Robert Browning essay

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‘The best texts cause us to reflect on human nature’. How has Browning enhanced your understanding of human nature?

Human nature is reflected through the ideas of the texts which is evident in the poems, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ all written by poet Robert Browning. The values of human ego of one’s possessiveness and madness are evident in the three poems. The best texts results in the readers’ contemplation and further understanding of ourselves, each other and the human nature of our thoughts and actions. This is seen in all two poems as it depicts the great lengths one goes to to satisfy their own needs and wants .Browning’s characters only considers their own happiness the idea of being self-centered and everything has to revolve around them. The human mind is compelled by madness and obsession. Through the poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ Browning explores these ideas.

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In the poem, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ the speaker’s pathological jealousy and insecurity drives him to murder the vital, loving, passionate woman, Porphyria. It is important to note the meaning of ‘porphyria’ in medical terms as a disease with the symptoms of insanity. The disease is evident within the speaker’s actions as he “strangled her”. At the beginning, the narrator appears to be in control as the form of the poem is regular with a tight ababb rhyme pattern. The intensity and asymmetry of the pattern suggests the madness concealed within the narrator’s reasoned self-presentation. “In one yellow string I wound ...

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