Preview

Porphyria's Lover By Robert Browning

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
479 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Porphyria's Lover By Robert Browning
Love is an untamed force that when left unchecked can have deadly consequences. In the dramatic monologue “Porphyria’s Lover”, Robert Browning reveals the speaker’s eerily calm yet obsessive attitude through the use of vivid imagery, repetitive structure, and form to convey the course of events that lead him to murder his beloved in an attempt to relish in an infinite moment with her. Overall, these devices depict a man that is driven to insanity by his obsessive love for Porphyria. Browning highlights that love must not be a struggle for power. In the typical fashion of a dramatic monologue, it is through the speaker that the reader learns what has happened as the speaker attempts to justify his actions. The reader witnesses the speaker’s progression towards insanity as the monologue moves along, from sitting in the cold and dark awaiting her arrival to his desire to ultimately possess her. It is in the first four lines in which the scene is set. As the speaker sits alone in a cottage by a lake, a storm wages outside reflective of the inner torment the speaker is experiencing. …show more content…
From as early as the title of the poem of the poem “Porphyria’s Lover”, the obsessive nature of the speaker is suggested. We never learn his name because he only describes himself through his relationship with Porphyria. However, even after she confesses her love to him, it isn’t enough for him. She is married, therefore, he has no claim over her. In the speaker’s delusion caused by his inability to control the circumstances that prevent them from being together lead him, he begins to see her as an object. Moments before he strangles her, he repeats “mine, mine”. The repetition of this phrase emphasizes how important it is for him to feel like she belongs to him. It’s then that he decides that it is only to hold onto her is by killing
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    How Does Mccarthy Tell the Story in Pages 229-241?
    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Mccarthy Tell the Story in Pages 229-241?

    McCarthy tells the story using narrative voice in this section of the text. He contrasts the third person extradiegetic narrator with the man’s interior monologue in order to convey multiple perspectives to the reader. “He’d left the cart in the bracken beyond the dunes and they’d taken blankets with them and sat wrapped in them in the wind-shade of a great driftwood log.” Here, McCarthy constructs the lexis of the third person narrator using what some critics have called a limited linguistic palette. The polysyndeton creates a steady rhythm, which parallels the rhythm of the journey the man and boy are on, which is, like the sentence, seemingly never-ending. Here the narrator presents the reader with a practical account of the man and boy’s response to the disappointment of the beach, detailing their movements with unelaborated, unemotional language. The pared back language poignantly conveys the sense that the bleakness of the beach was inevitable. In contrast, the tricolon: “Cold. Desolate. Birdless”, is clearly the man’s interior monologue. The three adjectives highlight the extent to which the reality of the beach does not live up to the characters’ expectations of it. Where they had hoped for warmth when heading south, instead they found “cold”. Where they had hoped for a more habitable climate, they found a “desolate” environment. Where they had hoped for life, they had found a “birdless” environment. Thus, the tricolon convey’s the man’s disappointment to the reader. McCarthy utilizes stream of consciousness in order to enable the reader to understand the man’s emotional response. The narrator is typically unemotive, presenting a pared back account of events and it is thus these…

    • 645 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Emotion In 'Porphyria's Lover'
    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page

    Emotion In 'Porphyria's Lover'

    The speaker also shows greed. S/he says: “That moment she was mine, mine, fair,” The repetition of “mine” shows the speakers possessiveness, which also conflicts with the lack of emotion they felt towards their lover. The speakers’ self-confidence drove them to believe that they were a God: “Porphyria worshipped me,” which allows us to acknowledge that the…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing The Voice In Porphyria's Lover And My Last Duchess
    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing The Voice In Porphyria's Lover And My Last Duchess

    Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess contain many thematic similarities, despite portraying different scenarios, primarily spoken through a possessive and jealous man. In Porphyria’s Lover a man waits in his cottage for Porphyria. Her arrival “shut[s] the cold out and the storm” both literally and metaphorically. Porphyria confesses her undying love for the speaker, who, “happy and proud”, that Porphyria…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Browning Reveal His Character Psyche in "Porphyria's lover" and "The Laboratory"?
    • 951 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Browning Reveal His Character Psyche in "Porphyria's lover" and "The Laboratory"?

    "Porphyria's lover" (PL) and "The laboratory" (TL) are two dramatic monologues written by Robert Browning. Browning uses a range of techniques to reveal the characters psyche. The characters are both insane and deluded but have big differences, such as one of them is sadistic and the other suffering from subconscious guilt. I will be discussing the techniques that Browning uses to reveal his characters in PL and TL.…

    • 951 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Cousin Kate’ by Christina Rossetti, ‘Porphyria’s lover’ by Robert Browning,
    • 543 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Cousin Kate’ by Christina Rossetti, ‘Porphyria’s lover’ by Robert Browning,

    The Four texts that will be witnessed throughout the essay are : Cousin Kate by Christina Rossetti, Porphyria's lover by Robert Browning, To his Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvel and Romeo Juliet by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet is about two lovers - who adore each other so much, similarily Porphyria's lover is about a man who loves Porphria so much, which leads on to him killing her. Then, To his Coy Mistress was when the narrator slept with the lady and had sex, similarily Cousin Kate was similar as the narrator had sex with one person then betrayed her for someone else for the money.…

    • 543 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparison of 'My Last Duchass' and 'Porphryia's Lover'
    • 1071 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Comparison of 'My Last Duchass' and 'Porphryia's Lover'

    In both poems there are similarities in the narrator’s attitudes towards the woman. We learn a lot about the male’s feelings and thoughts in both poems as they are both narrated by the male lover’s. The men in both poems are very possessive over their lovers and feel superior to them. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ the narrator shows strong emotions for Porphyria revealing his romantic feelings for her, in contrast the Duke in ‘My Last Duchess’ is a very cold mannered formal man who didn’t understand his wife and…

    • 1071 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Great Gatsby and Elizabeth Barrett Browining
    • 1285 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Great Gatsby and Elizabeth Barrett Browining

    The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning are influenced by their varying context in their portrayal of love in their respective texts. Both authors explore the concept of love using various language features such as metaphors the use of irony. The Great Gatsby explores how the desire for the American Dream has taken prevalence over romantic love during post world war 1. This is contrasted with Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnets from the Portuguese where we are able to visualise her passion towards her lover through linguistic construct and also through the construction of an intimate sonnet.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Comparative study : 'The Great Gatsby' and 'sonnets from the portugese.'
    • 1745 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Comparative study : 'The Great Gatsby' and 'sonnets from the portugese.'

    Love is a significantly powerful emotion which has the ability to positively transform a life, but also the ability to possess, and destroy lives. Many different concepts of love have been expressed in texts, throughout history, and have been influenced by divergent contextual values appropriate to the time, in which the text was written. Through the comparative study of the 1925 novel, ‘The Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 1845 ‘Sonnets from the Portuguese,’ HSC students are provided with varying concepts of love in dissimilar contexts through the use of narrative and poetic techniques, thus resulting in an enhanced appreciation of each text.…

    • 1745 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Porphyria's Lover Vs Laboratory
    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Porphyria's Lover Vs Laboratory

    Although the era was a likely influence Undeniably In both pieces, the speakers appear to be greatly deluded. The fact that there is no addressee in “Porphyria’s Lover”, highlights “the insanity and loneliness of the criminal” (Paccaud-Huguet 94). The lover further Psychotic. Why did porphyria have to come in and start a fire? Why wasn’t it already started? Why was he sitting in the dark? Further more the cold. Says something about the lover. Either in deep thought or just plain mad. The wife had paranoia, browning depicts this in his rhyme and repetition “laugh laugh at me”…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Unrequited Love in "Porphyria's Lover"
    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Unrequited Love in "Porphyria's Lover"

    In Robert Browning 's dramatic monologue "Porphyria 's Lover," he introduces the persona, a twisted and abnormally possessive lover whose dealings are influenced by the perceived deliberation of others actions. As the monologue begins, a terrible, almost intentional storm sets upon the persona, who awaits his love, Porphyria. His lover "glide[s] in" (l 6) from a "gay feast" (l 27) and attempts to calm her angry love. This leads to a disastrous end, either for spite or fulfillment of a figurative wish that "would [now] be heard" (l 57). Browning suggests one must be cautious of what one wishes for, especially in dealings with love, where one focuses on the heart rather than material consequences.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Wod press essay
    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Wod press essay

    The universal conceptualisation of love is a subject of many a poet and writer throughout history. As such, each is relevant to their specific periods and their specific value systems. This can be seen in the text; “Sonnets from the Portuguese” by Elizabeth Barret Browning, where Browning explores a Romantic vision of love and romance through the abandonment of the Petrachan sonnet from. Likewise, the text “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, explores the turmoils of love in the 1920’s; a world obsessed with materialism and hedonism. Thus through the ways in which each author produces a narrative relevant to the values and contexts of their particular contemporaries we are able to discern how the theme of the transformative power of love and spirituality continues to be avid topics of literature today.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Shakespeare and Robert Browning
    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Shakespeare and Robert Browning

    Shakespeare and Browning both present the theme of desire through their central characters. Lady Macbeth (and Macbeth) is motivated by the desire for ambition and authority in ‘Macbeth’ whilst in the Browning monologues; the monologists are driven by the desire of power and control in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and revenge in ‘The laboratory’. All of which seem to have fatal conclusions as a result of each of their desires. As the texts were produced over 400years ago, audiences may have found the works of Shakespeare and Browning highly thought-provoking and entertaining whilst contemporary audiences finding the different aspects of desire relatable to modern situations. Lady Macbeth’s need for authority in her famous soliloquy ‘unsex me here’ reflects on the feelings of many women at that time longing for power. Likewise, audiences of the ‘the Laboratory’ are able to empathise with the protagonist’s desire for revenge upon their adulterous lover. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, Browning reveals an obsessive and controlling persona who can only satisfy his absolute love for his lover by strangling her, presenting his desire for control over others.…

    • 2057 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The True Nature of Obsession (Othello, Endless Love and Damoyre)
    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The True Nature of Obsession (Othello, Endless Love and Damoyre)

    The true nature of obsession manipulates a person’s character, forcing them to act in unusual ways, as if possessed by an involuntary need. An obsessed mind becomes intensely absorbed in the subject of the obsession to an extent that drives away the truth and realism in their values, morals and perceptions. William Shakespeare manifests this idea of an involuntary change in character in the play “Othello”, and with a similar approach this idea is identified by Scott Spencer in the novel “Endless Love” and is further explored in “Obsession”, a poem written by DaMoyre. Throughout each of these texts, the composers’ use of characterization depicts the true nature of obsession with themes of jealously, revenge and, as a consequence, madness.…

    • 1621 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Comparison Between the Great Gatsby and Ebb Sonnets
    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Comparison Between the Great Gatsby and Ebb Sonnets

    Browning's sonnets emphasize a type of idealized love, one that she hopes and dreams of. A love that is not ordinary, that is not based on physical appearance or on a feeling of pity or concern but for “loves sake only…… through loves eternity” (Sonnet 14). This personified statement of which she repeats continually throughout the sonnet emphasizes her demands which seem extremely idealistic and hard to meet. The sonnets explore the idea that she has never experienced love, and has only read about it, hence the discussion of Theocritus and “the antique tongue” in Sonnet 1, specifically love in its idealistic and dreamt state. This demonstrates how this text explores the idea of aspirations.…

    • 1075 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Insanity of the Poetic Speaker in “Porphyria’s Lover”
    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Insanity of the Poetic Speaker in “Porphyria’s Lover”

    Browning’s poem “Porthyria’s Lover” tells a story of a murder seen through the eyes of Porphyria’s lover- the murderer. It takes place on a rainy night, in the speaker’s home, where he sits alone in the dark until Porphyria’s arrival. She lights the fire place, takes off her garments and sits by her lover whispering how much he loves him. He then decides to strangle her with her hair, after which he lays her head once again on his shoulder and they sit as they are for the rest of the night. The poem might be influenced by Browning’s own inner thoughts and feelings, since during his lifetime he has been less appreciated as an author compared to his wife.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More