“…I choose
Never to stoop…”
Killing his wife instead of talking to her shows e is a cold person. What is worse is the fact that he talks about it as if it is something to be proud of and that he doesn’t show any remorse for what he decided to do. Not showing any guilt but showing pride in the painting makes us believe that he had no love for her as a person but for her as a possession. This also shows that he is a ruthless person. The Duke sees everyone who isn’t as wealthy as himself as a possession including his next wife the Count’s daughter,
“Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed
At starting, is my object…”
He envisions everyone and everything dispensable because of his arrogance.
On the other hand, the Duchess was a warm, friendly and loving person. As she got no love from the Duke, any show of affection or a kind word would impress her,
“…she had
A heart - … - too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed…”
He also presumes her warm and friendly nature is a betrayal of her wedding vows and besmirching of his great name,
“…she thanked men, - good! But thanked
Somehow – I know not how…”
The Duchess believes that natural beauty is important not art,
“The dropping of daylight in the west…
…would draw from her alike an approving speech”
The poem is written in the style of a single stanza with rhyming couplets. It uses enjambment and mid line ceasures, which disguises the rhyme and makes it seem like a conversation. The images of the Duke are ones of a power and control. He always gives cold instructions,
“Will’t please you sit and look at her…”
He orders and controls fully his world. The Duchess’ images are ones of freedom, nature and beauty.
“the depth and passion of that earnest glance”
By comparison, the Duke loves only art and things made by man and items that can be possessed by him.
Porphyria is a wealthy woman who, even though it’s heavily raining, will go to be beside her lover. He is not sure about her feelings towards him. It’s as though he can’t quite believe that someone like her would love a poor person like him. When she is at the cottage, even though a storm is raging outside, she brings warmth and cheerfulness to his life. As he realises that she does feel deeply towards him, he has to make it immortal by killing her as se then won’t be able to feel anything less. He then kisses her when he has strangled her to show that dead or alive he loves her. In his thoughts he believes that God doesn’t think badly of him for doing what he did.
Like in My Last Duchess, Porphyria’s death has no real motive behind it. The Duke has the Duchess killed for smiling at people and Porphyria is killed to savour a moment. Another similarity is that neither Porphyria’s Lover or the Duke show any guilt or remorse. He even thinks that God believes it is okay. Both the Duchess and Porphyria are wealthy and beautiful.
In My Last Duchess, the Duke has a very powerful status and is extremely wealthy. Porphyria’s lover lives in a small cottage,
“…and all the cottage warm;”
We also get the impression the relationship is a secret one as she has left a feast and only the more important people attend feasts.
“Nor could to-nights gay feast restrain”
We feel that he kills Porphyria out of love for her. He feels that he is not worthy of her love and that is love is in vain.
“A sudden thought of one so pale,
For love of her, and all in vain:”
So he in fact kills her to make sure she loves no-one else and to immortalise their love.
It is clear to see that Porphyria is a very passionate and erotic lady. This is shown as when she enters the cottage, she snuggled up to him on the couch placing his arm around her waist. When she bares her shoulder, she is trying to entice him into a show of love.
“She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare”
Like My Last Duchess, the poem is a dramatic monologue and set in a single stanza format. It also uses enjambment and mid line ceasure to establish the sense of someone’s thoughts.
However, the rhyme scheme is very complex and id based on a set of 5 lines with an A B A B B pattern
“…night,
…awake,
…spite,
…lake:
…break.”
This makes the rhyme scheme unobvious when reading the poem, but it creates a subtle pattern in the lines. In My Last Duchess, the Duke is talking to an envoy whereas the man in Porphyria’s Lover is thinking. This makes it an internal monologue.
I enjoyed Porphyria’s Lover the most as it has more passion and warmth in it. My Last Duchess is a very cold poem with the Duke able to shrug people off and be so clinical. Porphyria’s Lover also seems to flow line after line easier than My Last Duchess and I believe it is the better poem.
