Comparing the Use of Dramatic Monologue in My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover

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Comparing the Use of Dramatic Monologue in My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover

These two poems are both about love and a relationship; however they

are not the type that ends happily ever after. They both represent a

man's love for a woman and reveal faults they have in their

relationships. As in all dramatic monologues the personality of the

narrator is revealed through what he says, the words he uses and his

point of view about events. For instance, in 'My Last Duchess' we see

an example of a man with too much pride from his line 'I choose to

never stoop'. We then see possesiveness and insecurity in 'Porphyria's

Lover' when the protagonist strangles his love because he wanted her

to 'give herself' to him 'for ever'.

In both poems setting is very important in revealing character. The

scene is set in Porphyria's Lover at the beginning with

personification, saying that the wind 'did its worst to vex the lake'.

It also states 'the sullen wind was soon awake' to give a feel of

mystery. These features also seem to represent the character's

feelings towards his love as he is moody, stubborn and unenthusiastic

when she comes in as well as deep in thought. He is 'sullen' as when

she 'called' him 'no voice replied'.

The other poem shows character even in the title 'My Last Duchess'

with its possessive pronoun 'my'. From the repeated use of possessive

pronouns 'my' and 'mine' the reader soon realizes how controlling the

Duke is 'That's my last duchess painted on the wall'. Even though both

the women in the poems loved and cared for both men, they still wound

up dead.

In 'Porphyria's Lover' we find the character is also possessive and

anxious about his lover when he states that she has 'vainer ties'.

Indicating possibly she is already married or committed in another

relationship.

The way the men decide to solve the problems within the relationships

seems to lead to the murder of the women with either 'I strangled her'

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