Robert Browning's Studies of Male Jealousy in the Dramatic Monologues Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess

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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

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