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Summary In-depth analysis notes of 'Porphria's Lover' by Robert Browning
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GCSE English Literature Poetry Anthology: Love & Relationships, 'Porphria's Lover' by Robert Browning Annotation
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Romantic RelationshipSubject - Asserting attention to the lover
rather than Porphyria herself, so readers
reflect on the actions of the lover, rather
Porphyria’s Lover
Robert Browning
than dwell on Porphyria’s fate.
Pathetic Fallacy & Personification -
“rain” establishes a sombre tone Verbs & Themes - “tore”, “vex” &
while “sullen wind” emphasises that “bleak” establish a lexical field of
the mood of narrator before destruction and violence, highlighting
porphyria arrives is bleak. the ruinous nature of the wind.
Noun - “spite” suggests pleasure
in being hateful. Note, at this
Foreshadowing - The unpredictable The rain set early in to-night, moment, the speaker is
and aggressive nature of the wind reminiscing the murder.
seems to foreshadow the impulsive The sullen wind was soon awake,
behaviour of the speaker later. It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake: Setting - The wind seems outraged, angry and
intents on cruelty, similarly the image of the lake
First Person Pronoun - Establishes the I listened with heart fit to break. being disturbed could be in response to the merciless,
voice of the poem, Porphyria’s lover. When glided in Porphyria; straight unnatural killing of Porphyria.
She shut the cold out and the storm, Power Dynamic & Repetition - Verbs
Subject - Porphyria’s presentation And kneeled and made the cheerless grate used earlier e.g. “shut” & “made” are
used to emphasise her holding power at
is angelic. She is presented as an Blaze up, and all the cottage warm; this moment in the poem. “She put my
idealised Victorian woman -
performing domestic duties Which done, she rose, and from her form arm around her waist” may suggest she
immediately. Her concerns are for Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl, is keen to physical contact.
him, as only when she has done all And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
this does, she looks after herself, Adjective & Subject - “soiled” suggests
removing her wet clothes - Her hat and let the damp hair fall, Porphyria’s clothes aren’t perfectly
showing that regardless of social And, last, she sat down by my side clean, like a Victorian lady’s should be.
class, men were higher than She also let her hair down and removed
women regarding gender. And called me. When no voice replied, her outer clothing in front of a man
She put my arm about her waist, who is not her husband, suggesting
there is something bolder and
And made her smooth white shoulder bare, potentially more sexualised about her.
And all her yellow hair displaced,
Themes - Further evidence for class
difference - “pride” and “vainer ties” And, stooping, made my cheek lie there, Juxtaposition - “white” connotes purity
may suggest that her class is a And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair, & innocence about Porphyria while
barrier to their love as she cannot revealing parts of her body, “shoulder”
“give herself to me forever”. This Murmuring how she loved me — she to someone who she isn’t her spouse is
also further enforces her power in Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, surprising as there is a strange conflict.
the relationship as she is in control.
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
Turning Point And give herself to me for ever. Themes - “Porphyrus” is a shade of
Power Dynamic - Speaker now purple, commonly associated with
But passion sometimes would prevail, royalty . Also “gay feast” implies she
desires to be “worshipped”, to be
idolised like a god. Porphyria’s control Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain is attending social events. All suggest
seems to diminish as she becomes a woman of higher class than the
A sudden thought of one so pale speaker. This would have been
more confines to the stereotypical
obedient Victorian woman. For love of her, and all in vain: frowned upon in Victorian times.
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Verb - “debated” implies a rational Be sure I looked up at her eyes Repetition of pronoun - “mine” is
reasoned argument of weighing up pros Happy and proud; at last I knew repeated to highlight desire for
and cons. This is disturbing given his possession . This objectifies Porphyria.
debate involves her potential death. Porphyria worshipped me: surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
Themes - Demonstrates the ideal Victorian
Themes - “A thing” underplays the While I debated what to do. woman through these qualities. The speaker
seriousness of the situation as something That moment she was mine, mine, fair, has an eerie paternal desire to protect
small and not murder. Further emphasises Porphyria from herself, keeping her for
the mental instability of the speaker. Perfectly pure and good: I found himself - angelic and “perfectly pure”.
A thing to do, and all her hair
Indefinite Article - “A” also may suggest In one long yellow string I wound Caesura - Demonstrates the abrupt ending of
that this (murder) is simply one option, Porphyria’s life, juxtaposing the ironically sing-
not the only option. He can be seen Three times her little throat around, song rhyming couple before, “wound” & “around”
making a very drastic decision here. And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain. Simile - Even in death he seems to fear her;
As a shut bud that holds a bee, suggests that, like a flower, Porphyria is
Emphasis - Speaker is keen to stress how beautiful and yet potentially, like the hidden
kind he has been through repetition. All I warily oped her lids: again “bee”, has the power to harm others. This
most as if he is trying to convince himself can be seen to reinforce his argument that
that he doesn’t want to specially harm ‘women are dangerous’ and need to be
her, but merely wishes to control her. controlled. Reinforced by adverb “warily”.
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