What methods does Browning use to tell the poem Porphyrias Lover?

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What methods does Browning use to tell the poem Porphyria’s Lover?

Porphyria’s lover was written by Robert Browning in 1836. It is about a psychotic character that lives in a cottage when his blooming lover who is Porphyria comes to visit him in the stormy night setting the fire place and bringing cheer to the cottage. While she is expressing her love toward him he wraps her “yellow strings” around her neck and strangles her since he feels she won’t give herself to him forever. While strangling her he re-assures himself that she is feeling no pain. As he sits with her dead body, he has a thought that maybe what he did was right that’s why God hasn’t punished him yet. The common themes used in this poem are love; madness and power which tells us that Porphyria’s lover want to take control of Porphyria’s life forever. Robert browning, through out this poem, informs the reader of his madness and wanting to take control of Porphyria.

This poem by Robert Browning is an example of dramatic monologue which is written in Porphyria’s lover’s point of view, but making Porphyria the dominant and the main character. When a poem is written in dramatic monologue form, it involves the speaker who reveals his character unintentionally while describing particular event or situation in order to build up a true picture of the actual events that took place by studying their language, tone and structure. The title Porphyria’s lover tells us that this poem by Robert Browning is about obsessive love that took place between to different characters.

Browning uses many different poetic techniques to describe the lover’s madness in the poem such as pathetic fallacy which represent the dark and murky characteristics of Porphyria’s lover. The calm and peaceful manner in which the lover recalls his story, trying to justify his actions suggests his madness and unusual obsession towards Porphyria. Browning also uses enjambment which he shows the readers the lover’s madness in the poem in a fast pace as well as the use of Necrophilia which is shown right at the end of the poem to inform the readers his sexual obsession with Porphyria’s dead body as he says “blushed bright beneath my burning kiss”.

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This poem by Browning is written in one long stanza without it being separated to build the narrators anger toward Porphyria. The rhyme scheme used in this poem is of A,B,A,BB, which is continued throughout the whole of the poem. Browning has used descriptive language and detailed structure to create an imaginative poem for the reader.

The poem starts off by describing the dark, eerie atmosphere in the night. Its use of pathetic fallacy when saying “rain sets early” is starting to portray the lover’s madness in the poem. Also the use of personification when saying “The sullen wind” and ...

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