Porphyria’s Lover : Browning’s Portrait of a Madman
Robert Browning’s "Porphyria’s Lover" contains the methodical ramblings of a lunatic; it is a madman’s monologue that reveals the dark side of human nature. Power and passion coalesce to form the strangulation of the beautiful and innocent Porphyria, and at the same time strangle the reader’s ability to comprehend what is occurring and why it is occurring. The murder’s monologue depicts a heinous crime. The simple fact that the monologue is issued from the murderer himself creates a sense of distrust. There is no doubt that the man is disturbed, but the level of his lunacy remains uncertain. In one short poem, Browning provides an intense glimpse into the mind of a homicidal maniac, while single-handedly destroying the romantic notion of eternal love.
The first clue that something unusual or insane in going to occur in "Porphyria’s Lover" manifests itself in the title. Before her lover has a chance to speak he is suspect because "porphyria," as defined by Reader’s Digest Illustrated Encyclopedia Dictionary is:
A hereditary disease involving disturbance in the metabolism of porphyrins [organic compounds that provide the foundation structure for blood in animal tissues] and producing symptoms of mental confusion, neuritis, and abdominal pain. (1319)
The title suggests that Porphyria’s lover is not even revealing the name of the woman he strangles. He may in fact suffer from the condition porphyria, in which case he is deranged and completely unreliable as a narrator. If he is not an actual sufferer of the disease, the title would suggest that his love for the woman is the disease porphyria, and this passionate love produces the confusion and pain that motivates him ...
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...: A Study of the Complementary Poems of Robert Browning. Athens: Ohio UP, 1973.
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The death of the female beloved is the only way deemed possible by the insecure, possessive male to seize her undivided attention. This beloved woman represents the "reflector and guarantor of male identity. Hence, the male anxiety about the woman's independence for her liberty puts his masculine self-estimation at risk" (Maxwell 29). The jealous and controlling males in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" possess a fervent desire to fix and monopolize their unconstrained female beloveds. Due to a fear of death, both speakers attempt to achieve control and deny object loss; by turning their lovers (once subjects) into objects, they ultimately attain the role of masterful subject.
As the reader examines "Prophyria's Lover" by Robert Browning, one recognizes the complete effort of the speaker to disguise his feelings toward the murder of his wife. The speaker goes through different thoughts in relation to the life he has with his wife. Many thoughts include the positive and negative parts about her and their relationship. Throughout the monologue, the speaker tells the readers of his struggles of coming to the conclusion of murdering his wife and the reasons to do so. In “Prophyria’s Lover”, the speaker is faced with many types of insanity before, during, and after the murder of his wife, Prophyria because of the love he has for her.
6. William Yardley, “Racial Shift in a Progressive City Spurs Talks,” New York Times, May 29, 2008 accessed May 3, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/29portland.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=63fee218058cf972&ex=1212206400.
In the story, “Loves Executioner”, Yalom treats and old woman named “Thelma” that is overly obsessed with a man named Matthew, her former therapist from ten years ago. Yalom feeling though that he is drawn to the facets of her dilemma decides to do everything he can to empower Thelma move past the obsessions that had been wrecking havoc on her mental health. Although Thelma’s love obsession with her therapist, and her subjective experiences on life of what is preventing her from living in the present, Yalom attempts to treat a 70-year-old woman only to learn that being love executioner more complicated as he had anticipated.
“Automobile In American Life and Society.” Automobile In American Life and Society. N.P., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
No technology has had a greater impact on the American life than the automobile. Where we live, how we work, and how we travel, what our landscape looks like, our environment have all been shaped by the automobile. There isn’t a better place that demonstrates the social, geographic, and political changes brought by the industry than Detroit, the motor city. Detroit was situated to be a center of the American automobile industry. All of the material that was needed to build was easily accessible to the city by the great lakes waterways and by rail. The automobile industry helped people with their everyday lives and changed the way people saw the world.
Steroids are being used more commonly today in normal people's lives. They are also being used so athletes can become stronger, but they have many consequences that follow the advantages. Most people believe that steroids are a false measurement of an athletes ability, and others believe that steroids are good because athletes can become stronger and make their sports more exciting to watch. This is a very important issue today because athletes today are using steroids to gain an unfair advantage over the other athletes.
In “Sonnet 43,” Browning wrote a deeply committed poem describing her love for her husband, fellow poet Robert Browning. Here, she writes in a Petrarchan sonnet, traditionally about an unattainable love following the styles of Francesco Petrarca. This may be partly true in Browning’s case; at the time she wrote Sonnets from the Portuguese, Browning was in courtship with Robert and the love had not yet been consummated into marriage. But nevertheless, the sonnet serves as an excellent ...
Browning’s works were the primary model for the basic form of the standard Victorian dramatic monologue which was based around a speaker, listener, and a reader. Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” became a model for the dramatic monologue form primarily because of the strict approach he took while developing the poem. One of the aspects characteristic of this work is the authors level of consciousness. Each element in “My Last Duchess” is thoughtfully constructed with form and structure in mind. This poem is filled with dramatic principle that satisfied the Victorian period’s demand for an action and drama that were not overtly apparent in the work. In the case of “My Last Duchess” the drama of the poem is how his character, the Duke, is introduced. In dramatic monologues the character’s self is revealed through thoug...
In ‘Porphyria’s Lover,’ the speaker appears to be honestly and simply recounting the events of his final encounter with Porphyria. However, Robert Browning’s careful use of meter (Iambic Tetrameter), rhyme and repetition betrays his true state of mind. He uses phrases like “Mine, Mine!” to help enforce this.
The automobile has impacted the world by faster traveling, also making it possible to go farther distances. In this society cars are used to get around but to some people, it’s a way to get around, but to some people it’s a way to express them. From loud engines to hybrids, cars mean a lot more to people than just a way to get around. It has become much more meaningful to people. It has become of a person and how they express themselves.
Browning's amazing command of words and their effects makes this poem infinitely more pleasurable to the reader. Through simple, brief imagery, he is able to depict the lovers' passion, the speaker's impatience in reaching his love, and the stealth and secrecy of their meeting. He accomplishes this feat within twelve lines of specific rhyme scheme and beautiful language, never forsaking aesthetic quality for his higher purposes.
"Porphyria's Lover" is an exhilarating love story given from a lunatic's point of view. It is the story of a man who is so obsessed with Porphyria that he decides to keep her for himself. The only way he feels he can keep her, though, is by killing her. Robert Browning's poem depicts the separation of social classes and describes the "triumph" of one man over an unjust society. As is often the case in fiction, the speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" does not give accurate information in the story.
Throughout history ideas have sprouted and grown into inventions that we could never picture our lives without. These ideas spark changes in culture, economic status, and ultimately the way people conduct their ways of life. In primitive times this idea was the invention of hunting tools using stones, wood, and bones. As time passed and brought us to medieval times domesticating a horse for means of transportation and use during battle was ideal. Now when we examine more modern times this was the idea that sparked a global change among nations, the automobile. While the automobile sparked a growth in economic status, employment rates, and improvement in the functionality of people’s everyday lives, the invention of the automobile also takes a debilitating toll on the environment, nonrenewable resources, and the health of humans. When did the havoc of the automobile begin?
Wilson, James Q. "Cars and Their Enemies." The Presence of Others. Ed. Lunsford, Andrea A., and John J. Ruskiewicz. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000. 303-313.