Porphyria's Lover
Aug. 31st, 2016 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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engh_2016Porphyria's Lover is a popular poem by Robert Browning. It is a dramatic monologue about the relationship of two lovers which wants to convey the hypocrisy of religion and society through them. It is due to the gradual decrease of morals and human interests due to which a relationship is destroyed .
In the poem, it is very interesting to see how the lover waits outside the cottage for his mistress to come and not the lady waiting for him. This is an indication of their relation where the mistress has the upper hand. The lady can either have more social status than the man or she may be the richer party of the two.
In the following lines, Browning indicates about the arrival of Porphyria. She acts very casual with no sign of fear or tension in her face which makes us believe that she is used to such meetings. Even though there is a storm outside the cottage, Porphyria tries to keep the cottage warm and cheerful by lighting a fire. She herself acts as the comfort blanket for her lover.
Again, the characteristics of a typical woman of being nurturing, warm, comforting and home making is portrayed with the help of Porphyria's character. As she undresses, she sheds down the parts of the mask that society dictates. She opens the golden hair, thus letting down her guard.
"And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,…"
In these lines, one can sense the disturbance in the lover's mind. But this query is not immediately resolved in the poem. The mistress bares her shoulder for the lover to rest his head. She keeps on murmuring something. It is the confession of her love. Although initially, she was portrayed as a typical lady, but now the confession was quite ironical. In the Victorian society, such an act was considered to be very brave, breaking all the obstacles of the society yet to a lover's eye, she was weak! It was because he believed that his lady can't give away her social status. He wanted her to leave behind her pride before coming to him. But the truth was actually the other round around. She had swallowed all her pride before coming to him, the confession being the evidence.
The following lines comprises of many contradictions as the entire picture is viewed through the man's eyes. The lover is very happy seeing the lover in her eyes. He is proud that he can excite an emotion of love in her. It symbolizes he hidden inferiority complex in him and male dominance here. Time plays a key role here. Although she is his in the present moment but he wants her to be his eternally. He wants her to be a part of him. Thus, he arrives at the perfect solution of killing her by winding her hair around her throat. The Rapunzel fairytale is shattered here. According to her lover, she felt no pain and died a happy death. Both are eternally connected now. Interestingly, there is no 'we' in the entire poem. There is only 'I'. Despite whatever that happened between them, there was no one to cry!
In the poem, it is very interesting to see how the lover waits outside the cottage for his mistress to come and not the lady waiting for him. This is an indication of their relation where the mistress has the upper hand. The lady can either have more social status than the man or she may be the richer party of the two.
In the following lines, Browning indicates about the arrival of Porphyria. She acts very casual with no sign of fear or tension in her face which makes us believe that she is used to such meetings. Even though there is a storm outside the cottage, Porphyria tries to keep the cottage warm and cheerful by lighting a fire. She herself acts as the comfort blanket for her lover.
Again, the characteristics of a typical woman of being nurturing, warm, comforting and home making is portrayed with the help of Porphyria's character. As she undresses, she sheds down the parts of the mask that society dictates. She opens the golden hair, thus letting down her guard.
"And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,…"
In these lines, one can sense the disturbance in the lover's mind. But this query is not immediately resolved in the poem. The mistress bares her shoulder for the lover to rest his head. She keeps on murmuring something. It is the confession of her love. Although initially, she was portrayed as a typical lady, but now the confession was quite ironical. In the Victorian society, such an act was considered to be very brave, breaking all the obstacles of the society yet to a lover's eye, she was weak! It was because he believed that his lady can't give away her social status. He wanted her to leave behind her pride before coming to him. But the truth was actually the other round around. She had swallowed all her pride before coming to him, the confession being the evidence.
The following lines comprises of many contradictions as the entire picture is viewed through the man's eyes. The lover is very happy seeing the lover in her eyes. He is proud that he can excite an emotion of love in her. It symbolizes he hidden inferiority complex in him and male dominance here. Time plays a key role here. Although she is his in the present moment but he wants her to be his eternally. He wants her to be a part of him. Thus, he arrives at the perfect solution of killing her by winding her hair around her throat. The Rapunzel fairytale is shattered here. According to her lover, she felt no pain and died a happy death. Both are eternally connected now. Interestingly, there is no 'we' in the entire poem. There is only 'I'. Despite whatever that happened between them, there was no one to cry!
