Robert Browning - Porphyria's Lover

Question 1

What is the poem about?

Answer 1

• The narrator is in love with Porphyria, who visits him in his cottage, she flirts with him and, in a fit of madness, he strangles her with her own hair to preserve the moment forever.

Question 2

Give a brief synopsis of the poem

Answer 2

• The speaker describes the violently foul weather
• A woman called Porphyria enters the speaker’s cottage
• She removes her damp clothing and unties her hair
• She tells the speaker how much she loves him
• The speaker does not know what to do with his knowledge that she is in love with him
• He decides to strangle her with her own hair
• The speaker insists that she did not feel any pain
• He then spends all night lying with her body and proudly announces that God hasn’t stopped in

Question 3

When was the poet alive?

Answer 3

1812-1889

Question 4

When was the poem published?

Answer 4

1836

Question 5

What is Porphyria? How is this significant?

Answer 5

A rare genetic disease, symptoms include madness and harsh skin sensitivity to light, leading to paleness. It is significant since the narrator is mentally disturbed and the character Porphyria is extremely pale.

Question 6

Context regarding Robert Browning

Answer 6

• Lived through the Victorian era - writing is reflective of this time
• Scandals were constantly being published in the newspaper so Browning has to be extremely transgressive in his writing to shock a numbed listener
• Browning often uses speakers to depict fictional events so it is important to remember that Browning did not strangle a woman

Question 7

“The rain set early in to-night,”

Answer 7

• Pathetic fallacy is used from the start to establish a dark and disturbed tone - reflective of a disturbed speaker
• Creates a threatening and ominous atmosphere, which foreshadows Porphyria’s murder.

Question 8

“The sullen wind was soon awake,”

Answer 8

• Wind is personified as “sullen” showing how even nature is miserable - relates to the intrinsic link between romance and nature in literature from this time

Question 9

“It tore the elm-tops down for spite,”

Answer 9

• “Tore” - active verb, violent and furthers effect of the pathetic fallacy
• Suggests nature is at conflict with both itself and humans - creates a dissonant and unhappy implication for the state of the relationship

Question 10

“and did its worst to vex the lake:”

Answer 10

• The use of pathetic fallacy shows the speaker’s angry state of mind

Question 11

“I listened with heart fit to break,”

Answer 11

• this shows how the narrator is emotionally at breaking point and hints at his mental instablility

Question 12

“When glided in Porphyria; straight”

Answer 12

• “Glided” - supernatural connotations, implies that speaker does not view Porphyria as a human being - make her appear magical in comparison to her surroundings
• Porphyria is also a rare blood disease so her name helps to create a recurring theme of sickness - may cause psychiatric symptoms including hallucinations, adds to theme of madness
• Browning might have been aware of this, as it was discovered a few years before the poem was written and he had an interest in medicine
• By placing this line after “heart fit to break” he is suggesting that she is the one to cause his heartbreak

Question 13

“She shut out the cold out and the storm,”

Answer 13

• Porphyria brings joy into the speaker’s world so she is the opposite to him; she represents good whilst he represents evil
• Her action here show hat she is a good influence in the narrator’s life, demonstrated by how she “shut the cold out” which creates a powerful contrast between her and the storm.
• Porphyria seems to be a powerful positive force in the speaker’s life, her actions contrast with the miserable weather

Question 14

“And kneeled and made the cheerless grate”

Answer 14

• “Cheerless grate” could be a metaphor for the speaker’s heart and the emptiness he feels towards his lover, or his life in general

Question 15

“Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;”

Answer 15

• She has given the speaker warmth

Question 16

“Which done, she rose, and from her form”
“Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,”

Answer 16

• She is exposing herself - this could link to exposing the truth and juxtaposes the heme of secrecy and lack of trust within the poem
• “dripping cloak and shawl” helps reveal to the audience that the speaker has been paranoid about his lover’s behaviour

Question 17

“And laid her soiled gloves by, untied”

Answer 17

• Use of enjambment here implies that these lines are a stream of consciousness due to the speaker being transfixed on Porphyria and reflects his unstable mental state
• “Soiled” has connotations of cheating and promiscuous behaviour, implies the speaker’s doubt that his lover has been loyal to him
• The material focus on clothes which hide the and could symbolically show hiding the truth

Question 18

“Her hat and let the damp hair fall,”

Answer 18

• This line shows the moment that Porphyria opens herself up to the speaker - the act of her untying her hair portends her death
• “Fall” - Women were expected to repress their sexuality at the time this was written, women who didn’t were referred to as fallen women, the use of fall suggests that she is behaving socially unacceptably and even sinfully.

Question 19

“And, last, she sat down by my side”

Answer 19

• Repetition of “and” emphasises the calm way he’s chronologically recounting the events leading up to her murder

Question 20

“And called me. When no voice replied,”

Answer 20

• His silence foreshadows his inability to deal with her as a fellow person
• The speaker also doesn’t take responsibility for his lack of reply, showing that he does not take responsibility for his actions
• His passivity is strange - he doesn’t speaker and lets Porphyria arrange his body

Question 21

“She put my arm about her waist,”

Answer 21

• She is the active one initially - Browning suggests that the only way the speaker knows how to deal with a non-passive female is to kill her??

Question 22

“And made her smooth white shoulder bare,”

Answer 22

• “Smooth white” has angelic connotations - highlighting her innocence and vulnerability - creates a sense of foreboding
• Female sexuality was repressed in Victorian times, but Porphyria is opening flaunting hers

Question 23

“And all her yellow hair displaced,”

Answer 23

• Odd that he refers to her hair as “yellow” rather than blonde, shows how he views her as an object, not woman

Question 24

“And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,”
“And spread o’er all her yellow hair,”

Answer 24

• Repetition of ‘and’ to demonstrate how calm the narrator is whilst he chronologically recounts porphyria’s actions, creating a contrast between him and his later actions. This reflects his unstable mental state.
• Repetition of ‘yellow hair’ shows his obsession with her hair as well as foreshadowing her murder with her hair.

Question 25

“Murmuring how she loved me - she”

Answer 25

• “Murmuring” could imply fear, shyness to flirtation - ambitious nature of this verb reflects the speaker’s and listener’s lack of understanding or Porphyria

Question 26

“Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,”

Answer 26

• Narrator is critical of Porphyria’s lack of commitment to him - she may be from a higher social class than him - this situation could be difficult for her as her family might not approve of the relationship

Question 27

“To set its struggling passion free”

Answer 27

• Browning uses lexis from the semantic field of violence

Question 28

“From pride, and vainer ties dissever,”

Answer 28

• “vainer ties” can be interrupted in multiple ways - some believe that it is referring to Porphyria having ties to a rich family or perhaps another lover
• Others think that the speaker is berating her for not wanting to sleep with him
• It shows that the difference in their social classes may cause problems for them as her family may not approve of the relationship.

Question 29

“And give herself to me for ever.”

Answer 29

• Uses temporal deixis in “forever” to demonstrate the speaker’s desire to play God

Question 30

“But passion sometimes would prevail,”

Answer 30

• Uses plosive alliteration in “passion” and “prevail” which implies that there is danger in these feelings

Question 31

“Nor could tonight’s gay feat restrain”

Answer 31

• References the theme of consumption which is often used in relation to possessive men; women are viewed as objects to consume
• Tells the reader that Porphyria has left some kind of party to visit the writer, demonstrating her love for him and the fact that he can’t be part of her normal everyday activities.

Question 32

“A sudden thought of one so pale”

Question 33

“For love of her, and all in vain:”

Question 34

“So, she was come through wind and rain.”

Answer 34

• Wind and rain have previously been personified as violent, so for her to not succumb to them shows her subversion of the archetypal submissive female

Question 35

“Be sure I looked up at her eyes”

Answer 35

• It is the volta; it is the first time the speaker takes action, signalling a shift in power between them through their activity and passivity.

Question 36

“Happy and proud; at last I knew”

Answer 36

• “Happy” and “proud” - active verbs, however they are still in relation to him

Question 37

“Porphyria worshipped me: surprise”

Answer 37

• “worshipped” - religious connotations demonstrates the power imbalance present in the relationships as well as showing the speaker’s hubris
• Shows that the speaker longs to be loved by Porphyria, and to have power over her.

Question 38

“Made my heart swell, and still it grew”

Answer 38

• Metaphor shows the intensity of the speaker’s desire

Question 39

“While I debated what to do.”

Question 40

“That moment she was mine, mine, fair,”

Answer 40

• Repetition of the possessive pronoun “mine” emphasises the speaker’s possessive nature
• The repetition is somewhat disturbing because it emphasises his desire to possess her like an object.
• ‘that moment’ he wants to preserve the moment as he’s convinced she loves him

Question 41

“Perfectly pure and good: I found”

Answer 41

• Uses plosive alliteration “perfectly pure” in order to foreshadow the act of violence about to be committed by the speaker

Question 42

“A thing to do, and all her hair”

Answer 42

• The murder is sudden, and unexpected which is already shocking to the reader, however, there is no change in the rhythm, which makes it disturbingly matter-of-fact. (+ and strangled her)

Question 43

“In one long yellow string I wound”

Answer 43

• Her hair becomes a “long yellow string” showing that she is wholly an object to him at this point
• Uses enjambment in order to show that the speaker is acting impulsively upon his own thoughts
• Enjambment used here reflects the irrationality of the speaker’s actions

Question 44

“Three times her little throat around,”

Answer 44

• Her hair becomes a noose, she is punished by her own beauty
• Adjective “little” infantilises her, emphasising her vulnerability

Question 45

“And strangled her. No pain felt she;”

Answer 45

• He thinks that he is doing a good thing. The plosives in the repetition of “not pain” serve to in fact emphasise “pain” showing the speaker’s misguidedness
• There is no emotive language used here - showing that the speaker is remorseless
• ‘and strangled her.’ emphasises the final nature of the action - caesura

Question 46

“I am quite sure she felt no pain.”

Answer 46

• The repetition and anastrophe of “No pain felt she;” demonstrates to the reader that the speaker is reassuring himself and is attempting to push away any guilt.
  The obvious lie forces the reader to call into question everything the speaker has said previously.

Question 47

“As a shut bud that holds a bee,”

Answer 47

• Reference to spring is ironic as there is no longer life contained with her
• Idea of something being trapped within something beautiful reflects Porphyria being strangled with her own hair
• Maybe he is afraid of something when he opens her eyelid

Question 48

“I warily oped her lids: again

Answer 48

• It suggests that he fears what he may see when he looks into her eyes again, worried that he caused her pain or sadness.

Question 49

“Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.”

Answer 49

• He now views her as pure and perfect - “without a stain”
• ‘Laughed’ - it seems unlikely that her eyes would be laughing after she was strangled, which forces the reader to question whether her eyes were “happy and proud” in line 32 or if he was just deranged.
• It is purposefully ambiguous, it could mean there is no evidence of the murder, that he thinks he isn’t to blame or at fault for murdering Porphyria, or that there is no stain on her honour since she didn’t have sex with him.

Question 50

“And I untightened next the tress”

Answer 50

• The verb “untightened” implies the speaker sees his actions as reversible

Question 51

“About her neck; her cheek once more”

Answer 51

‘blushed bright’ -demonstrates the reader’s arrangement since he believes that Porphyria’s red face is from his kiss instead of having been recently strangled to death.

Question 52

“Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:”

Answer 52

• Connotations of “burning” suggests that he is like the devil and she has been punished for loving him
• Heavy “b” sounds emphasise the speaker’s creepiness
• ‘burning kiss’ is symbolic of the narrator’s passionate but destructive and obsessive love.
• he believes her red face is actually a blush from his passionate kiss, shows he is deranged

Question 53

“I propped her head up as before,”

Question 54

“Only, this time my shoulder bore”

Answer 54

• Shows the speaker to be at peace now she has to rely on him rather than the other way around
• • “her head” It is a role reversal from earlier in the poem and demonstrates his power over Porphyria

Question 55

“Her head, which droops upon it still:”

Answer 55

*. The alliterative “H” used creates a difficult sound for the listener alluding to the horrific nature of the poem
* Clearly, the speaker is sociopathic who is not concerned about his actions
* “droops” + “rosy” flower imagery reflects Porphyria’s beauty but also depicts his foolishness, since flowers droop when they die, this moment will not last.

Question 56

“The smiling rosy little head,”

Answer 56

• Links back to the previous flower imagery, he sees her to have come alive in death

Question 57

“So glad it has its utmost will,”
“That all it scorned at once is fled,”

Answer 57

• Refers to her as “it” shows that Porphyria has become an object that the speaker now possesses instead of a woman that he loves. (also in later lines)

Question 58

“And I, its love, am gained instead!”
“Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how”

Answer 58

• Use of its shows how Porphyria os now an object not a person

Question 59

“Her darling one wish would be heard.”

Answer 59

• Uses triadic structure in the “w” sounds used in “one wish would” to emphasise the idea of what Porphyria wanted

Question 60

“And thus we sit together now,”
“And all night long we have not stirred,”

Answer 60

• Only point in the poem where the speaker refers to his lover with a collective pronoun “we” and this suggests that they have only been united together as a couple after her death when he is able to take full control of them both.
• Possible implication hat Porphyria may have been dead for the whole poem, and that she never loved him, he was simply deranged.

Question 61

“And yet God has not said a word!”

Answer 61

• The speaker has “played God” in the poem and is now claiming to have gotten away with it.
• This example of blasphemy would be shocking to a contemporary listener
• It is intentionally ambiguous, the narrator may be surprised that he hasn’t been punished for his crime, or he may believe that he hadn’t committed a crime in the first place.
• Ambiguity - could be surprised that he hasn’t been punished or perhaps doesn’t believe he as committed a sin at all

Question 62

Describe the significance of the title

Answer 62

• Narrator is nameless and is defined by his relationship to Porphyria
• Porphyria is a disease which causes hallucinations - implying that the narrative is unreliable
• Shows how self centred the narrator is

Question 63

Describe the perspective of the poem

Answer 63

• Written in first person - speaker is an extreme example of typically masculine traits; he is controlling and emotionally repressed
• Whilst in contemporary literature these attributes are commonly left unchallenged, in Porphyria’s lover, Browning shows the extreme result of this
• Whilst most listeners would be schooled by the description of femicide, Browning ends the poem with an example of blasphemy to increase the reader’s understanding of the speaker’s error
• Dramatic monologue so is from the perspective of a fictional narrator

Question 64

Describe the form of the poem.

Answer 64

A dramatic monologue, with an asymmetrical ABABB rhyme scheme, with enjambment to mirror the speaker’s mental instability. The regular rhythm, however, reflects his calmness. Since Porphyria has no voice in the poem, the speaker simply projects his own thoughts onto her, both alive and dead similar to an insane person talking to themself.

Question 65

Describe the opening of the poem

Answer 65

• First stanza begins with a heavy emphasis on the weather - personifies the weather by describing the wind as “sullen” as well as trying to “vex the lake” and tear “the elm-tops down for spite”
• Use of pathetic fallacy sets an ominous tone to foreshadow the coming horrific events - tone is then shattered by the entrance of Porphyria who is giving supernatural traits - “glided” into the cottage

Question 66

Describe the structure of the poem regarding its chronological order

Answer 66

• Events in the poem mirror each other, in the first half Porphyria is active, with her lover passive, yet in the latter half this reverses

Question 67

Describe the structure of the poem regarding collective pronouns

Answer 67

• There is only one instance of Browning using the collective pronoun “we” - the two characters are always presented separately which separate pronouns used to refer to them such as “she” and “her”.
• This displays the intense disconnect between the couple in their relationship, and only changes right at the end of the poem. This emphasises that the relationship is very destructive and broken.

Question 68

Describe the form and meter of the poem regarding dramatic monologue

Answer 68

• The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue as there is one person relating a story - this was a common form that Browning would write in.
• The poem is written after the lover is dead, which is typical of his dramatic monologues as it tackles an event and recounts it just after it has occurred

Question 69

Describe the form and meter of the poem regarding rhyme scheme + iambic tetrameter

Answer 69

• The natural form of the poem, mirroring speech, contrasts with the very ordered structure of the verse with the strict ABABB scheme.
• This works to represent the intentionality behind the speaker’s portrayed madness. The meter is often in iambic tetrameter - which is an unstressed, then stressed syllable, with four stressed beats in one line.

Question 70

Describe the use of language about possession

Answer 70

• The narrator wants Porphyra to belong to him “for ever”, but he believes her “pride” and “vainer ties” (social status) are stopping this, This is why, after he kills her she is referred to as “it”, she is his object.

Question 71

Describe the use of language about love and violence.

Answer 71

• The use of love and violence in the poem demonstrates the narrator’s instability and how, whilst being loving he is destructive too, which emphasises his derangement.

Question 72

Describe the use of language about objectification

Answer 72

• Browning’s use of language in Porphyria’s lover demonstrates the speaker’s conception of Porphyria as an object.
• Upon her entrance she is not described herself, only her “dripping cloak and shawl”.
• This implies that the speaker does not see Porphyria as a living human.
• The speaker’s objectification of Porphyria shifts from implicit to explicit after he kills her.
• He now uses colour imagery to describe her “blue eyes without a stain”.
• This shows that now she is dead and is an object in his eyes she fulfills conventional ideas of perfection.

Question 73

Describe the use of language about alliteration

Answer 73

• Alliterative phrases are used in the poem to highlight certain phrases.
• Browning combines alliterative “w” sounds with triadic structure in “one wish would” so cause the listener discomfort. The horrific content of the poem is emphasised by Browning in “her head”.
  *Plosive alliteration is used in “perfectly pure” to create violent undertones to what is explicitly a positive comment.

Question 74

Describe the use of language about religious imagery

Answer 74

• Although religion is not a main theme of the poem, its underlying presence could be interpreted to represent the speaker attempting to suppress their religious guilt.
• Porphyria’s ability to “shut the cold out” has hubristic connotations foreshadowing the lack of religious morality in the poem.
• There is a hubristic reference in “Porphyria worshipped me” and this is highlighted by use of plosives and sibilance.
• The poem ends with the exclamation “God has not said a word!” to leave the listener with the lasting impression of the speaker’s hubristic tendencies.

Question 75

How is enjambment used in the poem?

Answer 75

• The unusual line breaks and end stopping reflect the speaker’s mental instability.

Question 76

How are feelings/attitudes of madness displayed in the poem?

Answer 76

• It becomes clear that the speaker is delusional - he believes that Porphyria wants to be murdered so she can be with him forever, so his reliability throughout the poem has to be questioned

Question 77

How are feelings/attitudes of passivity displayed in the poem?

Answer 77

• The first half of the poem describes Porphyria’s actions whilst her lover is passive. However, by killing her, the narrator makes Porphyria completely passive.
• She is also passive during her murder - perhaps the narrator chose not to report any struggle, because to him it was a perfect moment

Question 78

How are feelings/attitudes of sin displayed in the poem?

Answer 78

• The speaker comments that God hasn’t punished him for the murder - he either believes that he’s had a lucky escape, or, more worryingly, that he hasn’t committed a sin.
• Porphyria’s actions could also be seen as sinful - Victorians would have viewed a woman sneaking off to see her lover as immoral

Question 79

Themes:

Answer 79

• Secret Love
• Pain, Death
• Desire, longing, Obsession

Question 80

Compare With:

Answer 80

• The Farmer’s Bride
• When We Two Parted
• Sonnet 29 ‘ I Think Of Thee’
• Neutral Tones

Question 81

Secret Love:

Answer 81

• “She put my arm around her waist and made her white shoulder bare”

Question 82

Pain, Death:

Answer 82

• “And it did it’s worst to vex the lake, i listened with heart fit to break”
• “The rain set early in to- night, the sullen wind was soon awake”

Question 83

Desire, Longing, Obsession:

Answer 83

• “Too weak, for all hearts endeavour”
• “Porphyria worshipped me; surprise”
• “No pain felt she”
• “That moment she was mine, mine, fair”
• “Made my heart swell”
• “And yet god has not said a word”

Question 84

Unrequited Love:

Answer 84

• “Happy and proud; at last I knew Porphyria worshipped me”
• “Passion sometimes, would prevail”
• “And I, it’s love, is gained itself”

Question 85

Compare With: When We Two Parted

Answer 85

• The women are the powerful, higher status people
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Affairs
• In When We Two Parted, it is the death of a relationship
• In Porphyria’s Lover, it is the death of a person

Question 86

Compare With: Sonnet 29 ‘I Think Of Thee’

Answer 86

The man in Porphyria’s Lover is the one who admires her
- The woman in Sonnet 29 is the one who admires him
- The relationships ‘Can’t be’

Question 87

Compare With: Neutral Tones

Answer 87

• The relationships ‘ Can’t be’
• Men’s POV on women are different
• Break up is natural in Neutral Tones
• Break up is not natural in Porphyria’s Lover

Question 88

Tone:

Answer 88

• Dark and Sinister
• Shows how mentally ill the narrator is because he just killed her and does not care