a weapon to "brand" and "burn" those who betrayed her.