Porphyria's Lover 'And My Last Duchess'

Explain (tell me what image the poem brings to mind)She begins by describing the "death of winter's leaves".

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 poetic story through a single speaker. Both poems reveal an account in which the admirer kills the object of his love. This paper will compare and contrast the following characteristics: the setting, the speaker, the mood and tone, and theme found "My

This poem dramatizes the conflict between a child who desires a verbalization of love and a father who expresses love through actions rather than words. The first stanza informs the reader that the action of the poem occurred in the past, and the speaker reflects upon it. The speaker describes the house as being “blueblack cold” during the wintertime (2), which not only allows the setting to be determined but also allows an inference to be made about the emotional companionship (or lack thereof) within the house. The father used to awake earlier than the rest of the family in order to start a fire to keep his family as comfortable as possible, though “no one ever thanked him” (5). This line introduces the regret of the reader pertaining to the treatment of the father.

"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.

Love, death, and infidelity were weaved through the readings this week. In “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the speaker is a Duke who is looking at a painting of his last (now deceased) Duchess and remembering her. His memories are not fond; he was jealous and possessive, and frankly, a bit of a drama queen. His suspicion is evident repeatedly, starting in line 13 where he states, “Sir, ‘twas not/ Her husband’s presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the duchess’ cheek”. Lines 21-24 boldly say what he was alluding to earlier on, “She had/ A heart—how shall I say? —too soon made glad,/ Too easily impressed: she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” She blushed easily and enjoyed looking at things, so in his mind she was a bit promiscuous. He thought his wife unfaithful basically because she was polite. This, as well as his uppity attitude, are both made clear in lines 31-34, “She thanked men, —good! but thanked/ Somehow—I know not how— as if she ranked/ My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/ With anybody’s gift.” He thinks that his name alone is a better gift than anything else; he’s conceited and entitled.

The love that Porphyria has for the Speaker is seen to be invalid due to the significant difference of social classes between the two. As the poem progresses, the Speaker’s frustration grows more and his patience more weak as he realizes the issue he is having with Porphyria is Porphyria herself and that there is only one way for him to solve his issue: murder. The speaker goes on to say, “she, Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, To set its struggling passion free From pride” (Browning 20-24). The Speaker does not consider the presence of Porphyria to be a sin, but her issue with letting aside her noble pride to be with whom she truly loves, the actual sin.

Porphyria's Lover also demonstrates several of Robert Browning's defining characteristics as a poet. It contains his criticism towards the beliefs and practices of self-restraint and his traditional use of dramatic monologue to expose a single character's personality, which in turn often provides an additional depth to his works in coordination with his use of unpoetic language. Also taking into account the author's own personal experiences with his wife, the poem can also be perceived as a representation of the development of their relationship. Browning's criticism of the idea of self-restraint is evident throughout the poem "Porphyria's Lover" as it was shown in the internal debates both characters underwent as they decided whether or not they should consummate the love between them.

The speaker’s in Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess have many similarities and differences apparent in the poems. Both poems are dramatic monologues about love, essentially they are about a man speaking his mind about his lover, expressing the possession he wants and what he felt was wrong with her, in the end the poems reveal that the man kills his lover in order to preserve the love he wanted. Although there are many similarities there are many differences in the men themselves, while in Porphyria’s Lover the speaker may not have been the richest man, considering he was living in a cottage the duke in My Last Duchess would have been quite wealthy showing off the painter and the beauty the painting portrayed. Furthermore, the duke had already

“Porphyria’s Lover” is easily comparable to the poem “My Last Duchess” which were both written by Robert Browning who is well known for his dramatic monologue. In this poem, Porphyria’s lover, a man, nonchalantly realizes the lady he is spending his time with has established love for him. Chillingly, an analyzer of this poem wrote, “ It was

The speaker refers to himself only as, “Porphyria’s Lover,” describing himself only through his relationship with Porphyria as if she was his all. The effects of this obsession are also implied through the name of the titular character, as Porphyria is also the name of a medical condition which causes madness. By doing this Browning subtly introduces the idea that the speaker will be driven insane by his fixation on Porphyria. Likewise In line five, the reader gets a clear indication of the speaker’s infatuation with Porphyria. He sits alone in the house, has not lit a fire or prepared in any way for her arrival.

The setting is dark and gloomy akin to that of a nightmare. From then on the mood shifts to that of beauty with images of the beautiful woman who “Let the damp hair fall” ("Porphyria's Lover. "13) and “Made her smooth white shoulder bare” ("Porphyria's Lover." 17). This contrast between the frightening world outside and the angelic grace and beauty of the woman emphasizes the emotional purity, beauty, and comfort of the woman. This beautiful imagery comforts the reader for the inevitable horror to come in the final shift.

While some differences between “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria's Lover” are evident, the similarities are salient and through the use of chillingly descriptive imagery and vivid personification, Robert Browning conveys the unmerciful nature of love. One principal similarity is that the theme of the poems is about love and in the both poems the protagonists kill their lovers in order to keep their woman just to themselves. In the dramatic poem “My Last Duchess” the Duke kills the duchess because of his suspicions against her which was a result of self love and jealousy from the Duke. In the poem “Porphyria's Lover” the protagonist murders his lover in order to keep her to himself because he loved her so much. Another similarity between the

The Victorian Age was a time of relative prosperity, improvement and stability. At the same time, there was also a strong emphasis on individuals becoming more educated and in two seemingly normal pieces of literature, “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” written by Robert Browning, are in actuality so twisted that the lovers of each poem are characterized as deranged. Both monologues incorporate unique aspects of love that deviate from the norm because it is nowhere close to a happy ending. The lovers of each poem provide contrasting views on love that convey their haughty attitude towards love and their irrational reasoning that justifies their behavior. Disturbing images are prevalent in both poems creating a mysterious and elegiac tone. Browning also includes fervent diction to contrast the different behaviors of each speaker in the poems and convey that pursuing love comes along with inevitable consequences.

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.

Maxwell compares the storm in “Porphyria’s Lover” to the storm clouds gathering in Othello (pg. 28).