His Everlasting Moment of Intimacy

In the widely acclaimed novel “Catching Fire”, the fictional character Peeta Mellark is quoted as saying, “I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever.” (Collins). Coincidentally, that is what the unnamed lover in Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “Porphyria’s Lover” aspires to achieve when he murders his beloved Porphyria, in hopes of preserving their intimate moment for eternity. At the start of the poem, Browning seemingly shows his audience a loving, romantic scene of Porphyria affectionately tending her inert beau. As the dramatic monologue progresses, it is learned that the originally envisioned romantic love story has transformed into a disturbing tale of a cruel lover’s massacre of his significant other. The moment the nameless speaker finally glances into his love’s eyes, he fully abandons his passive nature and reveals his true personality. The persona of Browning’s “Porphyria’s Lover” reveals himself as a sadistic and covetous lover who views Porphyria as a mere possession, and further illustrates himself as a delusional and selfish person. Browning overtly reveals the speaker’s character through proficient word choice, explicit imagery, and the clever use of irony in the poem.
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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...the horrific incident of his murder to his dearest Porphyria. Finally, the employment of the clever use of irony serves in proving the persona’s inner madness, as what he thinks and does is contrary to what Porphyria has done earlier prior to her death. Though the persona’s execution of his late lover was done to keep his everlasting moment of intimacy with her, the act was still malevolent and evil, and was a poor and foolish attempt in displaying his own affection for his love. In the end, it greatly epitomized his greediness over keeping Porphyria to himself, and his cruelty by taking away her life for his own benefit.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. “17.” Catching Fire. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2010. 245. Print.
Browning, Robert. "Porphyria's Lover." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, 2014. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. .