porphyria’s lover Flashcards
porphyria not a human being quote
“glided in Porphyria”
implies he doesn’t view her as human.
porphyria is a rare blood disease which helps to create a recurring theme of sickness. it causes symptoms like hallucination which adds to theme of madness
this was discovered a few years before Browning wrote the poem and he had an interest in medicine.
by placing this line directly after “heart for to break” he suggests that she is the one to cause his heartbreak
how porphyria gradually grows less human
“yellow hair” to “long yellow string”
yellow is not human
string is like a doll.
he still views his actions as reversible quote
“untightened”
by the end he refers to her as what
“its” - she is fully an object
blasphemy quote
“God has not said a word!”
he has essentially played God and gotten away with it which would shock the reader
structure
tells the story in chronological order
natural form of the poem, mirroring speech, contrasts with strict ABABB rhyme scheme to represent the madness.
plosive quote
“perfectly pure”
creates violent undertones under a positive comment
