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THEMES OF "PORPHYRIA'S LOVER" BY ROBERT BROWNING...
Introduction
"Porphyria’s Lover" is a poem composed by the British poet Robert Browning sometimes in 1834. It was originally published in 1836 and, later, again published in 1842. “Porphyria’s Lover” is one of Browning’s finest works that portrays the themes of love and hate, as well as passion and control. The thrilling love story is about a man who is greatly obsessed with his lover named Porphyria and all he really wants his to keep her all to himself. But the only way he feels he can keep her is by killing her. Browning’s poem shows the theme of love, social classes, and power
Themes
1) Love
The saying “Love is a powerful motivation and can be a dangerous thing too” is exemplified in this poem “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning.
Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover initially seems like an ordinary romantic poem detailing a romantic evening. However, it tells a story of intense and passionate love that takes an unexpected turn. A romantic evening between two lovers turns out to be far from typical. In the poem, we learn from Porphyria that she loves the speaker and desired to “give herself to him forever.” On the other hand, the narrator feels such a strong emotion for Porphyria that he wants to be with her for eternity and believes that the only way to accomplish this is through taking her life – revealing his dark passion within.
2) Madness
Robert Browning’s poem “Porphyria’s Lover” introduces an unsettling change in perspectives as it follows the story of two lovers.
The speaker begins by painting a vivid picture of an evening storm, followed by portraying an account of Porphyria’s movements, everything methodically from shutting out the cold to kneeling down, making a fire, taking off her coat and setting by his side. However, it is remarkable how this detail – oriented narrative shifts suddenly. At first, Porphyria was seen as strong and compelling, and at the very next movement as weak and uncertain.
In the later half of the poem, the speaker reveals his madness by describing how he lethally strangles his lover with her own hairs. Ultimately, it becomes clear that the speaker has become disconnected from reality yet there is no direct indication of it through either tone or diction, one can sense an underlying atmosphere of dementia as they read on.
3) Social Class
Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning also discusses Social Class as its one of most prominent themes. Porphyria is of a higher class than the speaker which may have played a part in her murder. For example, Porphyria rests the speaker’s head on her shoulder, symbolizing her higher status. However, after killing Porphyria, the speaker places her lifeless head against his shoulder symbolizing that killing her gives him a sense of superiority.
4) Love, Sexuality and Violence
Porphyria’s Lover is a poem that depicts an illicit love affair between two people from differing social classes, something that was bound to shock the readers of its time. Though it might not be seen as overly sexual by today’s standards, Porphyria’s lover pushed boundaries in terms of what could be written about with the regard to Victorian – era relationships and sexuality.
Its frank description of an illegitimate love affair between a socially prominent woman and her parameter would have stirred considerable shock among Victorian readers
