Porphyria's Lover

• who wrote porphyria's lover?

  Robert Browning
• Context

  • writing is reflective of Victorian era
  • scandals were constantly published so he had to shock the reader
  • he often uses speakers to depict fictional events
• analysis of title

  • narrator is defined by his relationship with porphyria and is nameless
  • porphyria is a disease that causes hallucinations implying the narrative in unreliable
  • shows how self centered the narrator is
• structure and form

  • chronological order - the narrative is a stream of consciousness
  • dramatic monologue - browning usually wrote in this form
  • mirroring speech - contrasts the ordered structure of the verse
  • Iambic pentameter - casual speech and conversational tone
• language

  • objectification - speaker conceptualises her as an object and not a human
  • plosive alliteration - highlights certain phrases to cause discomfort for the listener
  • religious imagery - speaker is repressing their religious guilt and their hubristic tendencies
• "The rain set early in to night" - The storm is a metaphor for the emotional turmoil of the characters.
• "The sullen wind was soon awake" - The wind is a symbol of the power of nature being miserable.
• "when glided in porphyria"- supernatural connotations and adds to the idea that she is view as not human.
• "made the cheerless grate" - metaphor for speakers heart filled with coldness towards his lover.
• "no voice replied"- foreshadows speakers inability to deal with her as a person.
• "smooth white shoulder bare"- angelic connotations highlighting her innocence.
• "soiled gloves" - enjambment implies that it is a stream of consciousness- connotations to cheating behaviour because it makes her seem unclean and pure so disloyal to him.
• "murmuring how she loved me" - imply shyness or flirtation - reflects lack of understanding of porphyria.
• "porphyria worshipped me" - demonstrates power imbalance that shows the speaker's hubris.
• "perfectly pure and good" - plosive alliteration - foreshadows act of violence
• "she felt no pain" - no emotive language - remorseless
• "mine,mine" - theme of consumption related to possessive men"
• "thus we sit together now" - collective pronoun - they are united because he now has full control
• "God has not said a word" - speaker5 claims to have got away with it - blasphemy would be shocking to contemporary audience.
• themes

  • possession
  • imbalance
• poems to compare

  • love's philosophy
  • sonnet 29
  • farmer's bride