Porphyria’s Lover By Robert Browning A powerpoint by Landon Harmon, Charyse Swann, William Clayton, and Rebecca Phillips

Author Biography Robert Browning was born on May 7, 1812, in Camberwell, England. Much of his education came from his father, and he was believed to have been proficient at reading at the age of five. He met and married Elizabeth Barrett after reading a collection of her poems, titled “Poems.” After her death, he moved to London and found critical acclaim, and died in 1889.

Poem The rain set early in tonight, 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,

Poem cont’d 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 endeavor, To set its struggling passion free From pride, and vainer ties dissever, And give herself to me forever. But passion sometimes would prevail, Nor could tonight’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 worshiped me: surprise Made my heart swell, and still it grew While I debated what to do. That moment she was mine, mine, fair,

cont’d 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,

cont’d 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!

Poem Analysis Starts by describing the night by talking about the hard wind and the storm Porphyria was from a rich and well of family and her lover is not Porphyria was coming home from a feast (of high social standings) She begins to tell him how much she loves and cares about him, but he knew that she would never let their love go public (“too weak, for all her heart’s endeavor, to set its struggling passion free” (line 22)) Since she came through the storm just to visit him, he felt that she really did love him so he killed her (“That moment she was mine, mine..”(line 36)) He felt that he gave her everything she wanted because now they could be together (“So glad its utmost will, That all it scorned at once is fled”(line 53-54)

Literary Elements Porphyria’s hair has unclear meaning, but may be a symbol for her fall from sexual purity. It’s yellow coloration could be representative of purity, and the first time her hair is mentioned is when she lets it fall. She is also strangled with her own hair. Browning uses personification when describing the storm to reflect the inner states of the characters within the poem. For example, the storm is described as having “spite” when it tears up the trees outside.

Theme Browning expresses a few themes in this poem, the first of which is a portrayal of a disordered way of thinking. Although it is not clear what the disorder is, there is reason to believe it would be a dissociation between the lover and his love which separated him from the reality of the travesties he was committing. The other identifiable theme of this poem would be violent love. This may sound impossible but after reading the poem it is very possible and viable. ( A thing to do, and all her hair, In one long yellow string I wound, Three times her little throat around, And strangled her).

Speaker attitude The speaker spoke in a calm and straightforward manner the whole story. This adds to the unsettling theme of the story. The speaker appears calm and normal while he is committing terrible acts like strangling. His terrifying manner comes from the fact that he thinks he isn't doing anything wrong, He feels no remorse over his actions.