As he brought her more drinks, so she fell in love.’
The poem exploits how the lad takes advantage of the girl who in her drunken state could not control her situation and has allowed the boy to seduce her.
‘Porphyria’s lover’ is a poem dating from the 1800’s when daughters of rich families were expected to marry a suitor from a family of similar background chosen on the whole by their parents. Also sex before marriage was considered a sinful act and relationships between men and women before marriage were usually in the presence of a chaperone. However many secret relationships happened between men and women in order to prevent scandal.
‘Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
But passion sometimes would prevail.’
Yet these secret relationships would often cause conflict between couples due to planning that would have to take place to arrange the couples in clandestine meetings. Jealousies could also occur when outsiders to the relationship, were making advances to one of the lovers and be known to the person making the advances that the intended person of their affections was already in a relationship.
‘Sonnet 18’ was written in the 1500’s and is a timeless poem about young love and about a person exploring the standards of beauty of his friend.
‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’
The beauty of this friend according to the voice will never fade due to his everlasting memory of her in the poem.
As in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, and ‘Sonnet 18’ unlike ‘The Seduction’ there is a clear feeling of devotion to their lover who they deeply care for their lover compared to the sex driven relationship of ‘The Seduction’
Also the way language has changed over the years in ‘Sonnet 18’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, there is more difficultly in understanding the language used.
‘Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest.’(Sonnet 18)
Not only has the language used but also the hidden meaning within the words provided difficulty in the meaning of the words and phrases used in these poems.
‘Made my heart swell and still it grew
While I debated what to do.’
Due to the modern language of ‘The Seduction’ and freedom to express the interaction between the young couple and the consequences of the rumble it makes it easier to understand.
Each of the three poems starts with very different images of the setting to give atmosphere to the poem. As ‘The Seduction’ entails the appalling surrounding where the couple go for some special time together.
‘He led her to the quiet bricks of Birkenhead docks…freighting scum on the water.’
As this less than perfect image is also feature in the ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ but ‘The Seduction’ uses this images as an important backdrop to provide the poem, a major sense of reality caused by a teenage rumble.
‘Porphria’s Lover’ starts with similar dingy settings such as ‘The sullen wind was soon awake. Yet unlike ‘The Seduction’ the mood of the outdoors is quickly ignored when Porphyria walks in and provides an air of excitement to the rather dull lingering atmosphere of things before her presence.
‘She shut the cold out and the storm,
Blaze up and the entire cottage warm.’
A similar noticeable feeling of happiness is felt toward the characters deep love towards the newfound companion within ‘Sonnet 18’.
‘Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines.’
The different poems have different voice, which allows an insight to the intimacy of the relationship and also trust within the relationship. For instance ‘Sonnet 18’ uses the random thoughts of persons whereas ‘The Seduction’ is told all by the girl whom became pregnant through a one night stand.
