What genre is porphyria’s lover?
A LitCharts expert can help. "Porphyria’s Lover" is a poem by the British poet Robert Browning, first published in 1836. Along with" My Last Duchess ," it has become one of Browning’s most famous dramatic monologues—due in no small part to its shockingly dark ending.
What is a good poem about porphyria?
Porphyria's Lover. By Robert Browning. Although the early part of Robert Browning’s creative life was spent in comparative obscurity, he has come to be regarded as one of the most important poets of the Victorian period.
What kind of poem is porphyria's lover by William Browning?
'Porphyria's Lover,' which we'll discuss below, is a dramatic monologue. Browning died on December 12, 1889, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. 'Porphyria's Lover' was first published in January 1836. The persona or speaker of the poem is often said to be insane. This poem is only one stanza, so we'll summarize what happens below.
What is the setting of porphyria’s lover?
Robert Browning’s poem, ‘Porphyria’s Lover,’ opens up with a classic setting. It’s a stormy evening. The rain and the wind are harsh.
Is Porphyria's lover a narrative poem?
“Porphyria's Lover” is a poem that Robert Browning writes in the form of a dramatic monologue. His use of the dramatic “I” gives the words a degree of immediacy and makes the audience feel as though they are being spoken to, although the speaker/narrator is not meant to be the author himself.
What type of text is Porphyria's lover?
Type of Work .......“Porphyria's Lover" is a dramatic monologue, a poem that presents a moment in which the speaker (narrator) discusses a topic and, in so doing, reveals his feelings and state of mind to a listener or the reader.
What is the theme of the poem Porphyria's lover?
In this interpretation, the themes are Love and Sin. The persona loves Porphyria so much that he is willing to kill her. Yet, he also recognizes that this is a sin because he questions why God hasn't responded at the end of the poem.
Why is it called Porphyria's lover?
The final title, "Porphyria's Lover," makes the poem about the speaker, but he's only identified through his relationship to Porphyria – he is never named. Both of these make sense, given the poem's interest in the transfer of agency, or power, from Porphyria to the speaker.
Why is Porphyria's lover a dramatic monologue?
The essence of dramatic monologue is the capture of inner conflict of the speaker. The inner conflict explores the inner psyche of a speaker who is in deep distress. Porphyria's lover is very much suspicious and unable to translate the her feelings which she tries to give it to her.
What rhyme scheme is used in Porphyria's lover?
You've probably already noticed the rhyme scheme – it's pretty regular, and follows this pattern: ABABB, CDCDD, EFEFF, etc. The rhyme is regular, but it's asymmetrical. Each rhyming unit is backloaded: there are more "B" rhymes than "A," and more "D" than "C," etc.
What is the irony in Porphyria's Lover?
The speaker is completely unaware that he has done something wrong, proclaiming in line 42, after strangling her, “I am quite sure she felt no pain.” He believes he made her happy, and that her love is his forever, whereas the readers know that he is insane and that he has just murdered this woman.
What does Porphyria's hair symbolize?
Lines 38-41: The speaker takes all of Porphyria's hair, wraps it three times around her neck, and strangles her. If Porphyria's hair is somehow symbolic of her "fall" from sexual purity, does that mean that her "fall," or her sin, somehow kills her? Maybe, but there are lots of other possible interpretations, as well.
What is the tone of Porphyria's Lover?
The speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" sounds awfully straightforward. His tone is incredibly reasonable, which makes it even creepier considering he's describing horrific things (such as strangling his girlfriend and cuddling with the corpse).
Is Porphyria's lover about disease?
"'Porphyria's Lover--Vastly Misunderstood Poetry" has an ironic title, because here again is someone who does not fully understand the poem. J.T. Best writes that Porphyria suffers from the blood disease porphyria, and her lover kills her out of mercy, not psychopathy.
What is the structure of Porphyria's Lover?
Porphyria's Lover is written in a continuous form, not separated into stanzas. A rhyme scheme works in five-line sections (cinquains), but abundant enjambement and the continuing monologue means that these sections rarely stand alone.
What figurative language is in Porphyria's Lover?
The speaker is using synecdoche by making Porphyria's "blue eyes" represent the whole woman ("synecdoche" is when you have a part of something stand in for the whole thing). After all, "eyes" don't "laugh" by themselves. But there's also an odd metaphor at the end of the line.
What are the different elements of poetry found in Porphyria's Lover?
“Porphyria's Lover” Poetic Devices & Figurative LanguageEnd-Stopped Line. “Porphyria's Lover” is a poem about control—and the lengths to which the speaker is willing to go to achieve it. ... Enjambment. ... Caesura. ... Simile. ... Metaphor. ... Repetition. ... Chiasmus. ... Alliteration.More items...
What is the tone of Porphyria's Lover?
The speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" sounds awfully straightforward. His tone is incredibly reasonable, which makes it even creepier considering he's describing horrific things (such as strangling his girlfriend and cuddling with the corpse).
What kind of poem is ''Porphyria's Lover''?
"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue. In this type of poetry, the poem is written from the point-of-view and speech of on...
What does the last line of ''Porphyria's Lover'' mean?
The last line of "Porphyria's Lover" has a few possible meanings. It could indicate that the speaker knows he has done something wrong by killing P...
Why does the speaker strangle Porphyria?
In "Porphyria's Lover," there are a few possible motives for Porphyria's murder. The speaker could be insane and strangled her to preserve her puri...
What is a summary of ''Porphyria's Lover''?
"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning starts by having the speaker describe a storm. Porphyria comes in, starts a fire, and tells the speaker she...
Why does the speaker say that Porphyria's love is weak?
He claims that her love is weak, too weak to withstand all that is set against her . This is why he claims that her passion for him is not strong enough to break free “from pride and vainer ties.” This reveals that a union between himself and Porphyria would not be accepted by society.
What is the setting of Porphyria's Lover?
Robert Browning’s poem, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, opens up with a classic setting. It’s a stormy evening. The rain and the wind are harsh. The speaker is alone in a small cottage. Suddenly, a woman enters, bringing cheer and warmth in the midst of the dark and cold night. It seems like a classic love poem, but when the tone shifts and the speaker does the unthinkable, it leaves the reader questioning everything from the authority of the speaker, to the reality of his descriptions. The woman’s voice is not heard, and the reader is forced to draw conclusions from the voice of a speaker who proves to be less than trustworthy.
What does the speaker believe about Porphyria?
Nonetheless, the speaker believes that he has given Porphyria her greatest desire for killing her. He believes that she would have wanted to be with him forever and to see the rest of her worldly concerns fade. Therefore, he claims that all that she scorned “at once is fled” and claims with triumph that he himself was “gained instead.” Thus, the speaker believes that he did her a favor in ended her life. He took away all of her concerns and presented her with himself.
How does Porphyria come in from the storm?
These lines imply that Porphyria has offered herself to the speaker. She comes in from the storm, starts a fire, stands up, and begins to shed her clothes. The speaker describes each piece of clothing as she removes it. She begins with her coat and her shawl, and then she removes her gloves and her hat. The description of her clothes allows the reader to further understand the intensity of the storm. It also serves to reveal Porphyria’s feelings toward the speaker. She was willing to brave the storm to get to him. When she begins taking off her outer clothes, it reveals that she intends to stay with him through the storm.
Why did Porphyria leave a gay feast?
These lines reveal that Porphyria left a “gay feast” just to come through the storm to see him. This gives some insight into what her “vainer ties” might be. While the speaker is alone in a small cottage that seemed barely able to withstand the rain and wind, Porphyria had just come from a fancy party.
What does the wind and rain outside of the cottage represent?
The wind and the rain outside of the cottage represent the storms of the speaker’s life. They have a great effect on him when she is not near. When Porphyria is near, however, life’s other difficulties seem to fade in the presence of her light and warmth.
Why does she murmur her love for him?
The reader can speculate that the reason she “murmured” her love for him is that she is of a higher socio-economic class, and her love for him would be scorned by society.
When was Porphyria's lover first published?
'Porphyria's Lover' was first published in January 1836. The persona or speaker of the poem is often said to be insane. This poem is only one stanza, so we'll summarize what happens below.
Why does the speaker kill Porphyria?
The speaker kills Porphyria because she is pregnant.
What is the name of the poem that Browning wrote?
At the start of his literary career, Browning was not well received; however, he gained notoriety with his long poem, 'The Ring and the Book .' Browning is known for his dramatic monologues, which is a literary technique also known as a persona poem. In a dramatic monologue, the poet writes in a persona or voice. 'Porphyria's Lover,' which we'll discuss below, is a dramatic monologue.
Is the lover a woman?
In another interpretation, the lover isn't a woman at all but a disease. Porphyria is actually a kind of genetic disease, so, in this interpretation, the speaker would actually be talking about overcoming this disease. In this case, the woman is a metaphor for the disease.
What is the sensuousness of Porphyria's love poem?
But though the intellectual element is powerful in the poem it has no small element of sensuousness so characteristic of a love poem. The manner Porphyria draws her lover into physical intimacy is boldly sensuous. Her act of putting his arm about her waist, baring her smooth white shoulder, making him lie his cheek on her bosom, spreading her long yellow hair over his head and shoulder, and the lover’s kissing her passionately “once more” on the blushing cheek are conspicuous for its sensuousness. The description of Porphyria’s lover resting his check on her bare, soft white bosom reminds us of Keats’ s:
Who wrote Porphyria's lover?
One of Browning ’s fine lyrics Porphyria’s Lover first appeared in the January 1836 issue of the Monthly Repository. It was afterwards published in Dramatic Lyrics in 1842 under the heading “Madhouse Cells” along with the poem Johannes Agricola in Meditation. In 1863 it was separated and published independently without any abnormal association. The idea of the poem is supposed to have been suggested by the madness of the poet Christopher Smart. This supposition is however untenable, because the poem concerns not a madman but a cold blooded murderer.
What does the theme of Porphyria to Death mean?
Out of insanity the lover strangles her beloved, Porphyria to death thematically suggests the universalizing and dominating passion of love.
What is the psychological theme of the poem "Be sure I looked up at her eyes"?
The poem is predominantly psychological like Browning’s most poems. The first few lines probe the turbulent state of the lover’s mind and his nervous irritation. The lines “Be sure I looked up at her eyes/Happy and proud” reveal Browning as a psychologist of all psychologists.
What is the form of a poem that mimics natural speech?
While the flow of the poem mimics natural speech, it actually takes the form of highly patterned verse, rhyming ABABB.
When was Porphyria's lover first published?
Porphyria’s Lover first appeared in the January 1836 issue of the Monthly Repository. It was subsequently published in Dramatic Lyrics in 1842 under the heading Madhouse Cells’ along with the poem, Johannes Agricola in Meditation. In 1863 it was separated and published independently without any abnormal association
Does Porphyria know that her dearest wish was fulfilled?
But Porphyria could not know that her dearest wish was fulfilled. Throughout the night they- the dead and the living- sit together without stirring. And God is so stunned by his murderous act that He does not like to speak. In other words, he does not approve of the lover’s act.
What is Porphyria's lover?
The speaker lives in a cottage in the countryside. His lover, a blooming young woman named Porphyria, comes in out of a storm and proceeds to make a fire and bring cheer to the cottage. She embraces the speaker, offering him her bare shoulder. He tells us that he does not speak to her. Instead, he says, she begins to tell him how she has momentarily overcome societal strictures to be with him. He realizes that she “worship [s]” him at this instant. Realizing that she will eventually give in to society’s pressures, and wanting to preserve the moment, he wraps her hair around her neck and strangles her. He then toys with her corpse, opening the eyes and propping the body up against his side. He sits with her body this way the entire night, the speaker remarking that God has not yet moved to punish him.
What was the significance of the Victorian prudery?
Illicit sex out of wedlock presented a major concern for Victorian society; the famous Victorian “prudery” constituted only a backlash to what was in fact a popular obsession with the theme: the newspapers of the day reveled in stories about prostitutes and unwed mothers .
Is Porphyria's Lover a dialectical poem?
“Porphyria’s Lover,” while natural in its language, does not display the colloquialisms or dialectical markers of some of Browning’s later poems. Moreover, while the cadence of the poem mimics natural speech, it actually takes the form of highly patterned verse, rhyming ABABB. The intensity and asymmetry of the pattern suggests the madness concealed within the speaker’s reasoned self-presentation.
What is the theme of Porphyria's lover?
What is the theme of "Porphyria's Lover"? Some possible themes of "Porphyria's Lover" include the objectification of women and the hypocrisy of sexual women versus sexual men. The lover objectifies Porphyria by only describing her physically-attractive characteristics and using possessive terms for them. Porphyria is also devalued due ...
Why does the speaker feel he has some claim to Porphyria?
Perfectly pure and good. The speaker feels that he has some claim to Porphyria because "Porphyria worshipped [him]," and this surprises him. He then uses Porphyria's damp hair, which has propelled his sexual desires since she entered the room, to strangle her.
What body parts does Porphyria have?
From the beginning, the speaker reduces Porphyria to her separate (and sexually exciting) body parts: her damp hair, her waist, her bare shoulder. As the speaker becomes more captivated with Porphyria's sexual advances, there is no discourse of her mind or of his unwavering and true love for her. Instead, Porphyria is reduced to an object ...
What is the end of Porphyria?
In the end, Porphyria is simply an object to be possessed. Even as a corpse, the speaker lays claim to her "smiling rosy little head," a childlike image that reinforces her unequal status to the speaker — both in life and in death.
What does the narrator respond to when the speaker says the her worship of him made his heart s?
The narrator responds to this with desire of his own. Victorian writers had to be circumspect in speaking about sexuality, but clearly we understand the meaning when the speaker says the her worship of him made his "heart swell and still it grew."
What was the Victorian society's belief in sexuality?
The Victorian society held beliefs that a woman's sexuality was to be repressed at all times. A woman who ran through the night to meet her lover would have been downright scandalous. Thus, Porphyria is representative of the objectification of women at large who lived within this historical context.
