Browning- Porphyria's Lover

Question 1

Rhyme scheme

Answer 1

Assymetrical, reflects mismatch between account and actual events
Lack of balance

Question 2

The rain set in early to-night, / The sullen wind was soon awake

Answer 2

Pathetic fallacy personifies the setting, foreshadows violence and aggression, reflecting mood
Sibilance reflects image of rural simplicity, potentially sinister tone

Question 3

When glided in Porphyria; straight / She shut the cole out and the storm

Answer 3

Dynamic verb creates angelic, supernatural image
Porphyria represents good; she solves all of the speaker’s problems

Question 4

That moment she was mine, mine, fair, / Perfectly pure and good: I found

Answer 4

Anaphora of possessive pronoun represents ownership, diminishes Porphyria’s power
Plosive sounds create harsh tone juxtaposing positive adjectives

Question 5

And strangled her. No pain felt she;

Answer 5

Caesura representing abrupt end of life
Declarative is to the point, unsettling
Subverted syntax diminishes her power

Question 6

The smiling rosy little head

Answer 6

Dimunitive language creates girlish image, reinforces her lack of power

Question 7

And thus we sit together now

Answer 7

Temporal shift via deixis implies she has been dead since start of poem
Creates distrust between speaker and reader