Comparing the Use of Dramatic Monologue in My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover
These two poems are both about love and a relationship; however they
are not the type that ends happily ever after. They both represent a
man's love for a woman and reveal faults they have in their
relationships. As in all dramatic monologues the personality of the
narrator is revealed through what he says, the words he uses and his
point of view about events. For instance, in 'My Last Duchess' we see
an example of a man with too much pride from his line 'I choose to
never stoop'. We then see possesiveness and insecurity in 'Porphyria's
Lover' when the protagonist strangles his love because he wanted her
to 'give herself' to him 'for ever'.
In both poems setting is very important in revealing character. The
scene is set in Porphyria's Lover at the beginning with
personification, saying that the wind 'did its worst to vex the lake'.
It also states 'the sullen wind was soon awake' to give a feel of
mystery. These features also seem to represent the character's
feelings towards his love as he is moody, stubborn and unenthusiastic
when she comes in as well as deep in thought. He is 'sullen' as when
she 'called' him 'no voice replied'.
The other poem shows character even in the title 'My Last Duchess'
with its possessive pronoun 'my'. From the repeated use of possessive
pronouns 'my' and 'mine' the reader soon realizes how controlling the
Duke is 'That's my last duchess painted on the wall'. Even though both
the women in the poems loved and cared for both men, they still wound
up dead.
In 'Porphyria's Lover' we find the character is also possessive and
anxious about his lover when he states that she has 'vainer ties'.
Indicating possibly she is already married or committed in another
relationship.
The way the men decide to solve the problems within the relationships
seems to lead to the murder of the women with either 'I strangled her'
William Shakespeare and John Wyndham both demonstrate a strong theme of change in the play, Macbeth, and in the novel, The Chrysalids. The theme of change is represented in both the novel and play through the characters, and their life changes. Change is revealed throughout both artifacts, and both display how the characters’ lives change dramatically from start to end. Shakespeare and Wyndham expose change in these artifacts to set the climax of the play and novel. Firstly, in the play Macbeth, the character Macbeth changes after the murder of Banquo and Duncan and his conscience is presented, this compares to the novel The Chrysalids, because during the war, the Sealanders kill the people from Waknuk and the Fringes, moreover changing the conscience of Waknuk. Secondly, Macbeth’s reputation is altered, because of his no longer high status after his death, which relates to the novel The Chrysalids, because Sophie’s status in Waknuk changes after her six toes are exposed after hiding them her whole life, along with the telepath’s telepathic powers being revealed everything changes for them. Lastly, in the play Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship is transformed due to his change of heart for his wife, and how he adjusts after her death, which relates to The Chrysalids because David and Sophie’s relationship is changed after Sophie leaves Waknuk. Macbeth by William Shakespeare, and The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham both include the theme of change all through the novel and play in the course of the changing of characters after deaths occur, the character’s reputation and status is altered within both artifacts, and the relationship between the characters after being separated.
A Comparison of Scenes From West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet Cinematography The scene before the meeting scene in West Side Story Maria spins. around in her dress the camera then carries on spinning which creates a colourful blur effect on the screen. The effect makes her look like she is almost spinning into the next scene. When Tony and Maria met, all the other characters that were dancing.
Pride does not only cloud ones judgement, but it also can cause worse situations such as death or unnecessary punishment. In the play, The Crucible, a lot is caused because of a characters pride; for instance, when all was coming to place: Abigail running away, no one willing to confess to witchcraft, and three well known people in line to be hung, Danforth would not postpone nor completely stop the hangings of Proctor, Rebecca, Goody Nurse because if he did the other twelve hangings that were for the same reason would not be “just.” Danforth’s “pride” was not only to be “just,” but to not look like a weakling in front of the town’s people. Danforth did not “yield” because he did not want to but because if he did it would not seem like the “right” thing to do. Pride overpowered Danforth’s judgement and made him arrogant all he wanted to do was to seem fair and please the townspeople; which caused the death of innocent people and the freedom of t...
First came the pride, an overwhelming sense of achievement, an accomplishment due to great ambition, but slowly and enduringly surged a world of guilt and confusion, the conscience which I once thought diminished, began to grow, soon defeating the title and its rewards. Slowly the unforgotten memories from that merciless night overcame me and I succumbed to the incessant and horrific images, the bloody dagger, a lifeless corpse. I wash, I scrub, I tear at the flesh on my hands, trying desperately to cleanse myself of the blood. But the filthy witness remains, stained, never to be removed.
John Proctor is an example of one who lets pride prevent a whole life of personal fulfillment. He had made a sin, which was an affair with Abigail. He was the hero of the story and still is but just a flawed hero. He is a proud man, who places great emphasis on his name and reputation “ How may [he] live without [his] name” (Miller Act Four). John Proctor spends too much time being concerned about saving his name because his confession would dishonor his fellow prisoners.
I understand that you are occupied with the assigned duties of a King; however I have some extremely disheartening news to share with you. Since your absence by your wife’s side, her mental health has deteriorated rapidly and one cannot comprehend the difficulties she is suffering. I am concerned about Lady Macbeth’s welfare as she has informed me of an episode where she received a letter from you, reciting the prophecy that you would become king. She revealed to me her immediate thoughts were dark, and mainly consisted of murdering King Duncan. I am one to not believe in such nonsense; conversely there have been numerous events that elapsed to reveal that the reality of your reign was one that was strategically intentional.
Weak Structure and Powerful Drama in My Antonia Much of the earliest criticism of My Antonia focuses on the apparent failure of the narrative. Many critics take the title of the story and its introduction at face value. When the story says it is to be about Antonia, it must be about her! Therefore, many critics see the stunningly crafted pieces of "variation from a theme" -- the stories of Peter & Pavel (the Russians and their wolves) and the sections of the novel dealing with the hired girls Lena Lingard and others-- as divergences which weaken the overall structure of the novel. In other words, these stories distract us from the real story, that of ntonia and her relationship with Jim.
When it comes to pride, when do we know that we have too much? A perfect example of having too much pride lies in the Greek tragedy, Antigone. In my opinion, it is the perfect example because the main character, Creon, is dealing with all the things that are happening because of Antigone’s decision to go against his law and many people are telling him that he is wrong, but he is too confident in his own choice that nothing bad will happen.
Pride manifests itself into many different forms and will sometimes overshadow a person 's good judgement, in turn affecting their actions. It is truly the cause for the rise and fall of men for centuries and thus has become one of the greatest concepts to be addressed in British literature. Throughout the literary works studied this semester, some form of pride has always presented itself as a major theme.
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
a very young age. This can be illustrated by Juliet who is only 13 or
‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ are both poems by the Victorian poet Robert Browning. In this essay I will compare these two poems to find similarities and differences.
A study of Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. The first poem “Porphyria’s lover” is about class and control. A woman shows her control over her lover by seducing him to get attention, moving him to a position she likes and treating him like she is the boss of him and his possessions. The man eventually goes to extremes to get control and kills her. The second poem “My last Duchess” is also about control.
over his wife as he refers to her as a belonging; it also shows that
going to happen, it does not seem to ruin the rest of the play. Rather