Essay-
Comparing My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover
Question: - My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover are both poems by Robert Browning. Write about the similarities and differences between the two texts by comparing the feelings and characters of the two lovers (the voice in each poem) and how the writer conveys these to the reader.
Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess are both possessive love poems written by Robert Browning. Both of the poems are written in the form of a dramatic monologue as there is one person speaking. The voice in both poems is the character (lover) and they are speaking to you (the reader). Both poems show a similarity because they are both narrated from the male lover's point of view. As a result, the reader becomes more closely involved in the poems and can feel very strong emotions for the individuals portrayed than if the poem was written from the eyes of an 'outsider'. This form of writing enables Browning to use irony, in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the literal meanings of the words. For example, in My Last Duchess the Duke orders the death of his wife, though hides the true meaning in his words: "Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together."
Porphyria's Lover is about the lover of a woman called Porphyria, who realises how much she loves him because she left a "gay feast" and came through wind and rain, just to be with him, "she shut the cold out and the storm." He decided to immortalise the moment by taking some of her hair and strangle her. The story is told from the eyes of an abnormally possessive lover, who seems mentally unstable.
My Last Duchess is about a jealous nobleman (a duke) who has had his wife killed, but he has a portrait painted of ...
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Porphyria's Lover is about the lover of a woman called Porphyria, who realises how much she loves him because she left a "gay feast" and came through wind and rain, just to be with him, "she shut the cold out and the storm." He decided to immortalise the moment by taking some of her hair and strangle her. The story is told from the eyes of an abnormally possessive lover, who seems mentally unstable.
My Last Duchess is about a jealous nobleman (a duke) who has had his wife killed, but he has a portrait painted of her which he evidently values more than he valued her. He is possessive and that is what lead to him having his wife killed, "I gave commands and all smiles stopped together." This illustrates that he did not want any one else to enjoy her smile.
As stated before, both poems are written in the form of a dramatic monologue, but they do not have the same structure. Porphyria's Lover uses the structure ABABB throughout and also uses enjambment. An example of enjambment in the poem is: "From pride, and vainer ties dissever, And give herself to me for ever." This makes the poem fluent.
On the other hand, My Last Duchess uses the structure AABB throughout, uses rhyming couplets throughout and also uses Iambic Pentameter. My Last Duchess is written in the form of a single stanza poem. Porphyria's Lover does not follow this pattern, but has a different rhyming scheme.
My Last Duchess uses an array of poetic devices such as metaphors, when he describes the Duchess as missing or "exceeding the mark", using this as a way of saying she 'missed' her 'social goal' - to please him only. The text also includes personification, "There she stands, as if Alive" personifying the portrait of the Duchess. Both poems use alliteration. In My Last Duchess the alliteration is used to over-embellish the focus of the image, "Notice Neptune." The word 'notice' invites us to use our sense of sight. On the other hand the alliteration used in Porphyria's Lover illustrates the unusual mental state of mind of the narrator, "...Her cheeks once more, blushed bright beneath my burning kiss." This image represents Porphyria's Lover giving her a forceful kiss after he murders her. Both poems also use enjambment, which gives a constant flow and shows the reader the continuous flow of the narrator's thoughts, for example in the very beginning of My Last Duchess -
"That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
that piece a wonder, now: Frá Pandolf's hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands."
Porphyria's Lover gives a distinct impression that the narrator is truly in love with Porphyria and his metal instability causes him to believe that killing her is the only way she will never leave him. The language used demonstrates his love for her as well as his insanity, "Three times her little throat around, and strangled her. No pain felt she; I am quite sure she felt no pain." My last duchess gives an entirely different interpretation of the Duke, who is seen to be a cold, arrogant and selfish man. This can be interpreted simply from the title, the Duke refers to her as 'his' 'last' Duchess implying that he owns her and that she is no longer of great importance, as she was the most recent but will not be 'the last'. Being dramatic monologues both poems offer the reader an intimate insight into the speakers changing thoughts and feelings because he presents in his own words how he sees the situation.
James Sweetman 10JB07