Analyse "Porphyria's lover" by Robert Browning

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Porphyria's lover is one of the most dramatic monologues written by a Victorian poet. Many tried to grasp new concepts of sensuality and brutality but it was Browning who captured these themes perfectly. As the Victorian society developed it's understanding on sexuality and morality, people realized how many problems they have to face due to the idea of bad and wrong.  Consciousness was a new idea so many poets didn't look at the normal side of the society but tried to develop their understanding and reflection of the insane minds.

Porphyria's lover is a great example of such a reflection. Through the monologue we are pushed to face the conflict within the mind, the most twisted endeavors of our souls and the tip of a huge mountain of insanity. The narrator of this great piece is a complex multi layered character who shows us the problems and conflicts within his mind.

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Browning unfolds the secrets of the narrator very subtlety. The  murder is described with  a passive and apathetic voice which makes this poem seem so unreal and abstract. The author touches the most delicate and dark sides of our mind and shows us what would happen if the was no conscious present or if it was understood differently. The narrator describes his actions as ' I found a thing, thing to do,(...)and strangled her'. This is a very passive description of a action. It tells us that the narrator believed it was a natural action; killing the girl. Her love ...

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