Robert Browning's Studies of Male Jealousy in the Dramatic Monologues Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess
In this essay, I am going to discuss male jealousy in the dramatic
monologues, 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. A Victorian
poet, Robert Browning, wrote these two poems. They both are short
poems which both are about a man conveying his love to a woman. These
poems are dramatic monologues because there is only one speaker
talking to someone or himself. During these dramatic monologues, the
narrator explains his personal feelings, which he is maybe not
realising that he is doing this.
'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' both have examples of male
jealousy - maybe more obvious in 'Porphyria's Lover' than 'My Last
Duchess'. The speakers are both male and look to be deeply in love
with a woman but have a strange way of illustrating it. The narrator
in both 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' both are jealous of
their lovers.
In 'Porphyria's Lover' the poem has a five-line structure. It is
different because the pattern is not something I have read before.
Maybe Browning has purposely done this structure. A reason for this is
that the man wants to be in charge of the woman, hence the
inflexibility.
The poem begins with:
The rain set in early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
………
The poem starts with a description of the weather, which is a pathetic
fallacy for the feelings of the narrator. The opening four lines set
the scene in a very secluded and isolated setting. The rain that sets
in ...
... middle of paper ...
...esire,
beauty, and flirtatious behaviour are contained in both poems. The
desire to completely possess another person's love and affection are
related through a dramatic monologue. Robert Browning compares the
love Duke Ferrara has for his Duchess with the obsession of
Porphyria's lover. The Duke has a jealous, stubborn, and irrational
love for his Duchess. Likewise, Porphyria's is the recipient of a
sinister, uncontrolled, and destructive love. Her mysterious admirer
is overwhelmed by Porphyria's supreme beauty and her sensual
mannerisms. Porphyria and the Duchess experience similar outcomes that
result in the death of both women.
Below, I have listed all my sources, which I have used for my essay:
ü www.cswnet.com
ü www.collegetermpapers.com
ü www.teachit.co.uk
ü www.universal.teacher.org.uk
Most people have fallen in love at least once in their lives. I too fall in this category. Just like any Disney movie that you watch, people fall in love with each other, and they get married and live happily ever after right? Wrong! In real life, there are some strange things that can happen, including death, divorce, or other weird things that you never see in Disney movies. Robert Browning’s literary works are great examples of “Non-Fairytale Endings.” Not only does Browning have endings in his stories that aren’t the norm in children movies, but he also has some twisted and interesting things happen in the story of lovers. In Robert Browning’s works, Porphyria’s Lover, and My Last Duchess, the speakers can be both compared and contrasted.
In contrast to Macbeth’s love for his wife, in Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ there is an absence of the romanticised emotion of love. The Duke refers to his wife as ‘My Last Duchess. Here the use of the possessive pronoun ‘my’ gives us the idea from the outset that the Duke saw his wife as merely a possession. The iambic pentameter of ten syllables per line used in the poem also emphasises possession by stressing ‘my’ further in the pattern. Browning’s portrayal of love is one that is absent of emotional attachment, but instead something by which he could possess and have power over her. It could be argued that there are similarities in the way that Lady Macbeth also uses the emotion of love. Being in the form of a dramatic monologue, use
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.
"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.
Comparing Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologues My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Robert Browning was a Victorian poet who lived from 1812-1889. He mainly wrote dramatic monologues, this means you must have a speaker and a listener. Both "My Last Duchess" and "The Laboratory" were published in 1845. "My Last Duchess" was set in the Italian Renaissance and during that time to own large life size painting was a show of wealth. "My Last Duchess" was written in a time when women were to hold their husbands and everything that he did with the maximum respect and show little or no emotion towards anyone else. "
In the poem “Porphyria’s Lover”, the author Robert Browning uses the ideas of love and sin to create a contradiction and uses this contradiction to explore the relationship between morality and art. The poem is much more complex than a perverse, frightening account of a man with the inability to properly express his feelings for a woman. The title “Porphyria’s Lover” leads the audience to believe that the woman and the speaker have had a relationship for a good period of time. When the woman enters into the man’s presence, she enters the cabin with ease and starts a fire; something a person would not do unless they were comfortable with the person and the situation. The actions of the woman confirm to the audience that her visit to him was not the first time that the two have met.
later is not direct to the murder of his lover, it is plain that the
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue about a duke who is showing the portrait of his first wife, the duchess, to a servant of his future father-in-law, the Count. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker addresses a distinct but silent audience. Through his speech, the speaker unintentionally reveals his own personality. As such, in reading this poem, the reader finds the duke to be self-centered, arrogant, controlling, chauvinistic and a very jealous man. The more he attempted to conceal these traits, however, the more they became evident. There is situational irony (a discrepancy between what the character believes and what the reader knows to be true) in this because the duke does not realize this is what is happening. Instead, he thinks he appears as a powerful and noble aristocrat.
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' and 'My Last Duchess', Browning uses several. features of dramatic monologue in order to engage and sustain the interest of the audience. This style of monologue is spoken by a character, which is not the poet, and is usually projected at a critical moment, as in the case of My Last Duchess and Porphyria. Lover. The speakers unintentionally reveal their insanity, in both.
‘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.
Robert A. Heinlein said, “A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.” Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess,” told from the perspective of the Duke in the form of a dramatic monolog. It showcases the Duke conversing with the Count’s representative about a hopeful marriage to the Count’s daughter as well as recalling his late wife. The Duke uses the opportunity to express his jealousy towards the Duchess. In “My Last Duchess,” a poem by Robert Browning, the Duke expresses the theme of jealousy to hide his inner struggle of insecurity.
Imagine a single spotlight focus solely on you as you say exactly what you feel. Everybody wants to get their point of view heard. One of the most effective ways for an individual to solely get their point across is a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a type of poetry written in the form of a speech of an individual character. Dramatic monologue can also be known as a persona poem. Robert Browning was known for his dramatic monologues. “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” are two well-known poems by him. From these two poems I am going to compare the theme, use of imagery, and tone.
has a listener within the poem, but the reader of the poem is also one
The poem “Porphyria's Lover” is a dramatic monologue spoken in first person from the perspective of the narrator. By choosing this style of narration Browning can portray how human psychology, specifically the consciousness...