Fictional Coursework Base On MY LAST DUCHESS By Robert Browning (1812-1889) Set After Four years of their Marriage
Fictional Coursework Base On MY LAST DUCHESS By Robert Browning (1812-1889) Set After Four years of their Marriage Dear Lord, my Father in heaven, I pray for my life, bless my soul for I do not know what to do, who to trust or what to say. Here, I am locked up again in a storeroom at the end of the corridor, the darkest place among the house, for how many times I do not remember. It is filled with frowsty smell of old furniture, where rats can join my company, waiting to be rescued. It is so still that my heartbeat seems so clamour in comparison. I was warned by my servants not to have any kind of contact with any other man beside my husband. I must do what I am told, and speak when I am asked. I am living like a puppet, with my husband who has taken control over me. Who have I married? A beast, who likes having power over life? My father, my dearest, teach me how to be with this man, teach me how to forgive him seventy times seven times, for he is my husband. Every time he offers me wine, my emotions tell me the wine is poisoned. Whenever we have supper together, I wonder if the food is poisonous as if I were on the edge of my life. Being in that gloomy atmosphere in his huge, dark dinning hall makes me feel nerves, both towards my husband and this place. If I had a second choice, I would rather not know anything about his previous wife, their
Comparing and Contrasting My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover
Comparing and Contrasting 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover' Robert Browning's fame rests today with his dramatic monologues, such as "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover". Unlike soliloquies, the point of a dramatic monologue, are not the words that are directly spoken, it is what the speaker subtly gives away. Both "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover" are dramatic monologues, that are therefore centred around a single male character, telling the reader about events which have already taken place, although, once one has read the poems, one does get the sense that while the events in "My Last Duchess" took place some time ago, those in "Porphyria's Lover" have only just happened. Due to the story of the poem being told from the point of view of an individual, the account is completely biased. Written in the Victorian, there is a major difference in the perception of women in polite society than there is today. This key issue is highlighted up in "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover". While there was a huge difference between the upper and lower tiers of society, their ambitions of both were remarkably the same: to do better for one's self and one's family. However, the ability to do so was what separated the classes. While the divide between classes was a very clear one, there was another main divide in the classes themselves, that of sex. While men were
Pre 20th Century Poetry (pre 1900/1914) Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning.
GCSE English: Pre 20th Century Poetry (pre 1900/1914) Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning In the following I will be discussing how Robert Browning's Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess suit the genre of dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is basically a poem in which a single speaker who is not the poet utters the entire poem at a critical moment. The speaker usually has a listener within the poem, but we too are his/her listener, and we learn about the speaker's character from what the speaker says. In fact, the speaker may reveal unintentionally certain aspects of his/her character. Robert Browning has perfected this form. While reading "Porphyria's Lover" the main theme's that stood out most in the poem was love and possession. Also, an important part of this theme was the effects love might have on people such as fear, joy, pride, vanity and obsession as demonstrated by the speaker. Robert Browning uses elements of poetry such as the speaker, rhyme scheme, and rhythm to accentuate the theme in the poem. While reading "My Last Duchess" the main theme that stood out most was possession. The first sentence tells us that the painting is of his former wife who is now deceased. The sense of possession and control over the poem is extremely prominent in the first few lines. The person he is talking to is either not given the chance to speak or is
'How effective an evocation of menace are the dramatic monologues 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover? ' - Pre twentieth century poetry.
'How Effective an Evocation of Menace are the Dramatic Monologues 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover?' OCR Coursework Criteria Met: Pre Twentieth Century Poetry 'How sad and bad and mad it was - but then, how it was sweet!' (Robert Browning - Confessions). The very form of these poems - dramatic monologues - lends itself to an exploration of psychology. In both 'My Last Duchess' and 'Porphyria's Lover', the character of a solitary speaker gradually reveals his actions and personality to an unnamed audience. In both cases, the narrators have committed the crime of murder. A menacing premise for speech in itself, it is the tone in which they reveal their misdemeanours, the circumstances surrounding their actions and their responses to their crimes that make these poems particularly chilling. However, the similarities between the two poems are skin deep. Both trace the history of a jaded man's relationship with a woman that culminated in murder. To see the differences, first you must look at the characters of the men. The poem 'My last Duchess' is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara who lived in the 16th Century. This poem tells of a Duke telling an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke's marriage. The Duke then begins reminiscing about his previous Duchess, and his musings give way to a diatribe on her disgraceful behaviour,
the laboratory, hitcher and education for leisure presents the theme of crime
Using 'The laboratory', 'Education for Leisure' and 'hitcher', write about the theme of crime. In the poems 'The laboratory', 'Education for Leisure' and 'Hitcher' the theme of crime is presented through the use of dramatic persona's being criminals for various reasons. In the poem 'The lab', Browning uses a dramatic persona, which seems to be a potential murderer that is cruel and calculating. The evidence for this is in the line: 'While they laugh, laugh at me, at me fled to the drear... I am here' This also presents the driving power of revenge anger. The poem is written in first person to involve the reader by creating a sense that it's suppose to be spoken to them. It also shows that the poem is written in present tense creating a sense of immediacy. The repetition of the word "laugh" shows the writers enthusiasm towards the reader's perception of the speaker as emotionally distraught. The poem 'Education for leisure' also used a dramatic persona. This appears to be a murderer: 'Today I am going to kill something' This demonstrates that the poem is written in present tense to give it a sense of danger, because crime could occur at any given moment. Similarly, in the poem 'Hitcher', a dramatic persons is used to convey a criminal that appears to have taken his anger out on a hitchhiker: 'I let him have it' The use of first person involves the reader creating the
Perspectives On Women In Browning's Poetry.
Perspectives On Women In Browning's Poetry One of the recurring themes in the poetry of Robert Browning, is that of woman, and it is this that I have chosen to focus on. In The first of the poems I have chosen to look at, Porphyria's Lover, Browning initially portrays the female character as the one with the power, although this in inevitably removed from her. In the opening lines of the poem: 'The rain set early in tonight, The sullen wind was soon awake' we gain a sense of forboding as the landscape of the poem seems to reflect the state of mind of the narrator, this is further explored in the next two lines where the speaker describes the weather as spiteful. All the narrator can do at this point in the poem is listen to the weather outside and he is completely helpless. 'I listened with heart fit to break.' However when Porphyria enters the poem, she alters the circumstances by replacing cold with warmth and seems completely unaffected by the weather even though it is she who has been out in it. 'And kneeled and made the cheerless grate Blaze up and all the cottage warm' Porphyria's actions at this point in the poem seem effortless in direct contrast to the impotence of her lover. Porphyria continues to take charge at this point in the poem by removing the evidence of the wet, cold weather outside, and even when her lover is unresponsive she manipulates the
How does Robert Browning use the dramatic monologue to portray madness in his poems
How does Robert Browning use the dramatic monologue to portray madness in his poems "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover"? A dramatic monologue is when a character in a piece of writing speaks their thoughts and feelings out loud. It is used because it gives an insight into the persons mind. Browning chose this form for the two poems because it makes the poem feel more realistic and you know everything the character is feeling it also subconsciously makes the reader feel certain emotions towards particular characters. The poems reflect the Victorian mind by talking about madness. During the Victorian era madness was considered taboo- respectable people did not speak of it whether in public or in private, but thought about them all the same. Victorians had to repress sexual emotions as it was considered to be highly disrespectful to yourself. Victorians loved to read and as it was wrong for them to talk about madness, sex and violence, they would read about it instead, this was a way of liberating the repressed emotions. Victorians were allowed to read about the subjects because it is not them who is in the wrong it is the characters in the story. The same applies to writing about taboo subjects - if you made out that it is somebody else doing it then it is acceptable. Browning's readers would have been most interested in the violence and madness in these poems, as
Compare several of the poems in `Best Words’ that give different views of love
Compare several of the poems in `Best Words' that give different views of love In this comparison of poems I am going to use two poems from Robert Browning and one poem from John Donne. The two poems from Robert Browning are called Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess. The poem from John Donne is called The Flea. Robert Browning' poems are about men who want women to be perfect and stay perfect for the rest of their lives or get the death penalty. Also, the women must never let another man look at them or make them feel special. However, John Donne' poem is about a man trying to seduce a woman who feel they should just have the girlfriend, boyfriend relationship which they already have. But after the male's performance she thinks that they shouldn't see each other again. The man evolves his relationship and future marriage around The Flea, which represents a temple or church. In The Last Duchess, the Duke basically has a hobby of collecting statues and paintings of women who become his wives. If one of his wives isn't devoted enough to him, for his liking, he will have them killed and gets another wife. He gets statues or painting done of them before he gets a few musketeers to track them down and kill them. The Duke thinks that love equals possession or wealth, `Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! ' He wants more statues which means more money for him.
Compare and contrast Robert Browning's dramatic monologues 'My Last Duchess and 'Porphyria's Lover', by examining the way that the characters speaking in each poem are revealed
Compare and contrast Robert Browning's dramatic monologues 'My Last Duchess and 'Porphyria's Lover', by examining the way that the characters speaking in each poem are revealed. Browning was writing at a time in the early Victorian Era, (around six years before Victoria came to the thrown) when most poets were moving away from traditional Georgian styles of writing and more into the recognisably modern literature. This allowed Browning and other such poets to take advantage of the new revolutionary alterations in the format of literature and break off from the more common plots and typical features present in poetry prior to Brownings era. At the time of Brownings writing, the moral stance of the populous, driven by the leaders of the time was tightening and the public in general public were becoming more serious. Responding to this narrowing of views, Browning wanted to shock the audience. Browning took most of the inspiration for his poems from discoveries and ideas developed in the Renaissance period (meaning rebirth) which spanned 1450-1600 AD. This period was characterized by the influence of an optimistic forward-thinking approach to the potential of humans, which in turn encouraged knowledge of the arts, languages, and a generally broad and active education. This led to a great spirit of confidence and the urge to explore the potential that language, literature, and
Browning's philosophy of life.
Browning's philosophy of life Browning was primarily a thinker, and would not have understood Keat's prayer for "a world of sensation rather than of thought." He "chose poetry" because he felt his thought was valuable, requisite to be given to the world, and given more arrestingly in verse, for which he know he had a very unusual gift. A large portion of his poetry consists of his reflections, sometimes bare and bald, sometimes buried beneath masses of verbal debris, more often clothed in his own individual kind of rich and varied verse. Browning's religion is inextricably bound up with his philosophy of life. His philosophy is no set professional synthesis, but the immediate product of a series of recurrent insights into life. His poems are his philosophy. He is one of those great poets who have given a concrete synthesis of life, a creative and constructive line of thinking and above all a deep and profound philosophy of life grounded in optimism and faith. In estimating Browning's philosophy of life one is to bear in mind that he treated certain elements as axiomatic. He harbored no doubts about certain of his philosophical conceptions and took them for granted. He was not prepared to enter into any arguments about the veracity of certain of his philosophical thoughts and ideas. Browning takes for granted the existence and supremacy of God as the creator and the sole