Porphyrias Lover Thesis Flashcards
What is a key characteristic of the speakers in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
Both speakers exhibit intense psychological turmoil.
What is a significant similarity between the narrators’ emotions in both poems?
The obsessive nature of their emotions leads to unsettling actions.
What drives the speaker in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ to commit a violent act?
His obsession with possessing Porphyria.
What results from the farmer’s fixation on his bride in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’?
Her imprisonment in the attic of his house.
Fill in the blank: In ‘Porphyria’s Lover,’ the speaker’s actions are described as _______.
[cold and calculated violent act]
True or False: Both poems feature speakers who experience calm and rational emotions.
False
What literary element is prominent in both ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘The Farmer’s Bride’?
Obsessive emotions.
How does the farmer’s perception of his bride affect her fate in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’?
It leads to her being trapped due to his anguished fixation.
What characterizes the speakers in both poems?
Possessive, objectifying male
The speaker in Browning’s poem assumes Porphyria’s feelings, while Mew’s speaker presents his wife as small animals, implying abuse.
How does Browning’s speaker demonstrate possessiveness in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
Through the assumption of Porphyria’s feelings and repetition of ‘she was mine, mine’
This demonstrates the speaker’s objectification of Porphyria.
What imagery does Mew use to describe the farmer’s bride?
Presents her as a small animal, using phrases like ‘flying like a hare’ and ‘shy as a leveret’
This indicates the farmer’s abusive nature and his objectification of his wife.
What type of love is presented in both poems?
Destructive love
This is evident in the physical destruction of Porphyria and the mental destruction of the farmer’s bride.
How is Porphyria physically destroyed in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
Her head droops
This symbolizes the culmination of the destructive love in the poem.
How is the farmer’s bride mentally destroyed in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’?
Her silence and self-imposed isolation
Shown in the line ‘She sleeps up in the attic there // Alone, poor maid.’
What is a common structural feature of both poems?
Both poems are similarly long
This reflects the obsessive tendencies of the speakers.
How is the theme of unreciprocated love presented in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
Porphyria’s non-committal ‘murmuring how she loved me’
This highlights the imbalance in the relationship.
How does the farmer’s bride show disregard for her husband?
Through her self-imposed isolation in the attic
This is expressed in the line ‘She cleans up in the attic there.’
What is a key difference between the speakers in ‘The Farmer’s Bride’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
The farmer’s bride speaker is more aware of the suffering he inflicts than the Porphyria’s lover speaker.
How does Mew illustrate the speaker’s awareness of suffering in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
Through confessions such as ‘Too young maybe’ and ‘I’ve hardly heard her speak at all.’
What is the self-awareness level of the speaker in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’?
He is less self-aware and believes that Porphyria enjoys or has benefitted from his actions.
What literary device does Browning use in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ to convey romantic love?
Lexis from the semantic field of romantic love and alliteration.
Provide an example of alliteration from ‘Porphyria’s Lover’.
‘Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:’
