Porphyrias Lover - 1269 Words

Porphyria’s lover: Like ‘My Last Duchess’, this poem is an example of a dramatic monologue – a poem in which the impression the speaker unwittingly gives is rather different from the picture they intend to present. Initially, the poem appears to be built around a contrast between the storm outside and the cosy domestic scene within the cottage that Porphyria and her lover share. But there are unsettling notes from the very start –the storm is strangely personified in terms of sullenness, ‘spite’ and anger, and the speaker is for some reason so moved by it that his heart is ‘fit to break’ (5), while – on the other hand – when Porphyria arrives, he is entirely passive and all but emotionless. A psychological reading of the poem would†¦show more content†¦Paradoxically, Porphyria is presented by the speaker as more alive than she ever was when living – a paradox which maintains our sense of his derangement. Where once she merely ‘murmur[ed]’ (21), now her blue eyes ‘laugh... without a stain’ (45);instead of the somewhat marmoreal ‘smooth white shoulder bare’ (17), we now have a cheek ‘blushed bright beneath [a] burning kiss’ (48); and in the space of nine lines the ‘shut bud’ (43) has developed into a ‘smiling rosy little head’ (52), as if Porphyria is a flower at last in bloom. It is at the end of line 51 that we get a second sudden revelation – the first being her death – that forces us to re-evaluate our picture of the lover: that she is propped up beside him as he speaks to us. If anything, this increases our horror, particularly as so important a piece of information has been so casually delayed by the speaker and for so long. A comparison with our earlier picture of the couple is interesting: once she brought him, entirely passive, to rest on her ‘smooth white shoulder bare’ (17) –fre quently used by Victorians as a euphemism for the breasts, and clearly an erotic detail for him – before covering the submissive lover with her hair; now instead it is his shoulder that bears her head. There is a second, similar shift in power: once he was entirely silent; now his voice is the only one heard. ButShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem Porphyria s Lover 1385 Words   |  6 PagesLove can purely take an over a man, and drive him crazy. Robert Browning, demonstrates â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover as a terrifying love story given from a lunatic s point of view. It is the story of a man who is so obsessed with Porphyria that he decides to keep her for himself. In this poem however, we find that this poem is more than just about a lunatic, and his obsession, but rather find ourselves in the midst of a poem more depth. First, we can see how the role of nature can express the mood of theRead More Critical Comparison of Porphyrias Lover and My Last Dutchess1567 Words   |  7 PagesComparison of Porphyrias Lover and My Last Dutchess Both of these poems are based around the concept of power and possesion. They tell the story of obssesional lovers. The effect of using dramatic monologue to convey this idea is very effective. The first poem, Porphyrias Lover, was written in the mid ninteenth century, around 1842. It is the dramatic monologue of the Lover. It is not made known who the recipient of this poem is. I believe it to be an internal monologue, the Lover is goingRead MoreRobert Browning s Porphyria s Lover967 Words   |  4 Pagesin a blink of an eye. Through the use of personification, imagery and character, Browning’s poem â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† proves that love can make anyone deranged. First, Browning uses personification to demonstrate the idea that love can make someone disturbed, for example, â€Å"The sullen wind was soon awake,† (Line 2). As the character in this poem sits in his dark cottage pinning over his lover, he labels the wind as being â€Å"sullen† and â€Å"awake† as if the weather is intentionally being unpleasant. In realityRead MoreEssay on My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover by Robert Browning1236 Words   |  5 Pages Robert Browning wrote the two poems, My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover. Both poems convey an thoughtful, examination profound commentary about the concept of love. communicates two interpretations concerning Both poems describe the behavior of people who are in loving, romantic relationships. There are several aspects common in both poems. Using the literary technique of dramatic dialogue, the author reveals the plot and central idea of each poem. Robert Browning tells each poeticRead More Porphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of789 Words   |  4 PagesPorphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of love in them Porphyrias Lover, My Last Duchess and The Flea all have the theme of love in them. But they are not all the same theme of love for example Porphyrias Lover is obsessive and seductive love whereas; The Flea is more like sexual love. Robert Browning writes both Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess and John Donne writes The Flea. I think Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess are alike as Robert Browning uses Read MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Porphyria s Lover And My Last Duchess 1794 Words   |  8 Pages​In the poems, â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"My Last Duchess†, both written by Robert Browning, each speaker mentions a woman whom they had once known. The poems, being considered as dramatic monologues, depict a particular role that women have through the eyes of speaker. Browning keeps the speakers mysterious, but lets out their true characters through the use of the women in each of their lives. Each speaker brings their own eerie tone to the poem which adds to the mysteriousness of their charactersRead MoreA Brief Note On Robert Browning s Porphyria s Lover And The Laboratory1972 Words   |  8 PagesContributory Factors to the Murders in Robert Browning’s â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† and â€Å"The Laboratory.† The word ‘love’ possesses such complexity and magnitude that people commonly have a hard time defining it effectively without oversimplifying. Given the true intensity of feeling, jealousy is often said to be synonymous with being in love and the real impact love can have on a person can be unpredictable. Considering this, The Cambridge Dictionary defines a ‘crime of passion’ as a crimeRead MorePorphyria s Lover By Robert Browning936 Words   |  4 PagesRobert Browning’s â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† is a perfect representation of the status of women during the Victorian Era; women were treated as objects not people. They were property of men, not individuals. In this poem, the speaker, Porphyria’s lover, murders Porphyria and does not only think it was okay to do so, but he also thinks what he has done is noble. In the lines shown above, the speaker begins to realize that Porphyria loves him. Not only does she love him, but she â€Å"worships† him. This furtherRead MorePorphyria s Lover And Neutral Tones1318 Words   |  6 Pagesof a loved one is perhaps the most difficult experience that humans ever come up against. The poem Porphyria’s Lover, written by Robert Browning, adds a sense of irony to this. At the most superficial layer, the speaker’s in both Porphyria’s Lover and Neutral Tones, written by Thomas hardy, both deal with loss. The tones in Neutral Tones seem to be indifferent, or Neutral. Porphyria’s Lover speaker ends up murdering his beloved at the end the poem. While this isn’t the case with the speaker in NeutralRead MorePorphyria s Lover By Robert Browning1472 Words   |  6 Pages Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue entitled â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† tells the story of a meeting between a man and a woman that begins filled with romance, but quickly turns sinister. Porphyria visits the speaker at his cottage late at nig ht, to confess her love for him even though they cannot be together. The speaker, filled with happiness in the newfound knowledge that Porphyria â€Å"worshiped† him, kills her by strangling her with her own hair in order to free her from her â€Å"vainer ties† and allow them