The Relations Sex and Death in Poe’s “For Annie” and Browning’s “Porphyrias Lover”

In “Annabel Lee”, Edgar Allan Poe, like in many of his stories, describes the death of a beautiful woman. He describes for the reader that the love of him and Annabel Lee was so strong, that the angels in Heaven envied them and this was the cause of her death. It is disputed that the woman named Annabel Lee in this poem, is in real life, Edgar Allen Poe’s wife, Virginia. “Annabel Lee” is a perfect example of how Edgar Allen Poe used romance to illustrate the essence of death. He describes how the love that he had for her was so strong and it ended up causing envy in the angels and they in return took her away from him. The poem illustrates the misery that can be

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.

Death is an important theme in Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories, “The Pit and the Pendulum” and “The Masque of the Red Death”.

In every society each gender’s behavioral response is often a reflection of the societal influences that have been instilled since birth. In every society each gender is subjected to certain roles. Males having to suppress their emotions while women are able to be emotional beings. Women being shunned for exhibiting characteristics of the opposite sex. Although, we live in a society that harps on individuality and self-expression, it is clear that this only applies when individuals do not feel inferior. Additionally, self-expression is only situational and accepted based off of certain agendas. In the following story, Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning, we are able to analyze how a male reacts to feeling inferior to a woman. In The Yellow Wallpaper, which is written by Charlotte Perkins, we are able to analyze how her husband’s lack of understanding and inability to communicate with his wife ultimately leads to her insanity. In each of these stories, gender roles are being depicted in a negative and positive way. Through the character’s actions were able to learn how society views each gender in the time in which the story takes place.

Sadness, guilt, and fear are some of the most negative emotions that humanity can experience, however they are also the strongest. Edgar Allan Poe, a nineteenth century author and poet, is known primarily for his use of these emotions, as well as the results that may come from these emotions, such as substance abuse, depression, and death. However, the ability to write such elegant, sophisticated works that delve into the very dark recesses of the human mind reflects greatly upon the author himself. Repetitive themes found both in Poe’s stories and in his life deliver insight on the inspiration for this author’s stories. Poe uses themes of death, illness, and depression in order to reflect his own experiences within his writing.

The finest woks of Browning endeavor to explain the mechanics of human psychology. The motions of love, hate, passion, instinct, violence, desire, poverty, violence, and sex and sensuousness are raised from the dead in his poetry with a striking virility and some are even introduced with a remarkable brilliance.

He calls the painting of her “a wonder” and does not elaborate upon this, suggesting that while he was fond of his wife, their love was quite subdued. This allows him to remain calm and present a dignified front. However, as the poem continues, he becomes more obsessive over her and speaks quite aggressively of what he deems to be promiscuous behaviour. The “bough of cherries some officious fool broke in the orchard for her” seems to be a major part of his outrage, as he is offended that “she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift”. By telling his companion of this in a conversation that merely started with mention of a painting, the Duke reveals that he is very much not in control of himself. These constant tests of his patience – which seem very much unintentional on the Duchess’ part – seem to weigh heavily on the Duke’s mind as he says “here you miss, or there exceed the mark” showing heavy criticism on the Duchess. He wanted her to “let herself be lessoned so”, which shows the extent to which her behaviour troubles him. It also creates the air of superiority in that he sees himself as a sort of teacher, and her as the student. The loss of control comes where “all smiles stopped together”, suggesting a macabre end to the story. Both Medusa and the Duke seem to cause destruction and chaos around them as a direct result of being emotionally impacted by those they love. This weakness

While this is quite literal for the meaning of the scene, as she is actually dead and covered in blood, I feel that this scene digs deeper than that. I think that it represents to him, that the old stereotype of her, is no longer alive. That the woman who has been kept down by all of the stereotypes of his own beliefs and society's standards, has been killed. She is no longer the submissive creature he has in his household that he can control, she is now free of those

He is selfish and and wants Porphyria to himself, he will not allow anyone else to have her and to ensure this he kills her. This portrays Porphyria as his possession. The simplicity of the statement also reflects the insanity of the speaker, to him killing Porphyria is a simplistic act. The speaker discusses Porphyria’s innocence, “Fair, perfectly pure and good” and “the smiling little rosy head” this suggests that to him, Porphyria is pure and childlike. The alliteration draws attention to her innocence and draws contrast to her previously seductive portrayal.

Picture this. The father of modern crime and detective stories, known as Edgar Allan Poe, is sitting down about to write a beautiful piece of writing and BAM! He whisks away into a story of love, death, and just plain out horror; either characters are losing someone near and dear to their hearts or they are plotting to kill. Edgar Allan Poe, at a very young age, lost both of his parents, and later on in life, lost his wife to tuberculosis, so in one way or another, these stories reflect off of his personal experiences. A major theme in Poe’s writings is death. The theme of death is seen throughout the works of Annabel Lee, the Cask of Amontillado, the Raven, and the Black Cat.

In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death “ (448), the speaker of the poem is a woman who relates about a situation after her death. The speaker personifies death as a polite and considerate gentleman who takes her in a carriage for a romantic journey; however, at the end of this poem, she finishes her expedition realizing that she has died many years ago.

It has become clear at this point, that Lady Macbeth cannot bear to live with herself, knowing of all the affliction and devastation that she and her husband had caused. She concedes her guilt, and then brings forth comeuppance upon herself via suicide. Although Lady Macbeth is willing to accept the disconsolate reality that enshrouds her life, Macbeth still persists on living a life of

To begin, the speaker, in a very calm manner, describes a moment in time where she and a man called Death share a carriage together as if they were in a relationship with one another. Not only does the speaker leave with Death without any questions, but also states that she is obligated to leave her household to work for her new husband Death in lines five through nine. Due to the fact that the speaker so carelessly goes along with Death, shows just how strong her connection is with him. She is completely unaware and blinded at the fact that leaving with Death is something that is forever.

A Romantic writer uses emotion and sensation to portray desire. Edgar Allen Poe used it to convey a love that exceeds death. In his poem “Annabel Lee”, Poe speaks of a painful memory. Poe’s narrator seems like a reasonable guy, except for the fact that he likes to sleep beside a corpse every night. This however, is where the poem becomes intriguing. What would make someone feel such an extreme love? The narrator worships “Annabel”. He feels that not only death can keep them apart. Even though Edgar Allen Poe would like to portray ideal love as one that can transcend death, his use of imagery to instill visual interest, still gives the narrator a persona that borders on the edge of insanity.