Pophyria’s status does seem to be that of a higher status than her lover’s. ‘ Made her smooth white shoulder bare’ agrees with the point of her high class. Her ‘smooth white’ skin manifests that she is of a pale skin tone, of which in the 19th century was perceived to be a trait of the higher social classes such as aristocracy. Her entrance as she ‘glided’ in, depicts a proud, and elegant figure; the movements are of one that is confident of both her and the class to which she belongs.
Porphyria’s power in the relationship is lastly shown, as it is made clear in the poem, that it is her ‘ties’ to marriage that is restricting their relationship from moving on further into commitment through marriage. We learn that Porphyria ‘ from pride and vainer ties dissever’ is unwilling to leave her husband and overcome societies strictures of the time. It also divulges the point that if she were to marry her secret lover, then she would evitably move down in the social hierarchy, she is unwilling to do this so it seems. This overtly elucidates her higher-class status over her lover.
Porphyria’s lover is the narrator in this dramatic monologue. The reader learns that his emotions for Porphyria are very strong almost obsessive, which gives a romantic mood to the poem. This is set in divergence against the duke in ‘ My Last Duchess’; he is a formal, cold- hearted man, who despised his late wife, and her lust for life.
The narrator waited lonely for her arrival, his feelings for her are expressed evidently with ‘ I listen’d with heart fit to break’, this spectacle shows that he is longing for her visit. However, there is a sense that Porphyria’s lover is not happy with their current situation, he wants to commit further to her, and is perhaps feeling jealous that she is not entirely his. He feels that the love of her is all in ‘vain’, moreover, that she will never be entirely his because of ‘vainer ties’ or her ongoing marriage. This indication of the feeling that there are problems in their relationship is seized from ‘ no voice replied’, revealing his ignoring of her call to him.
The lover uses many personal pronouns in the second stanza, such as ‘me’ and ‘mine’. The two narrators in the poems are similar in their attitudes towards the women, in which they both show possessivness over them.
From ‘ Happy and proud; at last I knew/ Porphyria worshipp’d me’ is the instant at which the power in the poem transfers from the female to the male. ‘ Worshipp’d’ and ‘mine, mine’ signifies how Porphryia’s lover is similar to the Duke as he wants to be worshipped and encounter respect shown to him above all else, we learn this by the Duke when he says ‘…My gift of a nine hundred years old name/ with anybody’s gift.’. The reader acknowledges that the Duke dislikes the fact that his late wife does not realise or respect the social power of his name. The similarities also stretch to the narrators not wanting to share their woman with anyone, through jealousy, resulting in murder.
Male dominance is demonstrated in ‘debated what to do’ and ‘ I found/ A thing to do’. These phrases are very casual and frivolous they signal the violent change in the poem. In Porphyria’s lover saying he ‘debated what to do’, tells the reader that he is the one making all the decisive decisions now, this parallels treatment of the Duchess by the duke as he states ‘ I gave commands’.
The lover is suddenly overwhelmed with possessiveness for Porphyria; he realises that she will never be his. His love seems to intense and too strong for his control, the lover wants the moment to last forever, this is highlighted with ‘ And give herself to me forever’, this is comparable to the duke as it is he that wants his wife all to oneself.
The strangulation of ‘ her little throat’ then begins; it is an act of heart over matter. The murder is vividly shown to the reader and is a contrast to My Last Duchess. The reader only learns with a chilling insight as the monologue graduates, that the Duke did in fact cause the early demise of his wife, although the murder itself is not put on display to the reader.
The narrator in the poem expresses the speech in natural language, showing the lover’s spontaneous thoughts, and does not display the colloquialisms of some of the later Browning pieces. The cadence of the speech mimics not speech, but takes on the form of a highly patterned verse, rhyming ABABB. The asymmetry of the pattern suggests the madness that was tightly concealed within the lover. The rhyme scheme also makes more shocking the scene of murder. The narrator uses simple language, which is almost over- calmed, envisaging no sign to the upcoming murder, giving a more disturbing feel to the poem.
Enjambment and run- on lines express a passive and relaxed mood, however the harsh sounding words of ‘ and strangled her’, holds the poem and brings about the reality of the horrific murder. The lover seems almost seducing and teasing as he says ‘ Three times her little throat’; this divulges the fact that perhaps Porphyria’s lover does not realise fully the severity of his actions.
‘ I warily opened her lids’ divulges a moment of tension for the reader, and expresses that the lover was scared at the thought she may have suffered much pain, furthermore we see his strong feelings for her. In My Last Duchess, the reader sees no hint that the Duke is wary of any suffering his wife may have endured, and seems callous and uncaring.
The lover becomes defensive as he states, ‘…No pain felt she/ I am quite sure she felt no pain’, it is as if he is trying to almost justify his actions, this is assured with ‘ and all night long we have not stirred, / And yet God has not said a word’. This is a clear attempt by Porphyria’s lover to warrant any unjust blame away from him, as God has not moved to punish him. Porphyria’s lover commits a crime of passion that is not premeditated, an attempt to reach an eternal love with Porphyria. This distinctively contradicts the crime of murder in My Last Duchess. The Duke is cold and calculated with the statement ‘ Then all smiles stopped together.’ It exposes the action of murder of the late wife, in order to remove the source of his jealousy and unhappiness, as she did not value his nobility enough. This murder is different to Porphyria’s, as it is clearly not a crime of passion and also the murder was not carried out by the lover, but by a second person. The reader is shown this through ‘ I gave commands’, elucidating the factor that a person was told to murder the Duchess. It was a premeditated act.
Her ‘yellow hair’ is ironic from the beginning, as it is her hair that is the weapon of her death.
Both narrators of the poems use colour in illustrating the scene, making more vivid the scenes to the reader, with the ‘blue eyes’ and ‘ rosy’. It brings the scene to life. A comparable is seen where both the males talk of their women blushing. The mention of a ‘ white mule’ shows that the duchess was pure and innocent, and was perhaps the only freedom she had.
The two dramatic monologues are set in to two stanzas, in addition, both show the speakers talking with natural language. A regular form is used also in My Last Duchess. The form comprises rhyming pentameter lines. These lines do not employ full stops, but use enjambment, conveying a courteous and formal character on the outside projection of the Duke. The rhymes do not create a sense of closure, but remain as a subtle driving force behind the Dukes revelations.
The monologue begins with the high-class speaker, the Duke, showing a suitor around the picturesque, large Italian palace in a business- like manner. The settings of ‘My Last Duchess’ and Porphyria’s Lover’ are in great contrast, as the Duke is portrayed to be a powerful and rich man, thus having a residence of luxury over the humble ‘cottage warm’.
Even though an audience is suggested in the monologue, one never appears actually in the poem. This is different to Porphyria’s Lover, as the audience is Porphyria herself, whom evidently appears to the reader.
The suitor has come to negotiate the Duke’s new marriage. As he shows the suitor around the palace, the Duke stops before a picture of the late Duchess, and begins to reminiscing about the portrait sessions and then about the Duchess herself. The Duke is very derogative of his wife, as he complements Fra Pandolf’s ‘piece of wonder’, conveying to the reader that his thinking of the artists talent made the picture look as beautiful as it does, and not his wife’s looks. The speaker does also conduct a diatribe on her disgraceful behaviour. He claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his gift of a ‘nine hundred years old name’.
‘thanked men-good’ is promiscuous and portrays to the reader the kindness of the Duchess, as she treats the servants almost as equals. This anguishes the Duke. Furthermore, his calculating mind views her politeness to be flirtations. He sees sin lurking in every corner, moreover it is expressed that he is particularly suspicious of the ‘officious fool’.
The narrator sees wives as status symbols and marriage as a business transaction. The two dramatic monologues differ as the relationship conducted between the Duke and the Duchess, is manifested to be cold and unaffectionate, whereas Porphyria and her lover hold an emotional, and caring partnership.
The monologue also disclosed that the Duke does not understand or know fully his late wife’s mind. The reader sees this factor from the use of fractured syntax along with pauses in language, which is highlighted with,‘ she had/ a heart… how shall I say?…’, the Duke is struggling to describe the Duchess to the suitor and finds it hard to articulate his feelings. This point does not parallel with Porphyria’s lover, as he exhibits an understanding of how she is trapped through ‘vainer ties’ and ‘pride’.
The Duke is cold, egotistical, proud and possessive. The possessiveness is shown even after death as he states ‘ [ …none puts by/ The curtain I have drawn for you, but I]’, this reveals the Duke was still conscious of hiding the beauty of his wife away from any onlookers. He demonstrates complete control over the portrait, as it is only he who draws the curtain aside. It exposes the similarity of possessiveness between the two speakers. In ‘Porphyria’s lover’, the lover does indeed make known his possessive emotions for Porphyria, as she always returns after their meetings to her husband which he dislikes the notion of, but more importantly the lover wants her to ‘give herself’ to him forever, and be his only.
The Duke’s self-centerdness and his proud character is divulged with ‘ and I chuse/ Never to stoop’, it exposes that he would rather not remedy the situation through peaceful settlement, but solve the problem with violence. The symbol of ‘Neptune… Taming a sea-horse’, elucidates and reminds the reader of the Duke taming and taking control over the Duchess’s displeasing behaviour that ‘disgusts’ him so.
As the dramatic monologue develops, dramatic irony of the narrator is revealed. He believes he is showing off his attractive qualities and exhibiting himself as a victim, however, to the reader he demonstrates vain and evil characteristics. The Duke shows also duality, conveying politeness to the guest, although at the same time reveals a more true, cold character through parenthesis.
Harsh language such as ‘durst’ and ‘disgust’ takes on a cold, bitter and evil tone, which differs to the tone of Porphyria’s Lover, which holds a more passionate and calm tone.
The mood and atmosphere of the two Dramatic Monologues also contrast. The mood of My Last Duchess is sinister and detached because of the cold characteristics and language used by the Duke. Whilst the mood of the other monologue is intensive, turbulent and passionate.
Robert Browning forces the reader to become involved in the two Dramatic Monologues, in order to understand the protagonist’s seeming torment that they suffered from the women in their lives, with both problems relating to their relationships. Browning manages to provoke some moral or emotional reaction from the reader, as the women are victims of a male desire to have control over their actions.
Although the reader is horrified at the murders of both the dramatic monologues, we are more tolerant over Porphyria’s lover. This murder was spontaneous, and was not a deliberate, calculated murder, but a crime of passion, as he did in fact love the woman, differentiating from the Duke who seems to have hated his wife. Neither show remorse for their actions, with the Duke the reader can only assume that he does not care, where as the lover believes Porphyria has her ‘ utmost will’, and is now happy. From My Last Duchess we do not encounter the murder and so the reader can only imagine the degree of violence and evilness that the Duke had his accomplice inflict on the Duchess, contributing to a harrowing story through the work of dramatic monologues.
