Similarities Between My Last Duchess And Porphyria's Lover

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.

none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)' He acts like

Comparing and Contrasting the Theme of power and control between Porphyrias Lover, La Belle Dame Sans Merci and My Last Duchess

Written by Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” is a poem about an egocentric Duke who has a painting of his last wife upon the wall and is trying to impress an ambassador who is negotiating his next marriage. Although it is obvious that the Duke is trying to persuade this ambassador, however, this is where the first mystery is created. It is almost as if he is trying to persuade no one more than himself.

look at but he feels as if the Duchess takes him for granted and she

"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.

involving him with her life and would only use him as an escape from "vainer

As a result of these poems being published in a collection, the structure of the two poems shares many attributes. Although the rhyme scheme is different to add a unique feel to the poem, they both consist of 1 long stanza. Doing this, Browning added a sense of suspense to each poem by having the reader continuously read without any real transitions. Rhyming couplets show control and the rhyme scheme in My Last Duchess, is rhyming couplets the whole way through, which shows that the Duke evidently had controlled the whole poem. In Porphyria’s Lover, there are only rhyming couplets in the end, as he kills her, this is the only time in the whole poem where he has control. Both poems contain a multitude of caesuras within

The men in both Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess, specifically the unnamed lover and the unnamed Duke, are very controlling, self-important men. They both clearly view themselves as god-like even though they never implicitly call themselves gods. The narrator of Porphyria’s Lover tells us that she was “murmuring how she loved [him]” (21) and that she wanted to “give herself to him forever” (25); however, rather than think Porphyria loved him like a man, the narrator believes she “worshipped” (33) him like a god. Like a god he “heard” (57) and fulfilled her “darling one wish” (57), although murder, his method of granting this wish, was probably not what Porphyria actually desired. The narrator even boasts that “God has said not a word”

Demanding and laborious are two characteristics that fit into the Duke’s character. Readers can interpret from the poem that the last duchess was doing things that made the Duke irate. And the line that says that the smiles stopped all together, gives a clue to the readers that the duchess does not take direct commands well (Browning). This would have made the Duke unsettled because he was not following orders and commands. While the personality of this women is very stereotypical almost. Even the readers can assume that she was being cheated on by her ex-husband yet; she still is very much in love with her ex-husband and wishes to not move forward into a new relationship. She obviously loves him enough to have his picture framed in a frame they received from their wedding (Spera). Since the readers do not have any more information that what is given to us in the poem, the speaker could be considered to be loving and kind-hearted. Those characteristics would make it difficult to let go and move into a new

The two Robert Browning poems, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ were written in the infamous Victorian Era whereas the two Shakespearean Sonnets were written in the Elizabethan Era. The styles of the poems differ in accordance to the difference of the time in which they were written. Pre-Romantic Era poems moved away from the idealistic concept of love towards a more realistic consideration of it, taking into account the social

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.

The dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” was penned down by Robert Browning. In this poem, the narrator is the Duke of Ferrara, and the listener is the count’s agent, through whom the Duke is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess. The poem is ironical and reveals its rhetorical sense, gradually. In the later part of the poem, the Duke claims that he does not have a skill in speech, but his monologue is a masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedly entertaining the listener by showing his wife’s portrait, he clearly reveals his character. Through his formalized tone of rhyme, he reveals his egoistic and jealous attitude.

In the olden times, tendentious division was abundant between the aristocrats and the proletariats. Noblemen innately blossomed wealthier than commoners – this presumably caused heightened power and strength regarding the noblemen’s virtues in life. “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning precisely portrays an aristocrat through a character of a Duke. The poem is intense, bitter and violent considering the Duke consistently expresses his insanity being used against his former Duchess. Browning is renowned for his use of dark humor in his dramatic monologues. This poem is an excellent example of a dramatic monologue that relates to Browning’s main purpose in writing – to explore the heart, mind and spirit of his characters.

A Comparison of the Dramatic Monologues of Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning