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Analysis Of The Poem ' Porphyria 's Lover ' And My Last Duchess '

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In the poems, “Porphyria’s Lover” and “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 characters. Browning uses the women as a way for the obsessive qualities of both speakers to shine through. These women are not very important actors in the poem, but Browning uses these women to create a sense of the speakers by how and what they say pertaining to these women. The plot line of “Porphyria’s Lover” starts off calm, but ends up to be quite gruesome. The woman, Porphyria, comes in from rainy weather and makes herself at home, “and let her damp hair fall,” / “And, at last, she sat down by my side” (Lines 14-15). It is apparent from just the beginning of the poem she is comfortable around the speaker. She lets herself in, started a fire, took off her wet clothes and sat next to the speaker. The beginning of the poem holds a seemingly romantic quality. There is a sense of familiarity between the two. He spends his time waiting in a cottage for her in more than one way. He is waiting for her to return to his cottage, as well as also waiting for her love. This romantic idea is seen

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