Discuss Robert Browning's Studies of Male
Discuss Robert Browning's Studies of Male Jealousy in the Dramatic Monologues 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'
In this essay, I am going to discuss male jealousy in the dramatic monologues, 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. A Victorian poet, Robert Browning, wrote these two poems. They both are short poems which both are about a man conveying his love to a woman. These poems are dramatic monologues because there is only one speaker talking to someone or himself. During these dramatic monologues, the narrator explains his personal feelings, which he is maybe not realising that he is doing this.
'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' both have examples of male jealousy - maybe more obvious in 'Porphyria's Lover' than 'My Last Duchess'. The speakers are both male and look to be deeply in love with a woman but have a strange way of illustrating it. The narrator in both 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' both are jealous of their lovers.
In 'Porphyria's Lover' the poem has a five-line structure. It is different because the pattern is not something I have read before. Maybe Browning has purposely done this structure. A reason for this is that the man wants to be in charge of the woman, hence the inflexibility.
The poem begins with:
The rain set in early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
.........
The poem starts with a description of the weather, which is a pathetic fallacy for the feelings of the narrator. The opening four lines set the scene in a very secluded and isolated setting. The rain that sets in early indicates that something is going to happen because there is a change in atmosphere. The wind is described as being aggravated by tearing down the elm-tops not for a particular reason but for spite and it also disturbed the tranquillity of the lake. The bad weather also reflects the narrator's mood. When Porphyria enters, she shuts out the wind and cold. This can also mean that she is trying to shut out the wind and the cold out of her life but fails as the poem progresses. When the door is shut, the narrator feels better. These four lines are a very good opening to what I think is an excellently portrayed poem of what a psychopath is thinking whilst committing a crime.
The narrator in 'Porphyria's Lover' can be described as insane with jealousy. The passage states:
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good .........
This quotation has the repetition of the word 'mine', which implies that he regarded Porphyria as a possession and controlled her like a toy. The second line of my quotation means that he knew that she only loved him and the love for him was pure and he wanted it to stay this way, and the only way to do this was to murder her knowing that she loved him only and no one else. The word pure means she only loved him and ...
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That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good .........
This quotation has the repetition of the word 'mine', which implies that he regarded Porphyria as a possession and controlled her like a toy. The second line of my quotation means that he knew that she only loved him and the love for him was pure and he wanted it to stay this way, and the only way to do this was to murder her knowing that she loved him only and no one else. The word pure means she only loved him and no one else.
There also is an implied listener in this poem, as we do not know if he is thinking, or maybe writing an account in his diary. It is also becoming evident that the narrator has a huge ego and classifies himself as God.
Porphyria worshipped me; .........
As the narrator describes her death, he uses a literary effect, which creates an impact on the reader/listener.
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. .........
The second line in the above quotation is a caesura as there is a full stop in a middle of a line. The effect this has is that the full stop is abrupt and implies the end of her life. There is also the change of word order in the first line of the quotation (syntax). Browning could have easily said 'Around her little throat three times'. However he choice of word order also creates an effect. This is that it puts the reader/listener in suspense by keeping the 'throat' at the end of the line. If it were at the start of the line, the reader/listener would easily realise what would happen.
He thinks that he is God by saying that Porphyria worshipped him and because of this, he thinks that he can murder her. Another point is that he looks to have no friends and he is surprised that she worshipped him. He cannot believe this and wants to have this feeling to live forever so he murders her as I have explained above. The monologue is told in facts. He acts as though murdering someone is an 'everyday' thing. He speaks as though he has not committed a crime. After the murder he makes himself believe that she felt no pain.
.........No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
.........
The repetitions of 'no pain felt she' shows that he is making himself believe that she felt no pain. He is assuring himself that he has done the right thing not necessarily for Porphyria but definitely for himself so that he can keep the feeling forever. This suggests that he is selfish and obviously a murderer. This is also another example of syntax. Browning wrote a sentence in different word order and then in different order. If he had kept the syntax the same in both sentences, he would not have created an impact on the reader as well. The mysterious speaker feels no shame or guilt regarding his wicked and selfish conduct. He boasts that even God did not speak a word against him. Robert Browning reveals rare insights and an unusual interpretation concerning the concept of love. His jealousy and obsession for Porphyria, compels him to act upon his depraved thoughts that will secure her total love and devotion.
We are unaware of the reason of Porphyria's death but near to the start of the poem, it states:
And laid her soiled gloves by, .........
The word 'soiled' implies dirt and suggests that not all is perfect. We are then given an indication as to what the reason was.
.........She
Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
She is described to be proud and there is a negative point that she cannot stop doing. However, the narrator is just paranoid, as I cannot understand what this bad habit is. It is all in his mind and just proves that he is a psychopath.
Browning has used a lot of literary effects and I have explained them below:
The sullen wind was soon awake
This personification on line two shows that the wind has started to blow and begin its destruction. The wind can be reflected as the narrator's mind as the wind is angry and so is the narrator. As the weather worsened outside, so did the mood of the narrator, which may have been purposely connected by Robert Browning.
At the end of line thirty-three, 'surprise' is left at the end of the line. This shows that the narrator was surprised that she loved him as he is described to live alone and not have many friends.
An effective use of an alliteration is on line forty-eight.
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:.........
The repetition of the word 'b' in this alliteration suggests the sound of 'b' has a harsh sound. When you say 'b', you have to breathe out which means that he is breathing out his love to Porphyria in the form of a kiss.
'My Last Duchess' also is an example of male jealousy. One speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, tells the story of 'My Last Duchess'. The story occurs prior to a meeting between the Count, his emissary, and other dignitaries. Duke Ferrara is speaking privately with the Count's emissary in a room located upstairs within the residence. The Duke is describing a painting of his last wife. The room is stately, well furnished, and decorated with several artistic items. The Duke spoke communicated his displeasure about her improper behaviour. She continued to smile and attract the attention of other men. Finally, Duke Ferrara stopped the smiles forever by killing the Duchess. The Duke concludes his conversation with the Count's emissary and reveals his desire to marry the Count's daughter. As the leave together to join the people downstairs, the speaker is affected by the life-like features of the painting. He shows little emotion or guilt about his immoral conduct. Leaving the room, the duke comments on another artistic sculpture. Sometimes the Duke does not realise what he is saying. His language is colloquial. For example,
A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad,
.........
The 'how shall I say' part shows that he is thinking about what he is saying and therefore consequently is colloquial.
The Duke also wanted to control her last wife but realised that this was not possible. She did not seem to be interested in him. Due to the fact that she smiled at other men, this made the Duke jealous.
.........She thanked men, - good! But thanked
Somehow - I know not how - as if I ranked
My gift of a nine-hundered-years-old name
With anybody's gift.
This means that he was jealous and she did not love him more than other men. This is supported by the third line in my quotation, which states that she put all her gifts from the Duke with the rest of the gifts from other men - meaning that she did not give the Duke more love and affection. On line thirty-one, she blushes at lots of men but the Duke only wanted her to blush at him and no-one else - another sign of control.
The Duke tries to make her last wife love him.
.........I gave all commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive
He wanted to have control on his wife but could not. He prefers her now as a picture in which she smiles all day in which the Duke can fantasise that they were always happy and lived in an utopia.
He has made a painting of his last wife in the best possible way, erasing all her bad habits and making her the best wife he could ever have. By looking at her picture, you cannot find out that she did not love the Duke. This is taken for granted as she married him. He makes people look at her painting as they walk past as though he is proud of her. She makes the servant look twice at her last wife and says the habits that displeased him and then says something that implies that he murdered her.
On line fifty-five it states:
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Neptune is taming her sea-horse and calming it down. Similarly, this could be said for the Duke and his last wife - the Duke is Neptune and the last duchess is the sea horse.
On line forty-six, it states:
.........I gave all commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive
In the second line of my quotation, the caesura is used very well, as she is smiling at men, and then the full stop implies all her smiles have ended and she must obey her husband.
The two romantic relationships described in 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover' is comparable in certain areas, however each poem reveals contrasting ideas about the concept of love. Both poems are dramatic monologues spoken by a particular individual. Both poems reveal the complex nature of the love shared between a man and a woman. The aspects of jealousy, vanity, pride, obsessive desire, beauty, and flirtatious behaviour are contained in both poems. The desire to completely possess another person's love and affection are related through a dramatic monologue. Robert Browning compares the love Duke Ferrara has for his Duchess with the obsession of Porphyria's lover. The Duke has a jealous, stubborn, and irrational love for his Duchess. Likewise, Porphyria's is the recipient of a sinister, uncontrolled, and destructive love. Her mysterious admirer is overwhelmed by Porphyria's supreme beauty and her sensual mannerisms. Porphyria and the Duchess experience similar outcomes that result in the death of both women.
Below, I have listed all my sources, which I have used for my essay:
* www.cswnet.com
* www.collegetermpapers.com
* www.teachit.co.uk
* www.universal.teacher.org.uk
By Sherad Dewedi 5APJ
Gilberto Garcia 20/12/04 5APJ
Bradford Grammar School - 1 - Centre Number: 37137
