Porphyria's Lover By Robert Browning Flashcards
Compare poem to….
The farmers bride
Themes of the poem
Controlling,possessive,obsessive, madness
Form of the poem
Dramatic monologue
The asymmetrical rhyme scheme (ABABB) and enjambment suggests that the speaker is unstable
Regular rhythm of the poem reflects his calmness
Porphyria has no voice in the poem-the speaker projects his own thoughts and feelings onto her in life and in death
Structure of the poem
Events in the poem mirror each other
First half of the poem, porphyria is active and dominant while her lover is passive (which is shown by the way he rests his head on her shoulder)
These positions are reversed when the speaker kills her(then place she’s head on his shoulder)
Language of possession
Speaker wants porphyria to belong to him “for ever” but she believes that her “pride” and “vainer ties” are stopping her from being with him
He is desperate to possess her, and in death she becomes his object
Language of love and violence
Speaker combines love and violence to represent to troubled and destructive nature of his love
The feelings and attitudes in the poem
Madness
Passivity
Sin-speaker comments that god hasn’t punished him for the murder, believes he hasn’t committed a sin
“The sullen wind was soon awake”
Pathetic fallacy creates a threatening,ominous atmosphere
Reflects the events about to happen-love isn’t kind to anyone
Personification brings the night alive to create the ludicrous atmosphere that makes him able to kill his lover
Effect of the repetition of “and”
Emphasises the calm way he’s chronologically recounting the events leading up to her murder
“I looked up at her eyes”
First time the speaker takes action-not porphyria
Signals a shift in the balance of passivity and activity between the two
“At last I knew
Porphyria worshipped me:”
Wants complete control over her
Suggests that he thinks of himself as god like, beloved that he can get around the natural laws
“That moment she was mine,mine,fair,perfectly pure and good”
The repetition of “mine” is disturbing and suspicious - possessive pronoun
Long description shows that he wants to preserve that memory
“In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her.”
Description is shocking as it is unexpected
No change in rhythm shows that his mental state isn’t correct-doesn’t see it as anything abnormal
Simplistic language
caesura adds emphasise to the moment of murder
“As a shut bud that holds a bee,”
Simile-reflects his controlling nature
“Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:”
Shiism the narrator love is destructive and passionate
Fire implies love and danger
