Porphyria’s Lover
The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;
Which done, she rose, and from her form
Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Her hat and let the damp hair fall,
And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o’er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me — she
Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me for ever.
But passion sometimes would prevail,
Nor could to-night’s gay feast restrain
A sudden thought of one so pale
For love of her, and all in vain:
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Happy and proud; at last I knew
Porphyria worshipped me; surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
I propped her head up as before,
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:
The smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!
Summary of Porphyria’s Lover
- Popularity of “Porphyria’s Lover”: Published in January 1836, this beautiful poem by Robert Browning, a renowned English poet popular for dramatic monologs, has set the standard of writing unique, different, and mysterious love poems. It was first published in his collection, Dramatic Lyrics, which appeared in the markets in 1842. The poem seems a dramatic monolog of a cruel lover who kills Porphyria, his beloved, when making love and tells the grisly tale of how he did it. The beauty and popularity of the poem lie in these grisly details.
- “Porphyria’s Lover” As a Representative of Macabre Love Killer: The first person speaker, who happens to be the lover of Porphyria, tells about the rainy night, the howling wind, and the breaking of the elm trees, showing he was keenly listening to the storm to let it die down when she entered his house. She immediately closed all the windows and doors, changed her cloak, and removed her gloves when she sat down with him to talk. When they were busy making love, he says, she spread her hair on his shoulder when he moved forward, but her hesitance showed him that she still takes pride in her beauty.
This incensed her, and he watched into her eyes where he looked love for him. However, he decided otherwise, making a rope of her hair and strangling her. He checked her completely as she was lying in his lap. He mockingly laid her down, saying that she won his love which was enough for her. Finally, he speaks in a macabre tone, saying that they sat for the whole night silently, and so was God, as He also did not utter a single word. - Major Themes in “Porphyria’s Lover”: Cruelty of a lover, sadistic lover, and skepticism about God’s existence are major themes of this poem. Although the monolog spells out the extreme love of the speaker, it also transpires that he is suffering from some psychological issue. That is why he wants extreme love from Porphyria, and when she visits him to shower her love on him, he rather strangulates her deceptively. This also shows the sadistic nature of a person who wants her love and does not want her to share it with anybody else. That is why he wants to reserve that moment of love and rather kills her when she comes to him. It is also an irony about the existence of God that he has done a great wrong by committing his beloved, and yet God has done nothing, and the philosophy of God is in his heaven and everything wrong with the world.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Porphyria’s Lover
Robert Browning’s excellence in poetic writing lies in using literary devices at appropriate places. Some of the major literary devices are as listed below.
- Alliteration: This device shows the use of initial consonant sounds in consecutive words. The poet shows the use of alliterations, such as the sound of /s/ in “she sat” and /h/ in “her heart”, or /b/ in “blushed bright” or /w/ in “wish would.”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “And kneeled and made the cheerless grate” and the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “And made her smooth white shoulder bare.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /d/ and /r/ in “And all her yellow hair displaced” and the sound of /t/ and /s/ in “To set its struggling passion free.”
- Enjambment: It means to use a device in which a verse rolls over to the next in line without having a pause. The poem shows the use of an enjambment, such as;
Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me for ever.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Robert Browning used imagery in this poem, such as “She put my arm about her waist”, “But passion sometimes would prevail” and “So, she was come through wind and rain.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of a bud for his beloved, Porphyria.
- Simile: It is a direct comparison of two things to understand the first being compared. The poem shows the use of a simile such as “As a shut bud that holds a bee.” The poet is comparing Porphyria to a bud.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the blue eyes having emotions when they laugh.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as night, elm-tops, heart, lake, and storm to show the intense love of the speaker.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Porphyria’s Lover
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and haughty diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. Robert Browning shows the use of end rhyme, such as night/spite, lake/break, and storm/warm.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the rhyme scheme of ABABB, CDCDD, and so on, and it continues until the end.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This poem has no stanza break, showing total of 60 verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a highly loving and pleasing tone at the beginning and a macabre, sadist, and horrible tone by the end.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about how God responds to cruelties committed by such sadists.
Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!
