Porphyria’s Lover : Browning’s Portrait of a Madman
Robert Browning’s "Porphyria’s Lover" contains the methodical ramblings of a lunatic; it is a madman’s monologue that reveals the dark side of human nature. Power and passion coalesce to form the strangulation of the beautiful and innocent Porphyria, and at the same time strangle the reader’s ability to comprehend what is occurring and why it is occurring. The murder’s monologue depicts a heinous crime. The simple fact that the monologue is issued from the murderer himself creates a sense of distrust. There is no doubt that the man is disturbed, but the level of his lunacy remains uncertain. In one short poem, Browning provides an intense glimpse into the mind of a homicidal maniac, while single-handedly destroying the romantic notion of eternal love.
The first clue that something unusual or insane in going to occur in "Porphyria’s Lover" manifests itself in the title. Before her lover has a chance to speak he is suspect because "porphyria," as defined by Reader’s Digest Illustrated Encyclopedia Dictionary is:
A hereditary disease involving disturbance in the metabolism of porphyrins [organic compounds that provide the foundation structure for blood in animal tissues] and producing symptoms of mental confusion, neuritis, and abdominal pain. (1319)
The title suggests that Porphyria’s lover is not even revealing the name of the woman he strangles. He may in fact suffer from the condition porphyria, in which case he is deranged and completely unreliable as a narrator. If he is not an actual sufferer of the disease, the title would suggest that his love for the woman is the disease porphyria, and this passionate love produces the confusion and pain that motivates him ...
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As the reader examines "Prophyria's Lover" by Robert Browning, one recognizes the complete effort of the speaker to disguise his feelings toward the murder of his wife. The speaker goes through different thoughts in relation to the life he has with his wife. Many thoughts include the positive and negative parts about her and their relationship. Throughout the monologue, the speaker tells the readers of his struggles of coming to the conclusion of murdering his wife and the reasons to do so. In “Prophyria’s Lover”, the speaker is faced with many types of insanity before, during, and after the murder of his wife, Prophyria because of the love he has for her.
6. William Yardley, “Racial Shift in a Progressive City Spurs Talks,” New York Times, May 29, 2008 accessed May 3, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/us/29portland.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=63fee218058cf972&ex=1212206400.
In the story, “Loves Executioner”, Yalom treats and old woman named “Thelma” that is overly obsessed with a man named Matthew, her former therapist from ten years ago. Yalom feeling though that he is drawn to the facets of her dilemma decides to do everything he can to empower Thelma move past the obsessions that had been wrecking havoc on her mental health. Although Thelma’s love obsession with her therapist, and her subjective experiences on life of what is preventing her from living in the present, Yalom attempts to treat a 70-year-old woman only to learn that being love executioner more complicated as he had anticipated.
The persona’s possessiveness and lunacy is depicted by the poet through the use of diction. To begin with, the speaker’s character is portrayed in one way through the repetition of words in his speech, asserting his intended message. This is seen in his claim over Porphyria: “That moment she was mine, mine” (Browning, 36). His repetition of the possessive pronoun “mine” emphasizes his ownership of Porphyria. The repeated use of the word shows his aggressively selfish personality, because he completely...
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Ingersoll, Earl G. "Lacan, Browning, and the Murderous Voyeur: "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess." Victorian Poetry 28 (1990): 151-157.
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"Porphyria's Lover" is an exhilarating love story given from a lunatic's point of view. It is the story of a man who is so obsessed with Porphyria that he decides to keep her for himself. The only way he feels he can keep her, though, is by killing her. Robert Browning's poem depicts the separation of social classes and describes the "triumph" of one man over an unjust society. As is often the case in fiction, the speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" does not give accurate information in the story.
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