[Part 2]- Porphyria’s lover ❤️‍🔥😍 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the rhyme scheme of Porphyria’s lover?

A
  • the rhyme scheme of Porphyria’s lover is a regular ababb structure, with a asymmetrical rhyme scheme, reflecting the unbalanced state of mind [of the speaker.]
  • I= Alternatively, it might also suggest the illogicalness of the speaker, or perhaps how the unbalanced, asymmetrical rhyme scheme reflects how unbalanced the speakers’ motive is- [to kill her, or have sex with her]
  • ; by ending the ‘stanzas’ as rhyming couplets, it could reflects how he wants Porphyria to be his lover- for eternity, + love him for eternity, even in death Ashe tries to conserve that moment of them [ though he realises he can’t have her]
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2
Q

What alternative interpretations are there about the rhyme scheme of Porphyria’s lover?

A
  • I= Alternatively, it might also suggest the illogicalness of the speaker, or perhaps how the unbalanced, asymmetrical rhyme scheme reflects how unbalanced the speakers’ motive is- [to kill her, or have sex with her]
  • ; by ending the ‘stanzas’ as rhyming couplets, it could reflects how he wants Porphyria to be his lover- for eternity, + love him for eternity, even in death as he tries to conserve that moment of them [ though he realises he can’t have her]
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3
Q

What is the form of Porphyria’s lover?

A
  • written in a monologue [and in one long stanza],the speaker in Porphyria’s lover is a murderer, who spends all night with the body of their victim.
  • the poem presents their perspective, thoughts and feelings…
  • R/C= which would make a modern reader feel disturbed and unsettled; for a Victorian reader, the poem may appear to be thrilling because sensation and gothic novels were popular.
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4
Q

What else can we comment, about the form of Porphyria’s lover?

A
  • Since this poem is a monologue, we only see things from the speaker’s perspective.
  • /D= On a deeper level, perhaps it contextually reflects how women like Porphyria in Victorian times, had no voice + no control over their lives.
  • Furthemore, The speaker is unreliable Aswell…
  • R= making it doubly unsettling for the reader, as he claimed Porphyria felt no pain [which is unlikely]
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5
Q

What is the meaning and message of Porphyria’s lover?

A
  • C= Browning uses this poem to comment on the balance of power in male-female relationships.
  • This is because his message of the poem, is that women who assert their power + sexual desire will ultimately be punished.
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6
Q

‘And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • the speaker is afraid he might be punished by God; God’s silence may also be interpreted as a judgement on Porphyria, for expressing her sexual desire and letting her ‘damp hair fall’.
  • I= Alternatively, God’s silence, might reflect the speaker’s mad perspective, by suggesting God approves of his actions.
  • the exclamation mark, affects the readers’s reponse to the speaker, as he is suprised that he won’t be punsihed, as the speaker dosen’t believe God exist.
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7
Q

What context relates to the quote ‘And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • C= this relfects Browning’s agnosticism, [as he questioned God’s place in the world.]
  • C= In the Victorian Era, Robert Browning’s readee would take the Christian perspctive [as the majoritu were Christian]
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8
Q

What else can we say about the form of ‘Porphyria’s lover’

A
  • the purpose of the monologue in this poem, is to make the reader question the speaker’s motive.
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9
Q

Why is the poem written in one long stanza?

A
  • to emphasise how the speaker is beginning to lose control- what he is doing is simply irrational; he thinks it’s rational.
  • R= Furthermore, Browning does this to disturb the reader by changing the expected form to compressed amd without any stanzas- this hints at the speaker’s psychotic nature.
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10
Q

What alternative interpretations can we say about the quote ‘And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • I= does this speaker desire to be punished, or does this perhaps try to attack the Christian faith [and it’s morality] by arguing that if there’s no God, why should we fear acting on our desires?
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11
Q

What alternative interpretations can we say about the quote ‘And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • I= does this speaker desire to be punished, or does this perhaps try to attack the Christian faith [and it’s morality] by arguing that if there’s no God, why should we fear acting on our desires?
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12
Q

What can you tell me about how Porphyria is portrayed as active, in juxtaposition to the speaker?

A
  • In juxtaposition to the speaker, Porphyria is portrayed as very active which is reinforced by Browning using lots of active verbs
  • C= ; this is unusual since given the Victorian context, men were expected to be dominant whilst women were expected to be submissive and passive but Porphyria subverts these gender roles [typical of the Victorian Era]- she puts his arms around her waist, + initiates physical contact.
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13
Q

Why does he kill Porphyria?

A
  • Perhaps the speaker kills Porphyria since he wants to posses Porphyria forever and is afraid of losing he
  • I= alternatively, he might have killed Porphyria as he wants to preserve that moment in time where he realises she reciprocates his loves as she ‘worshipped’ the speaker- ‘Porphyria worshipped me’- the speaker is so shocked, he tries to preserve her love for eternity- by killing her.
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14
Q

Why does he kill Porphyria?

A
  • Moreover, the romantic poets lived by their own rules- this poem is untypical of a normal romantic poem + perhaps Browning is the lover, rejecting conformity which then reflects how the speaker is infact punishing Porphyria for conforming and not following her heart + the speaker.
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15
Q

Why does he kill Porphyria?

A
  • Interestingly, the speaker punishes Pohyria similar to society.
  • Her crime is that she contradicts and goes against the rules that society has placed by: not only loving some who is inferior/lower status than her, but by having sex outside of marriage [and expressing her sexual desire].
  • relating to Browning’s message that women who assert their sexual desire, will ultimately he punished as death could be a punishement, for expressing her sexual desire.
  • I= Alternatively, this poem could also be a commentary about how society kills love, by forbidding relationships that consist of different social classes.
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16
Q

What alternative interpretation can we comment on about the quote ‘ And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • God hasn’t said a word because God is a construct, created by society and Christianity is invented by the Church, to keep people adhering to rules/in line. Therefore, God has no power.
  • Furthermore, if this is the view the speaker takes, perhaps it suggests that a belief in God, is advantageous to society. Since if the speaker believed God was real, he may never have murdered Porphyria.
17
Q

What alternative interpretation can we comment on about the quote ‘ And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • I= Alternatively, does this unveil to the reader the psychotic nature/madness of the speaker which a Christian reader in the Victorian era would understand, since they believed that eternal punishment in hell is worse than any penalty on Earth.
  • ; If he isn’t caught, he will ultimately be punished by God, so the freedom the speaker thinks he has, is a facade/an illusion.
18
Q

What alternative interpretation can we comment on about the quote ‘ And yet God has not said a word!’

A
  • I= Alternatively, is this an assault/attack on a Victorian patriarchal society, that allows men to believe they can get away with murder, since the victim is female.
  • Moreover, is this a further commentary that Porphyria is perhaps treated this way because society views women, as only possessions + an extensions of men?
19
Q

What does Browning claim about the murder of Porphyria being illogical?

A
  • So is Browning claiming that in fact, the murder of Porphyria was illogical, is he saying this is only a small part, in which society treats men as superior to women. Relating to how his loved one [Elizabeth B-B] was much more successful, than himself, does he do this out of happiness/joy because he treats her as a women, not his own possession.
  • [This is shown in the two of them fleeing Britain and moving to a country where women are naturally treated as equals.
21
Q

What can you comment on about Browning’s monologues?

A
  • Robert Browning’s monologues are what made him a noteworthy and - distinctive poet in the Victorian era/in his day.
  • By using monologues, Browning enters into the psyche of his characters which he created.
21
Q

What can you comment on about Browning’s monologues?

A
  • Additionally, it’s interesting to note how many of his characters are malicious- he does this to make the reader question what his own ideas and personal thoughts are.
  • They are intentionally provocative, as each poem can be used as a story. ; in every story, we our made to question what the ‘lesson’/moral is- could this be why Browning often writes about characters who are malicious to make us question and explore what the ‘lesson’/moral is- link a critical theory-
22
Q

‘soiled gloves’ ‘damp hair fall’

A
  • In Victorian society, a ‘fallen women’ was a euphemism for a woman who had virginity. This signifies she is ready to give herself to the speaker sexually.

C= This is also contextually important, because it reflects Victorian double standards: women are judged negatively of they love their virginity before marriage [unlike men]