Porphyrias lover Flashcards
What era was Porphyria’s lover written and why is this important
The victorian era, because of contextual attitudes towards women
What does the word “lover” in the title suggest about the poem
That it was an illicit affair
What suggests a class difference between both charactersin porphyrias lover
Porphyria means purple. which has links to royalty, suggests an extreme difference in classes, and the man lives in a cottage, which shows he is poorer
What semantic field suggests Porphyria’s lover is themed around euthanasia
“too weak”
“pale”
“God has not said a word”
“No pain”
“So glad it had its utmost will”
What shows the speakers deranged obsession with porphyria
Poetic inversion, is when the usual order of words have been changed. And this happens in porphyria’s lover in the line “when glided in porphyria”. The fact that the sentences focus is on the word “glided” (which is physically impossible) suggests the speakers warped perception, and unstable mental stat
What does the quote, “and, last, she sat down by my side” suggest
The parenthesis around the word “last”, illustrates that the speaker is annoyed that he was last on the list of things she did, which again highlights his irrationality, as her order made perfect sense
What two quotes show how the speaker feels emasculated by porphyria
“spread, o’er all her yellow hair”, “he looked up at her”
What does the quote “only this time my shoulder bore” mean (context)
He feels that this is how it should be, she is in her right place, and contextual victorian attitudes towards women mean that when they are married, they are the property of their husbands
How does the mood change when he decides to kill porphyria
lots of use of the word “little”, which diminishes her.
Her pronouns become “it” which objectifies her in a sinister way
What is important about the dramatic monologue in porphyria’s lover
It gives us unreliable narration, as we only see the speakers POV, so we cannot trust him as he is insane
What is the rhyme scheme of porphyria’s lover called and what does this tell us
Masculine rhyme, which reinforces the idea of his wish for masculine dominance
What does the rhyme scheme ABABB suggest in porphyria’s lover
Very controlled, reflects the tight control of the speaker
What does the use of Enjambment tell us especially compared to the rhyme scheme in porphyria’s lover
He is trying to remain in control with the rhyme scheme, but the enjambment suggests a lack of control, an outburst of a psychotic man
What does the iambic tetrameter indicate in porphyria’s lover
Porphyria’s name ALWAYS breaks it, as it has 3 unstressed, por-PHY-ri-a. This shows that whenever he mentions her name, he loses his tight control, which suggests what kind of effect she has on him.
What is the rhyme scheme in porphyria’s lover
ABABB
CONTEXT: porphyria’s lover (2 quote)
Victorian women, at the time, where the property of their husbands.
This is not the case in porphyria’s lover, and we see that she is very dominant in their relationship, especially as she is a higher class
The two quote which illustrates this greatly is, “He looked up at her”, and ‘‘only this time my shoulder bore” (the second quote being after she has died, and the speaker feels this is the way it should be)
LANGUAGE: porphyria’s lover (3 quotes)
“When glided in porphyria” - the poetic inversion, placing emphasis on “glided” paints the speaker as mentally unstable, as he is so fixated upon porphyria, that he sees her gliding in, which is impossible, seeing her as angelic and supernatural
“The sullen wind was soon awake, It tore the elm-tops down for spite” - The speaker feels that the weather is against him, and is spiteful towards him. This portrays him as paranoid and psychotic, because he is making links, and seeing things that aren’t really there.
“and, last, she sat down by my side” - the parenthesis around last, makes us pause, and emphasise the word. This could be the speaker voicing his frustration with porphyria, his jealousy that he was the last thing she did. (more instability blah blah)
FORM AND STRUCTURE: porphyria’s lover
Rhyme scheme - masculine rhyme, focused on male dominance
Rhyme scheme - tightly controlled ABABB, he is trying to control her
Iambic tetrameter - Porphyria cant fit, so he loses control every time he mentions her
How does “hearts endeavour” link to before you where mine
In BYWM, the listeners “true desire”, is to be young and carefree again, which is stopped by the birth of the daughter. However, in PL, the “true desire”, (or so the speaker believes), is to be with him forever.
How does, “nor could tonights gay feast restrain” link to BYWM
the gay feast, refers to carols mothers life of partying, which was “restrained” by the birth of carol herself
What does “perfectly pure” show in PL
The alleteration, and focus on the plosive sound, reflects a fire set alight in the speakers heart
What could “did it’s worse to vex the lake”, tell us about the speaker
Reflects the turbulance inside him, as he interprets the weather as angry and ominous
