Compare and contrast the two Poems By Robert Browning - 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'

The poem entitled ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is one of the earliest dramatic monologues of Browning. The speaker in this case lives in the countryside in a small cottage and his lover is called Porphyria. This poem tells us about a time when it was stormy and she goes to her lovers to light a fire in his cottage, she offers her lover her bare shoulder when he does not reply to her. When Porphyria’s lover realises that she worships him he wants to keep this moment so he wraps her long blond hair three times around her throat and strangles her to death. This person is also possessive because he wants her all to himself so he killed her so that no one else would benefit from her company and this is where the two poems have similarities.

There are many similarities and also many differences between the poems. Firstly the main difference is the location in which they are set because ‘My Last Duchess’ is set in Italy in a city whereas ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is set in the countryside. I think the setting can create different atmosphere to the poems in the case of this you would imagine the countryside to be quiet and peaceful and the city to be busy but in the times that these poems were written the outcome could be much different to what I interpreted. One of the main similarities is that possessive characters kill both the women in the poems. In the poem ‘My Last Duchess’ the duke is jealous of his duchess with other men and this could be the case in the other poem but it is not as clear.

My opinion is that I prefer the poem entitled ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ because it is much easier to understand and interpret. I also like the rhyming pattern of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ because it makes it much more interesting to read rather than rhyming couplets. I also like this poem because it uses natural languages and I like the plot of the poem. Overall I like ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ better than ‘My Last Duchess’.