In 1842, Robert Browning published a book entitled Dramatic Lyrics, which was a famous work that contained a collection of dramatic monologues. Two of the poems found in this book were Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess. In Porphyrias Lover, Browning introduces a powerful insight into the demented mind of an extremely possessive man, while My Last Duchess tells a story about the Duke of Ferrara revealing to a guest the murder of his wife and the motives behind it. The two speakers share similar qualities, both being extremely possessive and completely unremorseful. A key difference between the two narrators is how they show their love for their mistresses. Both poems were written in the literary from known as dramatic monologue, and narrated by a male speaker. A dramatic monologue shows the reader the narrators inner thoughts and motives when involved in a particular situation. Using this literary technique, Browning allows the reader to explore the abnormal psychology of the two speakers and also to get closely involved with two acts of murder.
Prior to the murders, both speakers are shown to be extremely possessive of their women. In Porphyrias Lover, the narrator is romantically involved with his lover.
She enters the cabin and is in a very vulnerable state, and the narrator wishes to completely capture this single moment in time. The two appear to be in love, but the woman feels reluctant to be with him because it would be opposing to societies standards. The narrator says,
Murmuring how she loved me-she
Too weak, for all her hearts endeavor,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me forever. (21-25).
The narrator uses the word forever to show his extreme passion for her to be in his possession as long as he lives. While lying in his arms, he also makes this point clear when he says, That moment, she was mine, mine, fair (36). The narrator emphasizes the word mine in order to show that in that moment alone, the woman completely belonged to him. The man is completely insane and could not let her go, so he brutally strangles her with her own hair demonstrating an extreme form of unnatural possessiveness. Death is also the result of a women stuck in the possessive reigns of an egotistical duke in My Last Duchess. The Duke feels contempt towards his wife because she treats him the same way as she would treat any common man. He clearly articulates her upsetting actions when he states,
She thanked men-good! but thanked
Somehow-I know not how-as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybodys gift. (31-34).
The duke believes that his wife does not appreciate his royal status enough. Also, the duke detests his wifes love of life and feels that all of her pleasures should come directly from him. He says that she was Too easily impressed, She like whateer / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere (24). . In a publication reviewing My Last Duchess, Michael G. Miller comments on the possessive qualities of the Duke by saying the poem, enshrines the Duchess as a model of spontaneity and innocent joy and a victim of her egotistical husband. (32). He is disgusted by the fact that he does not get the special attention he feels that he deserves. Even after he kills her, he is still jealous of the men that see her seductive glare she has in the painting. He decides that he is the only man who should see her this way and hides her behind a concealed curtain. Both characters are driven to murder their lovers because the women were not in their complete control.
Even after the two speakers brutally murder their mistresses, they feel completely unremorseful of the horrific crime committed. A reason for their unremorseful attitude is that both men are extremely egotistical. In a published literary criticism, Catherine Maxwell comments on Brownings character development in Porphyrias Lover. She says, Browning inflates and explodes romantic egotism: the lover kills the woman, not himself. But the death that preserves the woman's imputed compliance is, Browning implies, but a formalization of the romantic male speaker's desire to fix and possess the female beloved. (32). After the murder, the narrator in Porphyrias Lover strangely sits with the dead women and says, And all night long we have not stirred, / And yet God has not said a word (59). He calmly sits with her, playing with her dead body, completely unaffected by what he just did. He seems to think that he actually did her a favor by freeing her from the shame she may have felt because of their relationship. He speaks of his gift when he says, That all it scorned at once is fled, /And I, its love, am gained instead!(54). The man is completely delusional to what he just did to someone. In My Last Duchess, the duke also feels as if what he did was justified and that the women deserved it. He felt that his wife was did not deserve him and his title. The tone of the dukes dialog is not of someone who just lost a wife, but instead is condescending and completely resentful. The duke would not swallow his pride and speak of his problems with his wife because that would cause him to stoop down to her level. He criticizes her actions and feels unaffected and almost proud of what he did. He mocks his wifes murder by saying, I gave commands; / then all smiles stopped together.(45). Both speakers feel unremorseful of their actions and unaffected by the death of their lovers.
A key difference between the two speakers in the two poems is the how they portray their emotions towards their mistresses. The speaker in Porphyrias Lover shows strong love toward his lover and is completely devoted to her. When the woman enters the cottage, the narrator feels anxious and excited for her arrival. He says, she shut the cold out and the storm, / And kneeled and made the cheerless grate / Blaze up, and all the cottage warm. (7-9). This line demonstrates his romantic feelings towards her and feels that her presence changes a cold, stormy night into a warm, comforting evening. After he murders her, he offers her a burning kiss still showing affection to her. On the other hand, the duke in My Last Duchess is portrayed as chauvinistic and only views women as objects. Throughout the story, the duke does not reveal once any real affection towards his wife. Instead, he parades her self-portrait to a guest while showing interest in his niece. As the duke is showing his guest a tour of his artwork, he says, Though his fair daughters self, as I avowed / At starting, is my object. (52). The duke views his prospective wife as an object that he could soon conquer. The duke possesses a strong ego where he puts himself on a pedestal and thinks of himself as god-like. He particularly points out his statue of Neptune, who in Roman mythology is the god of water and the sea, attempting the tame, a sea horse. This action reflects the dukes desire to control women, which is much unlike Porphyrias man who cherishes and loves her.
Robert Browning helped with the invention of and eventually mastered the dramatic monologue. Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess are incredible examples of how his dramatic monologues give the reader a chance to get deeply involved in the psychology of the narrator. Both men appear to be extremely possessive and controlling of their women, but they show their love towards women in different ways. Browning creates two extremely interesting characters in these two poems, which both leave a haunting feeling in the mind of the reader.
maxwell, Catherine "Browning's Porphyria's Lover" Explicator 52.1 (1993): 27
Miller, Micael G. "Browning's My Last Duchess" Explicator 47.4 (1989): 32
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