Comparison of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ Essay

‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ are both poems by the Victorian poet Robert Browning. In this essay I will compare these two poems to find similarities and differences. Both of these poems can be used read from different points of view and they could also be used to show how society treated women in the Nineteenth Century: as assets, possessions. Both of these poems are what are known as a dramatic monologue as well as being written in the first person. The whole poem is only one stanza long, and each line in the stanza comprises of eight syllables. ‘My Last Duchess’ is about a member of the nobility talking to an ambassador concerning his last wife, who later on in the poem is revealed to have been murdered by the person†¦show more content†¦The Dramatic Monologue in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ helps build tension, horror and suspense because only one character is talking, making it a one-sided story. After he tells us about himself, the way he very unexpectedly killed Porphyria shocked and surprised me. However, the dramatic monologue in ‘My Last Duchess’ is very interesting simply because one of th e main characters in absent throughout the whole poem, making us want to learn first-hand about them, and actually see if they were actually like the way they were described. ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is set in a cottage. The weather is windy and rainy but improves when Porphyria enters the cottage. In contrast, ‘My Last Duchess’ is set in an opulent, extravagant palace belonging to a wealthy duke. The settings in both poems are established by using descriptive language, similes, a few metaphors and use of detail such as the way he uses the painting to describe the painting. There is also use of pathetic fallacy. ‘Gay Feast’ in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ hints at Porphyria’s other life, her main one; the one in which she is wealthy, beautiful, elegant and of high social standing. We can safely presume that her social standing is higher than that of the narrator, and this may anger him. However, in ‘My Last Duchess,’ I thought it was even more shockingShow MoreRelatedMy Last Duchess And Porphyrias Lover Comparison858 Words   |  4 Pagesmind through his poems. Specifically, his two poems My Last Duchess, and Porphyria’s Lover. These two texts share some startling similarities, and some thoughtful differences. â€Å"Social comparison is important.† (Festinger) Browning’s two poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover follow a similar idea, and in the following text, will be compared in three main areas. The first area of discussion is who is telling the story. In My Last Duchess, the narrator is a vastly wealthy Duke, who lives inRead MorePorphyrias Lover And My Last Duchess Comparison789 Words   |  4 PagesMeaning Of Brownings Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess (An Analysis of Comparing and Contrasting Brownings poems called Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess) Robert Browning was a Victorian poet. He portrayed an understanding of gender rules in his poems. Browning’s poems are similar to a puzzle, which makes the reader have to figure out what is really being said in the poem. Browning wrote two famous dramatic monologue poems called Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess. His poems create aRead MoreA Comparison of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning1188 Words   |  5 PagesA Comparison of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning The two poems ‘Porphyria’s lover’ and ‘my last duchess’ by Robert Browning shows a dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologue is a story that is told by one person; which means you only get one point of view; in the two poems they are based on the narrator’s crisis, his feelings and his way of thinking; and you have to believe it because that is the only view your going to encounter. In dramaticRead MoreEssay on A Comparison Between My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover2909 Words   |  12 PagesA Comparison Between My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover Works Cited Missing Robert Browning was one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century and is still considered one of the major poets of the Victorian era. He was born in 1812 and married the privately educated poet, Elizabeth Browning, in 1846. They eloped to Florence, Italy, where his wife gaveRead MoreA Comparison of the Dramatic Monologues of Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning665 Words   |  3 PagesA Comparison of the Dramatic Monologues of Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning Robert Browning (1812-89) was, with Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of the two most celebrated of Victorian poets. His father was a bank clerk, and Browning educated himself by reading in the family library. He published many verse dramas and dramatic monologues (poems, like My Last Duchess, in which a single character speaks to the reader), notably the collections Men and WomenRead MoreEssay about A Comparison of My Last Duchess and Porphyrias Lover1182 Words   |  5 PagesMy Last Duchess is a poem about an arrogant and extremely powerful Duke who is describing his deceased Duchess. From the word last in the title it is implied that the duke has had more than one duchess. In this poem, the Duke is extremely egotistic. He says, I choose never to stoop. The duchess would look at everyone in the world as being equal no matter what class they are. The duke however cannot do this. He is too worried about his appearance. Porphyrias Lover is a poem in whichRead MoreCompare My Last Duchess And Porphyrias Lover1098 Words   |  5 PagesLove That Kills (Comparing and Contrasting of â€Å"My Last Duchess† and â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover†) While reading the poems â€Å"My Last Duchess† and â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† by Robert Browning, there is a large possibility that you may be left haunted by the words that were written on the paper. â€Å" This is not to say that he was blandly optimistic, as he is sometimes portrayed. He wrote fully about the world s cruelty and vice and was quite frank that he had himself had no divine revelation. Nevertheless, he resolvedRead MorePorphyrias Lover And My Last Duchess Comparison Essay1440 Words   |  6 PagesComparison between Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess Browning had a place with the Victorian Age, an age where adore coincided with disarray, religion, and distress. Taking care of business, Browning is a writer of affection. His works delineate the different shades of feeling, regardless of whether it is the smooth stream of perfect otherworldly love in The Last Ride Together or the complexities of brain and nature of affection in Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess. To draw an examinationRead More Robert Browning and the Power of the Dramatic Monologue Form1432 Words   |  6 Pagespoets, allows the writer to engage more directly with his reader by placing him in the role of listener. Robert Browning utilised the form to a famously profound effect, creating a startling aspect to his poetry. In poems such as â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover,† and â€Å"My Last Duchess,† for example, Browning induces a feeling of intimacy by presenting the reader as the ‘confidant’ to the narrator’s crimes; in â€Å"Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister,† the reader is more a witness to the narrator’s increasing instabilityRead More Relationships Between Women and Men in Brownings Poems Essay2589 Words   |  11 PagesBrowning’s poems including: My Last Duchess, a dramatic monologue in which the Duke speaks to an imaginary listener about a painting of his last duchess. Porphyria’s Love, another dramatic monologue where Porphyria’s lover speaks to himself about his Love surrounded by anxiety for Porphyria and how he overcomes it. Meeting at Night, which dramatizes the excitement and intensity of passion, the feeling of tense anticipation as the poet travels to meet his lover. However, Parting at Morning