Porphyria’s Lover Flashcards
Context for the poem?
Written by Robert Browning a poet from the Victorian Era whose poems included themes of sex, violence and passion
Wrote this way to contest for readers with the magazines of the times which had similar themes
How is love presented in the poem?
Violent, lustful, unrequited love
What are some themes in the poem?
Love, violence, sexual abuse, sin, mental instability
“The rain set in early”
“sullen wind…tore the elm-tops”
Pathetic fallacy - first line of poem which sets the mood of gloominess and death
“When glided in Porphyria”
Verb - links to elegance and a mystical nature
Could represent a ghost which foreshadows her death
Could be a vision, link to disease porphyria
“Yellow hair”
Repetition - her hair isn’t blonde, objectifying her, male gaze
“From pride, and vainer ties dissever”
Adjective vainer - can’t say she loves him maybe due to the class difference between them
Could mean she doesn’t love him at all and she is only using him
Could be because it is a dramatic monologue, that that is his jealous interpretation of her words
“Passion sometimes would prevail”
Plosive alliteration - implies something is going to happen, builds tension
“Three times her little throat around”
Number symbolism - three is meant to be good and harmonious but he is killing her so it is a juxtaposition
“As a shut bud”
“I warily opened her lids”
Extended simile - shows how Porphyria is trapped
Adverb - gentle and apprehensive, contrast to violence before
“Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss”
Plosive alliteration - links to the devil and hell suggesting a punishment. Also could show how his love is passionate yet destructive and how he is mentally unstable
“The smiling rosy little head”
Adjectives - make her seem almost non human, thinks he has done her a favour and she still has a warmth even after death
“And yet God has not said a word!”
Exclamative statement - thinks he’s done nothing wrong, could reflect mental illness
Shift to present tense, unnerving how he is still with her body
Form of the poem
Dramatic monologue/stream of consciousness - unreliable narrator
ABABB rhyme scheme - deranged
Structure of the poem
Switch of power (dominant + passive) between Porphyria and the speaker
Shift in tense at the end to show he is still with her after death
