Comparison of love poetry
Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" is based on a real story about the fifth Duke of Ferrera in the Renaissance period. He married a 14-year-old named Lucrezia and then left her for a two-year period. She died at the age of 17. In this poem, the Duke is now looking for a second wife-to-be. Robert Browning is one of the greatest poets in the Victorian age. He writes romantic poems and he expresses love in this poem as obsessive. The poem's rhyme scheme is a, a, b, b. This is a dramatic monologue. This is the kind of poem where there is only one speaker. In this poem it is the duke. At the very start of the poem, we are already given the idea that the Duke is a proud man especially with his art collections. "That's my last duchess painted on the wall", this quote tells us that he includes his last wife in his collection. The "my" emphasizes the duke owning his last duchess. By doing this, Robert Browning emphasizes the Duke wanting power especially over his last wife. Her painting is behind the wall now and the Duke shows it to a very few chosen strangers, "since none puts the curtain I have drawn for you but I". The painting was made by Fra Pandolf. The Duke is jealous by the fact that the Duchess can blush by receiving any compliments from just anyone. "Sir, 'twas not her husband's presence only...into the Duchess' cheek." In this quote, the Duke never treated his wife as an equal. But he considered himself higher than her and he wouldn't lower himself to tell the duchess what she did that annoyed him. He thinks the duchess has no pride at all because she treats everybody equally, "as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift". He wants the duchess for himself only. What he wanted her to do is to reserve herself for the duke. He doesn't want her to be courteous towards those in lower rank by "blushing", and "smiling". He thinks that the duchess should give him all her attention to himself including his power and rank. The duke is very possessive about his wife. The main point of this poem is how the Duke always wants attention for himself. He thinks he deserves all that especially when in his own home. He always takes action and power over those lower than him. "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped altogether". If the Duchess smiles to everybody, maybe the Duke did something about it to stop them from smiling back. The Duchess' humility and good nature to anyone else disgusted him. The Duchess can never know the cause of his anger because the Duke never tells her why. "Or that in you disgust me; here you miss...and I choose never to stoop." Lastly, the Duke finally allows the listener to rise and "meet the company below". He was referring to his servants and Robert Browning still stresses the point of his wealth and power over his household. By showing the last Duchess' painting, could it be that the Duke will repeat the marriage to his new wife-to-be? "His fair daughter's self...is my object", will she too be like the last Duchess? We will never know because Browning's poem ends with the Duke boasting about his other pieces of art like "Neptune".
Robert Browning has another romantic poem entitled "Porphyria's Lover". This is another monologue. Robert Browning also portrays obsessive love as he did to "My Last Duchess". Both of the men are the jealous and possessive type in these poems. But Robert Browning did "Porphyria's Lover" in a way that Shakespeare did "Othello" as he murders his beloved Desdemona. The setting of the story may already warn us of something bad to happen. "The rain set in early to-night...and did its worst to vex the lake". This poem tells us about a possessive lover who wants Porphyria for himself only. "The moment she was mine, mine fair". The repetition of mine emphasizes the lover's possessiveness. This poem is similar to Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess". Both men in this poem want to have total control over their women. In this poem, the lover has a peculiar way of making their love for each other last. Her lover concluded that Porphyria "worshipped" him. She also came even though there was a "gay feast" and strong "wind and rain". "I found a thing to do and all her hair...and strangled her". He killed Porphyria because it was the only way he can think of to make her stay with him forever. "I am quite sure she felt no pain" tell us that the lover wants to prove his action of murdering Porphyria rational. Like the duke in "My Last Duchess", this man wants her love alone for himself. Although he knows Porphyria "murmured how she loved him", he wants to put a standstill so that their moment of love can last forever. The difference between "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" is that Robert Browning expressed their obsessive love in two different ways. The lover in this poem is really obsessive about Porphyria. He even killed her to stress this point. The lover is indeed mad especially that in the end, Porphyria's "smiling little rosy head" is still lying on the lover's shoulder. The lover doesn't want to leave her and waited to see what God will do to him after his committed murder. In my opinion, the duke in "My Last Duchess" is more obsessive about power than his wife. Why? We can see that the reason the Duke hates about the Duchess is her courtesy towards the lower rank. He is simply offended by the fact that his wife treats him equally with the others. That's why I thought that the Duke is more obsessive with his power over the lower rank than it actually is with his wife.
The next poem is "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways". Elizabeth Barrett Browning is the only female poet among five others. This is the only poem that was written from a woman's point of view. This is a sonnet. It is made up of exactly fourteen lines and its rhymes are arranged. Its rhyme scheme is a, b, b, c... This poet is the wife of Robert Browning. Their love story has been known during their lifetime especially at the time when they both eloped and married. This poem is a great example of ...
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The next poem is "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways". Elizabeth Barrett Browning is the only female poet among five others. This is the only poem that was written from a woman's point of view. This is a sonnet. It is made up of exactly fourteen lines and its rhymes are arranged. Its rhyme scheme is a, b, b, c... This poet is the wife of Robert Browning. Their love story has been known during their lifetime especially at the time when they both eloped and married. This poem is a great example of how Elizabeth expressed her love for Robert through writing. The poem is written orderly. She did a step-by-step way of listing everything she loved about Robert Browning. The "depth", "breadth" and "height" is what she adored about Robert's physique. Every line in the poem tells us that Elizabeth has difficulty on putting a barrier or measurement of her love for Robert. It is defined as an infinite love, "for the ends of Being and ideal Grace". She expresses her love in this poem even though we are given the idea that there is some distance between them. "My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight". Her love knows no limits and it is something of great purpose, "I love thee freely, as men strive for Right". Elizabeth also makes it clear to readers that Robert should not have any doubts about Elizabeth's love for him, "I love thee purely". The repetition of "I love thee" is by a woman asking assurance if the man feels the same for her. These lines also stress her love for Robert. She believes that true love has no restraints and no boundaries, "I shall but love thee better after death". Through this poem, Elizabeth tells the readers of her love for Robert. She uses imagery to express the vastness or enormity of her love, life and death, sun and candlelight which may mean day and night. The style on which she wrote this poem is different form the way other poets wrote about it. This is the only poem based on romantic love unlike the rest. Among the other poems, this one gives us an idea of how women in Pre-19th century felt about the man they loved.
The next poem is "La Belle Dame sans Merci". John Keats wrote this poem and the title means "The Beautiful Lady without Pity" which is translated from Latin. It is a narrative ballad. Other ballads usually talk about the same topics telling the story of a doomed love affair between a mortal and an immortal. These ballads usually refer to mermaids. It was believed that these mermaids lure sailors by singing beautiful songs. If the sailor has fallen in love with the mermaids, they would leave them and so the men would experience unfulfilled love. This poem is about the power of women over great men. It talks about unrequited love. Stanzas 1-3 show that an unknown passenger is talking to a "wretched knight". The knight's condition was described as "alone and palely loitering". The passerby notices his physical condition so quick that the knight must really look depressed. "The sedge is wither'd...no birds sing", is such a barren spot for a knight who is supposedly to be great and powerful. John Keats gives the knight a lonelier existence by putting him in a place like that. It only shows that even nature is depressed along with the knight. Stanza three elaborates more on the knight's physical appearance which is associated with dying and nature by using "lily on thy brow", "anguish moist and fever dew", "fading rose" metamorphically. The knight begins to narrate the sequence of events at stanza four. He briefly gives a description of a "faery's child". She was described as a very beautiful woman with "long hair, light foot and wild eyes". Basically, the knight didn't go beyond the woman's outer beauty. He was quickly caught by her beauty. John Keats gave indications that the woman is a fantasy creature. The mermaid focused all her attentions towards the knight and made him believe that she is indeed in love with him by making "sweet moans". The knight didn't take the hint that he and the mermaid may be incompatible with each other because she spoke in a "language strange". As they "slumber on the moss", the knight wakes up and finds the mermaid gone forever. The knight is devastated by his love's loss. He tells about his dream on stanza ten. "I saw pale kings, and princes too...with horrid warning gaped wide". This dream shows the number of great men ruined by the mermaid. It shows woman dominance and the ways they used their beauty and charm to seduce men. Her power surpasses death for even though the men are already "death-pale", they are still tortured by the memory of this mermaid. The men were not fulfilled by their brief affair with the lady. They are still craving for the woman's love and kisses with their "starv'd lips". To love the mermaid will cause the great men destruction and death if she entrances them. That is exactly what happened to the knight so he ended up on the "cold hill side", a world devoid of happiness or beauty. The poem is a very unique one. It talks about true love as did on Elizabeth's poem. But unlike hers, John Keats made a different version of love which could be destructive. He contrasted Elizabeth's views about true love. Could it be that this was based on real experience?
The next poem is William King's "The Beggar Woman". Its rhyme scheme is a, a, b, b... The first line of the poem introduces as to a certain "gentleman" but his actions later will cause the readers to know that the gentleman was used to denote a high social status and not because of his manners. We will know that the woman acknowledged on the poem is a prostitute, "a beggar by her trade" and "mistress". The main idea of this poem is how the man wants the woman for sex, otherwise known as physical love. From line four, the gentleman already has "other game in view" and also meaning that the beggar woman is considered also as a kind of "sport" for him. He "ambles on before" may serve as a metaphor suggesting that he is more dominant than the beggar woman and he has a high level of confidence, arrogance and superiority. He also speaks in a refined politely manner which not only shows he is educated but it also covers up his intentions for the beggar woman. The beggar woman however belongs to a lower class because of the simple language she speaks, "'ten't amiss". There is an air of mystery around the beggar woman. Whenever the man asks her to "expose", she keeps on giving excuses to the gentleman, "sitting...'s not usual in my trade". They both went to an "unfrequented place". I think that this was meant to be a place where no one can find out about them. But the gentleman was so desperate for sex that he wants the child lain. But the beggar woman was quick to disagree saying that they will be "discovered by the hideous noise" it would make. The gentleman out of desperation volunteers to be the one to hold the baby. "Were the child tied to me... think 'twould do?" This is a funny part in the poem because the man did not think of the consequences of doing so. The beggar woman agrees and puts the baby on the gentleman's back "with speed incredible". The baby was "like a cross" and a "burthen". The final outcome is that the gentleman was left with the baby and is now under his care and the beggar woman has gone. In comparison to "La Belle Dame sans Merci", both women are more dominant than the men. They know what they are doing and the men haven't got any clues as to what their purpose is. The men in these poems are over-confident that they will have their own way. Both women teaches the man different lessons. The beggar woman may give the gentleman the hint to remain faithful to his wife and refrain from seeking pleasure with other women. La Belle tells the knight that he should go beyond the outside beauty before committing anything. Both poems show women having power over great men and are the one to cause their downfall. These poems also show their incompatibility with each other. In this poem, it is because the woman is of lower class than the gentleman while in "La Belle Dame sans Merci", it is hopeless to have a relationship between an immortal and mortal.
Andrew Marvell's poem "To His Coy Mistress" is a fine example of carpe diem. This is a Latin phrase meaning "seize the day" or "enjoy the moment". From the very first line, Andrew Marvell already stresses the man's objective towards the coy mistress. "Had we but world enough, and time...were no crime", is made by the man to woo the lady. Even though he uses gentle words, the reader gets the idea of what he wants. He wants to have sex with the woman but she is too "coy" or unwilling to do so. He continues on talking about how time quickly flows by comparing it to "Indian Ganges' side". He also uses this as a geographical metaphor including "Humber". Line eight states, "Love you ten years before the flood"; this is a reference from the Bible about Noah's ark. "Till the conversion of the Jews", refers to the religious ways of the Jews. These lines tell the mistress that the man loved her for as long as that and adds to the charm to persuade the mistress to have sex with him. "My vegetable love should grow" and "vaster than empires" are examples of personification. Andrew Marvell makes the readers know that the man's love for the woman is growing like a vegetable. Although it may be slow, it is deep, complex and vast. He also makes the mistress know that he is endlessly fascinated by her. He uses a lot of hyperboles and still goes on praising every part of her body. "A hundred years should go to praise...but thirty thousand to the rest." This is the first part of the poem. The lines are completely dedicated to flutter her and a lot of hyperboles were used to stress the point. The second part however is much harsher than the first part. He begins to give graphic references to death. "Time's winged chariot hurrying near". He tells her that she will no longer be beautiful if she dies, her grave being the "marble vault". In other words, both their times are ending or 'time waits for no man'. He continues to scare her by using a metaphor. "Then worms shall try that long-preserved virginity". The man wants the mistress to understand that it will never be a good idea if she will die a virgin. He is now desperate to get her in bed. If she dies a virgin, the man's "lust" will just turn to ashes. The last part of the poem uses a more passionate language and basically gives the mistress a more appealing idea if the man makes love to the mistress. The whole of the third part is describing how the man feels about making love to the mistress. Andrew uses similes "like morning dew" to compare the "youthful hue" of his mistress and "like amorous birds of prey" to describe the way in which they should do the act of making love. Basically, this part has more persuasion than the other parts. It is similar to "The Beggar Woman" because it represents physical love. However, we will never know if the woman agrees with the man. We are left to decide for ourselves.
