Porphyria's Lover Flashcards
What is “Porphyria’s Lover” about?
It is a dramatic monologue about a man who is unable to cope with his emotions and so is led to strangling his lover. Overnight, he remains with his dead lover and seems to be more in love with her in her deceased state.
What is the form of the poem?
-dramatic monolgue
-meter is iambic tetrameter which is unstressed- stressed syllable. loses this throughout the poem just as he loses his sense of control
-“porphyria” breaks from iambic tetrameter showing he does not have control over her
What is the structure of the poem?
stream of consciousness showing that the speaker finds his actions to be natural and justified. he made a conscious choice to murder porphyria.
What is the context of the poem?
-published in 1836
-first called “Porphyria” then changed to “Porphyria’s Lover” 30 years later
-published alongside Johannes Agricola in meditation about religious maniac who killed people but believed he would go to Heaven
What does the title suggest?
-commitment in bride vs lover (Farmer’s Bride comparison)
-she is possessive of him which is contrasted with the poem perhaps trying to take away from the violent act and put blame on porphyria as he is a nameless and supposedly innocent figure
Who wrote the poem?
Robert Browning
Finish the quote: “the sullen…” LINE 2
“the sullen wind was soon awake”
Analyse the quote: “the sullen wind was soon awake”
-pathetic fallacy that establishes a melancholy mood, reflecting the sombre atmosphere of death
-sullen= sulky, depressed personifiying the wind
-the wind awakening could be foreshadowing the restless spirit of porphyria’s lover which leads him to strangle her
-society against their relationship?
Finish the quote: “She shut the cold…” LINE 7
“She shut the cold out and the storm”
Analyse the quote: “She shut the cold out and the storm”
-Porphyria brings joy and light into the speaker’s life and represents good as she blocks out the chaos from outside
-the speaker then perhaps represents evil and this dichotomy is what leads to her death and the failure of their relationship
Analyse the quote: “When glided in Porphyria” LINE 6
-poetic inversion showing the change she brings in his life
-ethereal and other worldly presence as she ‘glides’
Finish the quote: “smooth white…” LINE 17
“smooth white shoulder bare”
Analyse the quote: “smooth white shoulder bare”
-smooth and white may have connotations to angels and conveys porphyria to be pure, vulnerable and innocent which contrasts with the speaker’s resort to violence
-porphyria is confidently exposing herself which could emphasise her vulnerability against the speaker but also contradicts the chaste nature that Victorian society expected from a woman
-the poem may be representative of the patriarchy and how under male domination women are forced to be submissive or suffer the consequences for boldness
Finish the quote: “too weak for ____________, to set its ____________ free LINE 22-23
“too weak for all her heart’s endeavour, to set its struggling passion free”
Analyse the quote: “too weak for all her heart’s endeavour, to set its struggling passion free”
-speaker believes that her claim to love is weak and that she in not strong enough to withstand what will come against her
- union between himself and Porphyria would not be accepted by society as he says her passion is not enough to break free “from pride and vainer ties”
- ‘struggling’ their love is not easy
-the pathetic fallacy of the storm and wind may be representitve of society being against their relationship
