Comparing Poems 'Porphyria's Lover And' My Last

Robert Browning's poems 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess' are both about psychotic men who kill their lovers. However, the men differ in their motives as Porphyria’s murder could be considered to be done out of love whereas the dukes murder is one of jealousy. This heavily influences our feeling towards the two men, as the duke is a bitter misogynist compared to Porphyria’s ‘Tender murderer’. Dramatic monologue by definition is a piece of performed writing that offers great insight into the feelings of the speaker, which is exactly how Browning uses them by eliminating the aspect of a narrator he is able to influence the readers opinion on the key speaker more effectively
Throughout ‘My Last Duchess’ browning is intentionally guiding our response to the Dukes character by highlighting the Dukes constant referral to the duchess as a possession, a recurring theme throughout both poems and a lot of Browning’s work. Made obvious by the Duke’s attitude towards the portrait and in directly woman in general. As in the mind of the duke the painting is a far better than the real Duchess as he has complete control on whom see’s the painting whereas he did not have control over the Duchess. Emphasizing his view on women as mere possessions as he makes the comparisons between wife’s and artwork as pieces of his collection. Jealousy and Pride also feature heavily within the Dukes personality as he creates hypothetical
situations where he feels the Duchess has been unfaithful since ‘ she liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere’ it is unclear whether or not the Duchess was indeed unfaithful but based on the Dukes personality its more likely that its his intense jealousy.
The Dukes excessive pride
is also on show as he brandishes his name as a gift to the duchess ‘as if she ranked my gift of a nine hundred years old name with anybody’s gift’ underlining the Dukes high regard for his social status. Browning has also made clear the Dukes hatred for women with misogynist remarks of the duchess ‘Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt whene’er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands then all smiles stopped together” this is also an alliteration, which increases the sinister atmosphere and emphasises his enjoyment of the fact that he has had his Duchess murdered its this cowardly act which no doubt influences the readers final opinion on the Duke.
Porphyria’s Lover on the other hand differs from My Last Duchess, as Porphyria’s Lover is a far more emotional poem compared to the sinister My Last Duchess. Porphyria’s Lover opens with a scene taken straight from the Romantic poetry of the earlier nineteenth century. While a storm rages outdoors, the setting of the scene plays a large part in ‘Porphyria’s Lover.’ It sets up for bad things to come as it creates an evil atmosphere. I find that the weather also mimics the Lovers mood through personification. First it is ‘sullen’, this is just like how he is when Porphyria enters, but underneath it all he is rather violent, just like the weather as it ‘tore down elm-trees’ and ‘vex the lake’. His love for Porphyria is the reason for the shocking impact of the murder, which contrasts with My Last Duchess, as throughout the poem there were clues of the Duchess’s impending murder. Once again Browning is using the dramatic monologue to show the psychological insanity of the main protagonist
The Destination of both poems is a psychological study of possession whether it be the Duke’s possession of the painting and his Duchess or Porphyria’s anonymous lover who without a name is also referred to as a possession inevitably both women are nevertheless victims of a male desire to inscribe and fix female sexuality