Since Time began, women have always been thought of as unequal to men. Women were thought of as property, owned by their fathers and later, their husbands. Royal women, or women raised in very high respected families were traded into an arranged marriage to keep the peace between the families, Often times, their wealthy husbands were very old and even sometimes abusive. Other times, women who were not in wealthy families were also abused. A poet by the name of Robert Browning wrote two very famous poems. My last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover. I believe that these two poems are very similar yet very different in many ways. First of all, My Last Duchess is a very sad yet Some what frightening poem. It's about a Duke who is going to meet a possible
Both poems have similar themes and both speakers describe a particular character found in both stories. Both poems have a beautiful woman as its main character and their themes describe the relationship between two lovers. In "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover," Robert Browning conveys two distinct portraits depicting the love shared between two people. The qualities of beauty, selfishness, and jealousy appear in both poems. In both works, the author explores the hidden influence death has upon the relationship shared by two lovers.
Different Forms of Power Presented in My Last Duchess, A Woman to Her Lover and La Belle Dame Sans Merci
none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)' He acts like
After reading My Last Duchess and My Ex- Husband, there were more similarities than there were differences. My Last Duchess was about a jealous Duke that ended up killing his wife because he thought she was cheating with the man who painted the portrait of her that is hanging on his wall for only him to see. In My Ex- Husband, the poem is about a woman who writes about how much she hates her ex, though cannot seem to move on from his mistakes of cheating. Both of these poems demonstrate poetic devices that are very similar to each other- rhyme scheme, themes, and the structure of the poem.
In "My Last Duchess", by Robert Browning, the character of Duke is portrayed as having controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits. These traits are not all mentioned verbally, but mainly through his actions. In the beginning of the poem the painting of the Dukes wife is introduced to us: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,/ looking as of she were still alive" (1-2). These lines leave us with the suspicion that the Duchess is no longer alive, but at this point were are not totally sure. In this essay I will discuss the Dukes controlling, jealous and arrogant traits he possesses through out the poem.
"Porphyria's Lover" is one Browning's first dramatic monologues, published 1836 in a magazine using the title “Porphyria”. This form of his dramatic monologues is a first person narrator who presents an exceedingly subjective perspective on a story, with Browning's message isn’t seen in the text but through the ironic disconnect of what the speaker rationalizes and what is apparent to the audience.
“In order to gain his power back, he feels he must kill this seductress. In order to gain control over Porphyria, the speaker must take advantage of her at her weakest moment” (Marcus). During the Victorian era, the Patriarchy still lead a majority of the moral laws for individuals to follow. The rules, so to speak, are simply that the women are placed in a lower class than men and are to remain there and accept their place. Robert Browning is the author of two poems that are highly controversial to the modern reader for the sheer fact that the works of literature emphasis men overpowering women. While there are many types of ways for men to ruin female lives, and the ways keep expanding by the day, the poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s
Robert Browning embodies power as a theme that persists within his written work. Within “My Last Duchess,” Browning creates the speaker, a duke, who strives on the social and political power over his late duchess. The poem, a dramatic monologue, captures discussion regarding the duke expressing his desire over marrying the count’s daughter to one of the count’s emissaries. Within “Porphyria’s Lover,” browning creates a scene of power associated with physical and psychological power that each voice embodies. This dramatic monologue captures the speaker conversing with himself after demonstrating his power over, Porphyria, his lover.
The poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess,’ by Robert Browning both provide an insight into the personalities, vulnerabilities and thought processes of their respective key personas, through the use of dramatic monologue. The explicit exploration of the balance of power between men and women is thought provoking and provides an insight into human nature. Furthermore, Browning explores the nature of love within key moments of the respective personas lives, and in doing so engages readers, evoking interest through the discussion of
The Themes of Love and Loss in My Last Duchess, La Belle Dame Sans Merci, When we Two Parted, and Villegiature
Robert Browning’s poems “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess” depict a mastery of the dramatic monologue style. Said style contains a narrative told by a character’s point of view that differs from that of the poet.The character’s monologue consists of them discussing their particular situation that they find themselves within, this is meant to convey their internal information to the reader or audience. This in turn allows the reader a glimpse into the personality of the narrating character. Within “Porphyria’s Lover” and My Last Duchess” these monologues are used along with poetic devices to develop unique male personas. Between these two personas there are evident differences in class and within each class social issues arise within each work.
Dear Count, I have convened with the Duke and would like to report my verdict. The Duke pulled me aside to show the portrait of his last Duchess, and out of the many words he spoke, I do not recall a single positive thing. His words, full of jealousy and hatred, were certainly not words you would wish upon any woman, especially your own daughter. This man, although as refined and majestic as he may seem, is certainly not the sort you would want espousing your daughter. If she were to marry him, all that could be expected is a miserable life of most likely solitude and imprisonment. Rumors are rampant about the Duchess’ death that it was in a mysterious fashion. In speaking with the Duke, he led me to believe that he was the cause of her death.
Robert Browning is the great poet of dramatic monologues. A dramatic monologue is described as narrator revealing characteristics about himself, while still explaining a particular series of events. Robert Browning was slow to make himself a name, but once he realized his capabilities in the literature world his career took off. Biographer, Richard Black explained, “Widely regarded for his knowledge and his explorations of philosophical questions of great resonance in Victorian life.” Browning writes extremely controversial poems that question his morals and the morals of the those around. In the poems, Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess,
The poems Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover are similar in many ways because both women are killed by their men. In both poems the men are jealous and think of their women as property so they had no problem killing their ladies. They didn't have respect for their women and don't treat them like humans. The men thought they were doing what was right for them. To the men in the story their women are just an item, something to show off. The time period of the poems were the same, during the victorian era. In the victorian era women were seen as property not so much as human beings. Women were to stay home, they were not allowed to have jobs. Just like this article states, “They were supposed to live a highly restrictive life with their life centered around their husband and subsequently their children”(Sutton). This statement in the article is talking about how the victorian era didn't care so much
“Men know that women are an over-match for them, and therefore they choose the weakest or most ignorant. If they did not think so, they never could be afraid of women knowing as much as themselves.”