Cards (21)

  • 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