Analysis of Browning's Poems
The two Robert Browning poems which we read this week are very similar, sharing the same theme and underlying message. The themes of love and power are explored throughout both poems where both narrators are the male lovers in twisted love relationships. In both poems, the narrator is obsessed with having absolute control over his relationship and feel threatened by their lovers’ free will. Another main theme in both poems is jealousy. In ‘My Last Duchess’, the Duke is resentful that the Duchess is ‘too easily impressed’ (line 23) and didn’t reserve her happiness purely for him. Similarly, in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, the narrator is envious that Porphyria didn’t belong to him wholly, and that he had to share her affections with another man. In both poems, the narrator resolves to murder to gain absolute power and control and to preserve his ideal image of his lover.
It is obvious that the narrators in both poems have disparate views on love as Browning’s readers. Yet regardless of this, the narration in the poems almost tempts us to see the reason behind the narrator’s motives. This is achieved as the poems are depicted entirely in the narrator’s point of view. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’, the narrator’s reassurance of “No pain felt she” (line 41) and “God has not said a word” (line 60) combined with his conviction that Porphyria is “glad [she] has [her] utmost will” (line 54) tells us that he feels justified that he did the right thing. In “My Last Duchess”, the Duke is portrayed as charming and his words are able to fully capture the attention of his audience (the envoy of the Count whose daughter he is going to remarry).
In the poems, there is a conflict between order and chaos. The order lies within the tranquility of the narrators’ words, as well as the regular iambic meter and rhyme scheme that Browning employs, whereas the chaos comes from the horrendous acts of crime that the narrators committed.
Overall, the underlying message in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ reflect the power and dominance that men possessed the Victorian society and the contradictions and malevolence of human life.
I like how you make a comparison between order and chaos in these poems. An interesting point I'd like to throw out is that both people, the lover and the duke, seek to create order over others by generating chaos so that they benefit. I also think that these stories could also apply to pretty much anyone, as people will always justify themselves when doing terrible acts so that they are the heroes. Good analysis!
ReplyDeleteGreat interpretation on the contrast of chaos and order! I think another example of such a conflict can be found in "Porphyria's Lover". The depiction of harsh weather, "The sullen wind was soon awake, it tore the elm-tops down for spite" (line 2), implies the male lover's agony and dark intentions, whereas his calm conduct of murder represents his obsession with order and absolute control.
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