Compare the ways in which the poems present murderous relationships and their consequences In the two poems 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover', Robert Browning

Although both of the male characters in the poems are power obsessed, the Duke in ‘My Last Duchess’ knows how much power he holds, but the guy in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ in theory, doesn’t know how much power he really has until he kills the woman. We can tell this because before he kills her she seems to be controlling him when Browning describes as ‘she put my arm about her waist,’ and ‘stooping, make my cheek lie there’; showing that he felt like an object being act upon as if he was a dummy and couldn’t do anything for himself. However, this all changes once Porphyria’s is murdered and we see this when the guy notes how he ‘propp’d her head up as before’ showing that he is now the one in control and it appears that he has now become ‘alive’ and becomes the active whereas Porphyria’s is now the passive. The guy in this poem comes across as proud and we can demonstrate this when he tells the reader ‘Porphyria worshipp’d me,’; which is almost as if he should be looked up to like some sort of God and only sees things in his point of view. This is also demonstrated at the very end of the poem, ‘And yet God has not said a word!’ This signals that he really truly believes that he is in the right. Browning also may have used this line as a symbol to say that if there really was a God, he would have done something to the guy as a punishment, but nothing has been done.

This leads on to say that neither of the men in the poems think they’ve done anything wrong and appear to have no remorse what so ever for the crimes they have committed; and we see this all through ‘My Last Duchess’ as we imagine him as being proud of himself all through the poem. Even though he is proud of himself the reader doesn’t see him this way; and it is ironic because this poem is written in heroic couplets (AABB) but he is not heroic in any way; only in his own mind.

‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is written in octosyllabic lines, and because it’s in an ABABB rhyme form, it symbolises the unbalanced state of mind of the man and because this poem is written in first person. Therefore the reader feels more involved as it increases the dramatic effect. The verse structure in both the poems are the same, both not having any verses; and because of this there is no break from the tension Browning builds in them, especially in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ as it leads up to the murder itself. In ‘My Last Duchess’ there are pauses and punctuation used to break up parts and it seems to become more frequent towards the end of the poem. This could represent how the Duke is talking; in short and snappy sentences as if he is getting agitated and worked up by what he is saying; ‘Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all the smiles stopped together. There she stands as if alive’. This is a particularly interesting part of the poem as it gives away that the Duke had the Duchess killed and because of the amount of pauses Browning used at that part, it lets the Duke have a chance to deliver the tension and anxiety of the story he appears to be feeling across to the reader. During these parts in the poem, the reader might get the feeling that the Duke is hiding something as his speech seems so rushed.

In both poems Browning frequently uses enjambment to increase the dramatic effect and obstruct the flow of the poems. This is a good technique as it shows the unbalanced and megalomania personalities of the two male characters as it rushes on and pushes the poem forwards in a crazed way; possibly just like their minds are working. A good demonstration of this appears in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’; ‘And I untighten’d next the tress About her neck; her cheek once more Blush’d bright beneath my burning kiss,’.

Both poems are written as a dramatic monologue, and are both narrated by males both with issues with women and love and show similarities; one of which being that the only way either of them could handle their situations with their lovers was to murder them and neither of them seemed to feel any shame. They are looked to as both being troubled and megalomaniacs by the reader.  A couple of bold differences between the to male characters is that the guy in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ radiates a feel to him that he isn’t a high class, rich man like the Duke in ‘My Last Duchess’; and if anything, he is far from it. The Duke seems to be an attention seeker, especially because of his social status. This is probably what led him to kill his Duchess as he explains how she was ‘Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere’; symbolising that she attracted a lot of attention; much more than the Duke wanted her to. But in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ it’s the guys feelings towards Porphyria that become so strong and unable to control, which leads him to murder her to have her forever. We see that he is overly obsessed with Porphyria when he leads himself to think, ‘at last I knew Porphyria worshipp’d me,’ when really the reader knows that this isn’t the case, and the reader continues to see the increasingly unbalanced state of the man that Browning portrays.

In this poem there are many metaphors and it’s full with personification. An example of this is when Browning explains to us about how the ‘sullen wind was soon awake’, as we get to know that there is a storm outside. As we progress through the poem we come to understand that the storm could symbolize the storm in the guys head. Browning also uses alliteration a great deal throughout the poem, so much that this also symbolises how much of a mad and unbalanced mind this guy has. For example, we see this alliteration when he is explaining how Porphyria ‘Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss’ and he tries to make it seem as if she is enjoying his ‘burning’ kiss, so much that she starts to blush even though she’s dead. This also represents that he still thinks of her being alive and happy.