By comparing the two poems 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess', explore how Browning deals worth the theme of jealousy.

In ‘My Last Duchess’ the relationship between the Duke and the Duchess seems a lot less passionate and the reader could get the impression that the two characters falsely pretend to love each other when in fact, the truth is the opposite. This impression could be made by the reader because the Duke describes the Duchess as a pleasant person to look at but he feels as if the Duchess takes him for granted and she is not grateful for the luxuries she receives as a result of her husband’s popularity. This is shown on lines 32-34, ‘Somehow- I know not how- as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift’, where the male protagonist explains how he feels disappointed by the fact that he has made this woman the Duchess and has given her a nine-hundred-year-old name, yet she seems to rank this wonderful title with the gifts she receives from other men. Later in the poem, Browning describes how the Duke has also noticed that the Duchess smiles at other men and as he could not handle this sort of ‘embarrassment’ the Duke explains how he dealt with the situation. ‘I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together’. If the reader did not study this poem, this short line would be missed and it is correct to assume that because of the insignificance this line seems to have towards the poem, it shows how the murder did not affect the Duke at all. This is the complete opposite to the murder in Porphyria’ Lover as in Porphyria’s lover, the murder of Porphyria has a great build up and is not at all unnoticeable.

In both ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’, the female character is murdered as a result of the male protagonists’ feelings. However, is it purely the male protagonists’ feelings that contribute to the female characters being murdered or could the female characters (the victims) themselves be partly to blame?

In Porphyria’s lover, it could be suggested that Porphyria was partly to blame. This is because the readers could get the opinion that Porphyria takes her lover for granted as it is clear to the audience that Porphyria’s lover is not the only person in Porphyria’s life. This is because it is suggested in the poem that Porphyria has to sneak out to see her lover, ‘So, she was come through wind and rain’. Although Porphyria states that she wants to stay with her ‘lover’ forever, the reader could assume that the male protagonist feels he is not spending as much time with Porphyria as he would wish and therefore, he kills Porphyria because he is jealous that he has to share Porphyria with someone else and he wants her to be with him forever.

In My Last Duchess, it is evident that the Duchess is partly to blame for the Duke’s actions. The reason for this is because the way in which Browning portrays the Duchess is in such a way that makes her seem too flirty with the other men. The Duchess also does accept the gifts from other men and she smiles at all men when they passed her. This is shown on lines 43-45, ‘Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?’. This single quote explains how the Duchess would smile at all other men as she did her own husband, resulting in the Duke becoming extremely jealous that he was not special enough to her, to make her want him more than other men. Because of the way the Duchess was with other men, it is correct to assume that the Duchess caused embarrassment for the Duke and she is therefore, partly to blame for the way the Duke reacted.

When studying both of these poems simultaneously, it becomes obvious that although the two poems are entirely different, they both run along the same theme of jealousy, where in both cases, the male protagonist is jealous of the extra attention their lover attracts from other admirers. Because of this, the audience could assume that this theme may relate to the poet, Browning, in some way. This could mean that Browning may have experienced a situation in the past relating to this theme, or that Browning generally has a jealous side to his personality. This could be assumed because in general, it appears that writers and poets find it easier to write about past experiences.

Overall, I think that the jealousy that both of the male protagonists experience, is just a result of their loved one’s actions. For this reason it would be correct for the reader to assume, that both of the female characters are partly to blame for the male protagonists’ actions. This is because the female characters were not focusing on their actual partners’ feelings, and were just pleasing themselves, regardless of how the situation was affecting their partner, or loved one.

I think that Browning has dealt with the theme of jealousy in great depth and has shown the male protagonists’ feelings very thoroughly, making it possible for the readers to even sympathise with the male protagonists. Because of the way in which the theme of jealousy is portrayed, the reader can have a great understanding of the emotions the male protagonists are feeling throughout the poems. This makes the poem and the consequences of the female character’s actions, a lot easier to understand.