porphyrias lover Flashcards
(16 cards)
what is it about
a first person narrative of a man strangling his lover due to overwhelming lover for her. the speaker lies with her dead body as if she were living
context for this poem
women like porphyria were painted naked with long hair so browning used this idea of women to express his ideas showing the objectification of women
what quotes are there for emotional and sexual repression
” she shut out the cold”
“her smooth white shoulders”
“ yellow har”
how does the narrorator de humanise the lover
- he over romanticeses her and we view her through the lens of a male speaker thus she is dehumanised into an objetc of worship father than a human being
“she shut out the cold”
- gives the idea of delusional love as his love for her is so profound that he believs she is able to stop the weather - shows he is rooted in fantasy rather than relaity
- he sees her as more power ful that nature, idolising her and dehumanising her
“smooth white shoulders”
- he breaks her down into indivudal components - rather than seeing her as a whole
- ” white” suggests innocence and virginity which makes her seem more like a male fantasy than a real person
“yellow hair”
reminds us of the paintings at the time, and the colour yellow suggests jovial connotations which juxtaposes with his peverted and preditorial view of her
quote sthat give the poem a gothic feel
“porphyria”
“and yet god has not said a word”
- browing uses a gothic theme to make the poem more ominoius
“prophyria”
porphriya is a illness which causes dellusions which makes this sense of lov efor her more foreboding
“and yet god has not said a word”
the absense of god adds to the gothic nature
- suggets that the absense of god has dire consequences, suggests that men without divine rulers will desecnt into chaos
what is the form
its iniambic terameter, - the lack of regular repition reflects the murderous mindset of the speaker
- the ryhme scheme is unweighted making him seen more delirious
- dramatic monolouge
what is the structure
rhyming coupets
“stirred” “word”
- emphasises his calculated manipulation from the speaker showing his permanent objectification of porphyria
how does porphyrias lover link to the farmers bride
- both about love
- both show the objectification of women - they both see the women as objects and dehumanise them through a first person narritve
how is porphyria’s lover similar to the farmers bride in terms of form
they are both a monologue - gives us unfiltered access into the speakers mind
essay plan for farmers bride and porphyrias loves
1 intro
2 power and control
3 isolation and mental disturbance- gothic links
4 subjectification of women
5 conclusion
quotes showing the objectification of women
“I propped her head up as before”
“Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:”
“That moment she was mine, mine”
