The poem
The rain set early in tonight, The sullen wind was soon awake, It tore the elm-tops down for spite, And did its worst to vex the lake: I listened with heart fit to break. When glided in Porphyria; straight She shut the cold out and the storm, And kneeled and made the cheerless grate Blaze up, and all the cottage warm; Which done, she rose, and from her form Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl, And laid her soiled gloves by, untied Her hat and let the damp hair fall, And, last, she sat down by my side And called me. When no voice replied, She put my arm about her waist, And made her smooth white shoulder bare, And all her yellow hair displaced, And, stooping, made my cheek lie there, And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair, Murmuring how she loved me--she Too weak, for all her heart's endeavor, To set its struggling passion free From pride, and vainer ties dissever, And give herself to me forever. But passion sometimes would prevail, Nor could tonight's gay feast restrain A sudden thought of one so pale For love of her, and all in vain: So, she was come through wind and rain. Be sure I looked up at her eyes Happy and proud; at last I knew Porphyria worshiped me: surprise Made my heart swell, and still it grew While I debated what to do. That moment she was mine, mine, fair, Perfectly pure and good: I found A thing to do, and all her hair In one long yellow string I wound Three times her little throat around, And strangled her. No pain felt she; I am quite sure she felt no pain. As a shut bud that holds a bee, I warily oped her lids: again Laughed the blue eyes without a stain. And I untightened next the tress About her neck; her cheek once more Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss: I propped her head up as before Only, this time my shoulder bore Her head, which droops upon it still: The smiling rosy little head, So glad it has its utmost will, That all it scorned at once is fled, And I, its love, am gained instead! Porphyria's love: she guessed not how Her darling one wish would be heard. And thus we sit together now, And all night long we have not stirred, And yet God has not said a word!
not the same one i read at school
I disagree with the 1st comment, Her school probrably isn't equiped with the proper learning tools or she's mistaken this poem for another one. On the other hand I loved the placement of irony in this but still it was weird it started off soft sweet romantic then it got a little crucial. I think there was a void he was trying to fill and he found that missing peice of the puzzle he was so overwhelmed that he resorted to murder as a way o keeping what he had been searching for; for so long.
this is a poem that is good it is a love poem with irony i think. Hey joe mcgwigowig! ima eat you if u make fun of my poem about little clowns again!
I love this poem madly. And to think I found it when I was like 8!!! The way it makes you think it's some happy lovey dovey poem but then he goes and kills her it just amazing. It's poem hidden away, but when discovered, it glitters like a diamond and is a sharp as one.
initally this narrative poem makes you think of love but really his view on love is perverted and about power and control.His sexual love affair with a high society woman does not end with death. The intent is to make you believe that. yes, he does strangle her but no where in the poem does it say she dies. After the sex act/erotic asphyxiation he loosens the tress of hair and the blush returns to her face, this…
Read the whole commentinitally this narrative poem makes you think of love but really his view on love is perverted and about power and control.His sexual love affair with a high society woman does not end with death. The intent is to make you believe that. yes, he does strangle her but no where in the poem does it say she dies. After the sex act/erotic asphyxiation he loosens the tress of hair and the blush returns to her face, this signifies life, circulation blood flow to the face. Also when some one dies mottling sets in and the face and body are discolored with bruise like appearances. Another analogy is that she laughed the blue eyes with out a stain. and the smiling rosy little head. her wish was heard, not of death but of an affair with a man she had longed for, but her debutant lifestyle wouldn't allow her to feel passion so she chose to leave and walk through the storm to be with her man. What would you do for love?
I diagree with the 1st comment made. The poem is about a women who is ,yes, high in society. but she comes away from taht and when she walks into the dorr shed tells him of hjow she has escaped from societies grasp. he knows that she will return to them and that they will get the better of her, he also sees he worships her. He knows that this is teh last and best time he will have with her , so he kills her to perserve the moment. then he fiddles with her body ; opens her eyes and sets her body next to his. He spends teh night with her like that, and the last line says that god hasn't said a word, meaning that he has not been punished for killing her, yet.
i would like to say all of you are pretty much correct this poem is open to many different interpretations and thousands of critics have analysed and disagreed with eachother for decades and this poem has still never fully been discussed to the highest possible extent it could be. i am 15 and am still at school and for my coursework i have to answer this simple question as it would appear but as you dive into the…
Read the whole commenti would like to say all of you are pretty much correct this poem is open to many different interpretations and thousands of critics have analysed and disagreed with eachother for decades and this poem has still never fully been discussed to the highest possible extent it could be. i am 15 and am still at school and for my coursework i have to answer this simple question as it would appear but as you dive into the depths of both poems you will perhaps discover further points you have all failed to see about robert browning. if u try and answer this question you will understand the other peoples quotes and comments and will therefore stop contradicting each other!!!! i dare ya to try ...
Both 'my last duchess' and 'porphyria's lover' exemplify the dramatic monologue form. explain how they show browning as an authority of this style.
I'm marveled by the cinematic quality of the poem - does anyone else get the feeling that they are watching a movie in which the camera moves from an outside perspective, to one following porphyria into the cottage and finally to the internal perspective of her lover? It would certainly make a great horror scene!
I hadn't considered the ideo of erotic asphyxiation, but I do find it interesting that there is no struggle. she just sits there and lets this guy strangle her with her own hair. If she were a masochist, it could explain why she just lets it happen.
as if she would just sit there and let some guy kill her shes a bit dumb and as for the guy where there mental asulums back then
i am currently sat in my room attempting to answer a coursework question on this poem, i find it quite confusing it allows the reader to follow a few different avenues of how the story ends, does she actually die? now i dont think she does
I think that this complex poem is the saddest one I have ever read.It was recommended to me as a joke as I have long hair.Ibelieve that she is killed-he does not want to lose her-the most precious thing in his life- so kills her to ensure that she will never be lost to him. A very moving and thought provoking poem! Fantastic!
I believe that the only reason Porphyria let the narrator kill her is because she has so much trust in him and does not believe that he has any intentions of killing her! And making her shoulder bare would of been a way of secuction because in the time when the poem was wriiten revealling a womans neck was almost like being naked- the neck was a very intimate area! And i think the beginnig is really clever because…
Read the whole commentI believe that the only reason Porphyria let the narrator kill her is because she has so much trust in him and does not believe that he has any intentions of killing her! And making her shoulder bare would of been a way of secuction because in the time when the poem was wriiten revealling a womans neck was almost like being naked- the neck was a very intimate area! And i think the beginnig is really clever because all of the description words are metaphors for the narrators worry and anger that Porphyria has not arrives because if you notice as sonn as Porphyria arrives she 'shuts the cold out and the storm' which is symbolic for her shuttin out all his worry that she would not arrive because she has done! well, thats what i think anyway! please say whether you think this is true?
I believe that the man simpply killed her because at that exact moment she belonged to him and only him. without ther being anyone else to intervine and he just wanted it to stay that way forever
the poem shows the intensity of love.it is painful 4 a male to kill his love,as he is helpless.but he kills ,sends her to an exile,only to fall in love more deeply
After reading this poem, I got a sense that Porphyria was a wealthy, stately woman who loved the narrator(a lesser individual, possibly a employee of hers'). He loved her and thought she was just using to satisfy her passions, but he realized she loved him too. Since, she would not give up her life for him yet, wanted to be with him, he put an end to her misery. He thought he did her a favour and he did not feel guilty for it.
"I warily oped her lids: again Laughed the blue eyes without a stain"- i believe he was worried he did kill her but when he opened her there was no stain (it is known that when you die your eyes become stained). "And I untightened next the tress About her neck; her cheek once more Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss"- after letting go the color comes back to her face and if her heart had stopped there would be no…
Read the whole comment"I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain"- i believe he was worried he did kill her but when he opened her there was no stain (it is known that when you die your eyes become stained).
"And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss"- after letting go the color comes back to her face and if her heart had stopped there would be no circulation.
"I propped her head up as before,
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:"- at this point she is still passed out so her head will still droop but, does not mean she is dead.
"The smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will"- at this point her head wouldnt be smiling or rosey if she were to be dead.
"So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria's love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard."-this is where i think it gets interesting; in the victorian age not just women but men were deprived. they were both not allowed to experiment in in sexual behaviors. i think she was looking to be over-powered and he was looking to over-power someone. EROTIC ASPHYXIATION! she was pleased with the outcome and also glad she could find someone willing to fulfill her desires. " she guessed not how, Her darling one wish would be heard".
my last argument:
"And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!"- if you try to argue that she dead because all night she didnt stir well, he didnt either. maybe he killed himself also. I dont think thats true either. because if he killed her and on top of it killed himself then , quotes god as not saying a word then no sin has been done. murder is a sin in the christian religion and suicide is even worse. and i think thatif he did both God would have said something, if you catch my drift.and to argue erotic asphixiation, afterwards they didnt feel guilty for what they have done.
so conclude this looooong comment, i think he didnt kill her at all but it was erotic asphyxiation in play.