Robert Browning is one of the most celebrated poets of the Victorian age. His two poems I am working from, "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover", are just samples of his eminent work. Browning wrote a range of monologues when living in Italy with his wife, Elizabeth Barret. Dramatic monologues are the basis of the essay. I will discuss whether (or not) each poem "creates a character who reveals himself in what he has to say".
My Last Duchess is a monologue spoken by the Duke. He talks about his relationship with his recently deceased wife. Through the words of the poem, he reveals the true demise of the Duchess and the reader is shown the Duke's feelings and opinions of this woman.
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It can also give him leeway to committing abnormal actions.
Both poems share many similar qualities. In the case of themes of a poem, they both have connotations of power, control, love, society, possessiveness, and jealousy. As the poems are monologues, these themes will come from the thoughts and feelings of the male character. If we look at the two males of the poems, it is clear both yearn for a branch of power and feeling of superiority over the lover.
The Duke wanted to obtain the supremacy he expected over his wife. The Duke had expectations, from his position in society, that the Duchess should obey him and show only love and gratitude towards him. Now she is fossilised in a painting, he holds all the power and the Duchess is completely reliant upon him. For example, when the Duke talks about the curtain surrounding the painting, he says:
"(Since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)"
It is clear that the Duke is aware of the control he holds now. He is the only person that can open the curtain. The veil around her cuts off her life as a painting. The Duke can choose to present her to the world or draw her away from the stare of the people. Though, now she is dead and kept hidden in this painting, the Duchess must hold something over the Duke to make him open the curtain and look at her.
The feelings of power that the 'Lover' in
Robert Browning wrote the two poems, "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." Both poems convey an thoughtful, examination profound commentary about the concept of love.
Robert Browning provides a critical view of gender and power relations in his dramatic monologues “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess.” The dramatic monologue, as S.S. Curry has written, "reveals the struggle in the depths of the soul” (11). Browning delves into the minds of characters to show their conceptions of women and ideas of power. He explores the mental processes of the characters, and invites readers to question societal ideas of power and gender. The mental pathologies of the speakers is emphasized, which forces readers to examine the sanity of their own notions of gender dynamics.
A Comparison of The Lady of Shallot by Alfred Lord Tennyson, My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats and To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell
This imagery makes me think that sometimes we need to disregard conventional wisdom and seek our own understanding. Both poems in their own ways are urging us to open our minds and to find ways to expand our
· In the first line of the poem, the speaker expresses her feelings towards men by using the word “Anger”(1). From just the
Unlike other forms of literature, poetry can be so complex that everyone who reads it may see something different. Two poets who are world renowned for their ability to transform reader’s perceptions with the mere use of words, are TS Eliot and Walt Whitman. “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” by TS Eliot, tells the story of a man who is in love and contemplating confessing his emotions, but his debilitating fear of rejection stops him from going through with it. This poem skews the reader’s expectations of a love song and takes a critical perspective of love while showing all the damaging emotions that come with it. “Song of myself”, by Walt Whitman provokes a different emotion, one of joy and self-discovery. This poem focuses more on the soul and how it relates to the body. “Song of myself” and “The love song of J Alfred Prufrock” both explore the common theme of how the different perceptions of the soul and body can affect the way the speaker views themselves, others, and the world around them.
Compare and contrast the attitudes and values of the two speakers of the poems and how the poets have used language to convey these between “To His Coy Mistress†by Andrew Marvel and “My Last Duchess†by Robert Browning
Duke is portrayed as being a very controlling gentleman. He thinks that no one but himself has the authority to
look at but he feels as if the Duchess takes him for granted and she
“Wish for a Young Wife”, by Theodore Roethke, may seem to be more than just a simple epithalamium, for the way the poet presents his writing compels the reader to question his true intentions. Nevertheless, although it is easy for the reader to trip down this path, a closer reading, in which one pays particular attention to aspects such the poem's imagery, rhyme scheme, meter, and parallelism, allows them to acknowledge that as the poet appreciates his wife and elaborates on what he wants for her, it is in fact the ambiguity of the poem that doubles the effect of his sincerity and love for his young wife.
There is a similar theme running through both of the poems, in which both mistresses are refusing to partake in sexual intercourse with both of the poets. The way in which both poets present their argument is quite
The two Browning poems, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ were written to convey to the reader how women were treated in that era; as possession, as assets. Both of these poems can be read from different points of view and they also both are what is
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.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetry has been the subject of much criticism. Her elusive style prompted many critics to question Barrett's method of writing. In fact, some critics, like Alethea Hayter, go so far as to propose that an "honest critique of her work must admit that she often wrote very bad poetry indeed" (15). Accusations against Barrett's work were often targeted at her tendency for anonymity, her excessive development of thoughts, unsuccessful forced rhymes, and more often than any other of her familiarities, her tendency to create her own words. Despite being relatively shunned by the world of poetry, Barrett persisted in writing poetry, even though the majority of her writing
During the nineteenth century people were under a strict patriarchal rule, especially the women. In those times, women were seen as ornaments “a momentary toy of passion” to the society and properties to be traded within marriage, therefore, Victorian moralists repressed female sexuality. As a result, for a woman to admit she even had sexual desires was considered sinful, let alone acting on those desires - like Porphyria did - was borderline criminal. Moreover, when Porphyria “glided in” she “untied her hat and let her damp hair fall”. Victorian moralists referred to female fornicators as ‘fallen’ women. Additionally, committing adultery was also a sin as it went against one of the Ten Commandments “Thou shall not commit adultery”, therefore, Porphyria ‘letting her hair fall’ could symbolise the boundaries she had willingly chosen to overstep by coming to meet her lover.