How does Browning present the idea of love in 'The Laboratory' and 'My Last Duchess'?
How does Browning present the idea of love in 'The Laboratory' and 'My Last Duchess'? Robert Browning was born into a wealthy family in 1812 in the suburbs of London. His education was a mixture of private instruction and informal schooling. Browning's father had a library of thousands of books, this helped Browning develop an immense literary knowledge. As a boy he was intelligent and he cultivated a taste for books and learned many languages. Browning had a cultured and intellectual outlook on life, that is reflected in the dramatic monologues we studied. Browning wrote two of his most famous poems, 'The Laboratory' and 'My Last Duchess' at the start of the Victorian era, a time when Britain was experiencing immense change. The contrast between the rich and the poor was remarkable. A large percentage of the society was poverty stricken. Not everything was negative though, the industrialisation of Britain was a very exciting time; art, technology and science were major areas of interest for the Victorians. As familiarity of these topics developed, the topics excited, gained curiosity, became fashions and energised the country. Browning's poems are infused with the important subjects of the time, 'The Laboratory' features the idea of medicine and chemistry and 'My Last Duchess' art. They also include of timeless themes such as love, hatred and jealousy which are always
Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning - an Analysis and exploration of the poem and the issues it raises.
Ryan Mullally 10A - Unit 3 English Coursework - Wilnecote High School - April 2002 Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning - an Analysis and exploration of the poem and the issues it raises Overview of the poem Porphyria's Lover, which first appeared in 1836, is one of the earliest and most shocking of Browning's dramatic monologues. The speaker lives in a cottage in the countryside. His lover, a budding young woman named Porphyria, comes in out of a storm and proceeds to make a fire and bring cheer to the cottage. She embraces the speaker, offering him her bare shoulder. He tells us that he does not speak to her. Instead, he says, she begins to tell him how she has momentarily overcome societal strictures to be with him. He realises that she 'worshipped' him at this instant. Realising that she will eventually give in to society's pressures, and wanting to preserve the moment, he wraps her hair around her neck and strangles her, apparently she 'felt no pain', the speaker is 'quite sure' of this. He then almost plays with her corpse, opening the eyes and propping the body up against his side. He sits with her body this way the entire night, the speaker remarking that God has not yet moved to punish him. We see that this poem takes place in a cold, dark cottage during a violent storm. We know also that Porphyria comes to see her lover and tries to make his room more
Comparing the way two different authors portray love and saying which one was the most effective and why.
Comparing the way two different authors portray love and saying which one was the most effective and why. In this essay I will be talking about two different ways in which authors portray love. In my conclusion I will be talking about which one I found the most effective and why. The three poems I will be looking at are- "My last Duchess" By Robert Browning, "Porphyria's Lover" By Robert Browning and "Ballad" which is written by an anonymous person. There is a difference between love and attraction, love and sexual desire, love and infatuation, love and friendship, between a good relationship and one that is only pleasurable. Fundamentally, love is a strong positive emotion of regard and affection. All relationships involve three key elements, emotion, how we feel about each other, ethics, how good or bad we are for each other and joys, how much we satisfy and dissatisfy each other. "My last Duchess" by Robert Browning is a poem that is seen from two perspectives, male and female. The duke sees the possession of art as love. We know this because lines 1-3 illustrate that- "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive. I call that a piece of wonder." This quote also tells its readers that the painting of the duchess looks as if she were alive and that the painting itself is a piece of wonder, therefore it is a possession to him. The Duke
'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 four poems I have chosen are Hitcher, Education for Leisure, The man he killed and my last Duchess
A Comparison of four poems which create a sense of Menace and unease The four poems I have chosen are Hitcher, Education for Leisure, The man he killed and my last Duchess I have chosen 'Hitcher' as it gradually builds up tension and unease throughout the poem, the poem is quite personal as it is relating to a man and his everyday life. I chose this also because the poem is written as if it was a story. Hitcher is the story of a man who is under a lot of pressure from work and feels the need to rebel. He hires a car and picks up a hitchhiker. The driver hits the hitchhiker with a krooklok in the face, and then throws him out onto the road. 'Education for leisure' is a chilling poem; I chose this because it had a leading storyline which leads the audience to a point of suspense where he kills someone. Education for leisure is about a person who has a passion to kill, and the endless desire to play God. The third poem I chose was 'The man he killed' which is about a man who has killed an enemy of war in battle and throughout the poem is trying to convince himself of why he did it. I chose 'The man he killed' because it describes the emotions of the killer in detail and you as the reader are able to build a relationship and at the end of the poem you feel somewhat sorry for the killer. The last poem I chose was 'My Last Duchess', this is a poem about the Italian Duke of
How do the poems "Havisham", "The Sisters" and "Porphyria's Lover" present the theme of madness?
How do the poems 'Havisham', 'The Sisters' and 'Porphyria's Lover' present the theme of madness? 'Havisham' by Carol Anne Duffy, 'The Sisters' by Alfred Lord Tennyson and 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning, are all studies of madness. Within each poem the main theme is presented in different ways such as using dramatic monologue, free verse and satire. Through examining poetic techniques and devices closely, I will identify the ways in which madness is portrayed in these poems. Carol Anne Duffy's 'Havisham', published in the late 20th century, is based on the novel 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens. In the book, the character Havisham is percieved as a mentally strong person, who would never want to show any type of weakness. However, Duffy takes a satirical approach towards Havisham's character. She twists Havisham and makes her reveal the weakness and anger in her 'heart that breaks', 'I stabbed'. Havisham is shown to be mad and obsessed with her tragic past 'not a day since then I haven't wished him dead' as her life seems to have stopped at the time she was jilted on her wedding day 'the dress yellowing'. She has never stepped outside her house since, which also stopped in time like the rest of the things in her life, 'I stabbed at a wedding cake'. Everything is in the same place as it was at twenty to nine, the time Havisham was jilted. This reveals her
Compare and contrast the presentation of the diseased mind in 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning and 'Too Bad' written by Carol Ann Duffy
Compare and contrast the presentation of the diseased mind in 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning and 'Too Bad' written by Carol Ann Duffy Within the poems 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning and 'Too Bad' by Carol Ann Duffy, are both written from a first person's prospective. This allows us to compare and contrast the presentation of the diseased minds in both poems. The subject of dramatic monologue is also present. Both poems are written two hundred years ago. 'Porphyria's Lover' was introduced in the 19th century. We can understand that around this period of time melodrama was popular. Themes of death, love and passion were highly admired. In 'Porphyria's Lover' Browning reflected society in his poem. Society was divided by social status. The 'upper class' social status is perceived via their wealth and social respect. The 'middle class' main characteristics are their professional standing in the fields, for example doctors and lawyers. The 'working class' are perceived through their laid back behaviour and the underclass who are seen as the outcasts in the whole social system. In contrast to Duffy, she reflects society today. In 'Too Bad' there is violence and gangs. There is a specific use guns. We can confirm that Duffy uses this type of weapon throughout the poem, as it is topical to what is happening in today's society. Violence and gun crimes have risen by
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
Compare and contrast the presentation of the diseased mind in 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning and 'Too Bad' written by Carol Ann Duffy
Compare and contrast the presentation of the diseased mind in 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning and 'Too Bad' written by Carol Ann Duffy Browning and Duffy both introduce their poems using the device of pathetic fallacy. Browning conveys the turbulent state of the lover, by creating a vivid picture of the weather outside the cottage. We could suggest that in both poems the weather is reflective of the lover's and the assassin's sate of mind. The weather is used to create an atmosphere and mood within the poems. This gives a more visual image. Within the poems they concern many ideas, but primarily it could be seen to present a 'diseased mind' in different forms. In 'Porphyria's Lover' we could suggest that it's a crime of passion. Whereas, 'Too Bad' conveys that the assassin has planned and knows about the killing. This is murder! In 'Too Bad' we can depict that by using the image, "rain" suggests a dark, cold, depressing mood. Browning elaborates the build up of anger in the line, "the sullen wind was soon awake" within the personification the line intensifies his sulky, sad mood. However the words, "wind was soon awake" develops a notion of fury in his mind as he waits for her. The atmosphere portrays a stronger impression of the assassin's mind and thoughts. In contrast to Duffy, within her first stanza evokes a feel of coldness, a time of "winter" suggestive of when
Compare & Contrast 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. Which Poem do you Find More Effective and Why?
Compare & Contrast 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. Which Poem do you Find More Effective and Why? Robert Browning was writing his poems at the time Queen Victoria was on the throne. He was born in 1812 and died in Venice in 1889. During his life he wrote many poems, two of which were 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. These are the poems we are going to be studying. During Browning's lifetime England was very clearly divided into class systems. If you were born into the working class that is where you would stay all your life, you would only associate with people from your class and you would work for people of the higher classes. If you were born into the higher classes you would not contemplate even talking to someone of a lower class than yourself. Also at this time women had no rights, they had no say in anything to do with politics, and they didn't even have the vote. Women were told who to marry in this time period, usually for money rather than love. This is all very ironic as the monarch at the time was a woman. The two poems we are studying - 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' - reflect the unfairness I have pointed out very effectively and for this reason some of Robert Browning's poetry was frowned upon. An example of this is in 'Porphyria's Lover'. The relationship in it is between a man of a low class and a woman of a higher class which