My Last Duchess And Porphyria's Lover
Every single human being is shape by his or her personal desires in life. Desires constantly influence people’s characteristics in both positive and negative ways. Likewise, many authors and poets create their based on internal ambitions of a person. Often times, their messages portray how people can act a certain ways motivated by desires. For example, Robert Herrick uses a Carpe diem theme to express his desires in “To the Virgin, to Make Much of Time.” Moreover, Robert Browning expresses personal desires in “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” using dramatic monologue. As shown in these texts, desires negatively affect people according to a priest’s motivation for women to pursue marriage, a Duke’s killing of his Duchess, and a lover’s
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intention on killing his beloved.
Robert Herrick demonstrates how desires impact people negatively in the “To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” In the poem, Herrick addresses why he, as a priest, wants the ladies pursue marriage by manipulating women’s vanities. In 1619, when he becomes a cleric for a rural church, he needed to attract more members. Because of this, he uses Carpe diem, the idea of enjoying life while he or she can, in his poems to attract more members for the Church. In the poem, he particularly encourages ladies to pursue marriage while young and beautiful before it is too late. Herrick expresses, “That age is best which is the first, / When youth and blood are warmer; / But being spent, the worse, and worst / Times still succeed the former” (Herrick 9-10). In this statement, Herrick proclaims the importance of time and youth. Through the use of symbolism, he addresses “That age is best which is the first”. In this statement, the “first” represents human’s momentary young adulthood, but it is the best stage in life. Furthermore, he uses a metaphor to stress why young adulthood is the climax of life. The “youth and blood are warmer” is compared to the life full of allurement and energy. Herrick also uses Aphorism to describe the value of time. The statement “Time still succeed the former” is relevant to every single human being because he is articulating that youth does not last forever. Because people get older every minute, they should not waste the opportunity. Additionally, Herrick wants the ladies to pursue marriage in order to spread the influence of the Church and maintain his job as a priest. The reason is during that time, the church approves the marriage between lovers and when more babies are born, the church baptizes them. He particularly targets the ladies by using their vanity to develop families and children. Thus, Herrick is negatively influenced by his desire to sustain his position in the church.
In addition to Herrick, Robert Browning portrays a destructive side of human desire in the poem “My Last Duchess.” Browning demonstrates this through the Duke becoming hostile toward his Duchess when she fails to live up to his expectation. Browning begins his dramatic monologue with a Duke talking to a count about his last Duchess on the portrait while negotiating marriage with his daughter. Strangely, the portrait of the Duke’s former wife is placed behind a curtain where only he is allowed to see it. When the count settles on the bench while looking at the portrait, the Duke begins to talk about the unfortunate fate of his former wife. The Duke describes, “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. There she stands / As if alive” (Browning 43-47). In these lines, the Duke is articulating the death of former Duchess. He uses characterization when he depicts “Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt, / Whene’er I passed her.” Here the Duke is describing that his Duchess did smiled and respected him but he feels that her action is nothing special and that she acted that way to everyone else. Consequently, the Duke’s jealousy has develop into insanity when he claims, “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.” In this statement, the readers clearly see the first person narration and how he acted upon his last wife because of his desire. Nevertheless, the word “I” implies that he is the cause of her death because she failed to live upon his expectations. The Duke wanted her behave like a married lady and only smiles at him. Furthermore, a simile is being used to when he says, “There she stands / As if alive.” Here the Duke is comparing the portrait to when she was still alive. This emphasizes that he finally get what he wanted after murdering her. Because the portrait is hidden behind a curtain, only he is allows do whatever he desires. In other words, the Duchess gives her attention only to him through the portrait. Hence, Browning proves that the Duke becomes a pernicious individual due to his desire to obtain the Duchess alone.
Browning further justifies that desires influence people negatively in “Porphyria’s Lover.” Browning shows this through Porphyria’s death, which is caused by her lover’s desire to have her forever.
He utilizes dramatic monologue to portray the poem from the perspective of a Porphyria’s lover. The poem begins with the speaker sitting alone in the house one stormy night, but the atmosphere suddenly changes when Porphyria visits him, sacrificing social expectation. His inner desire provokes when he realized she loves him. Browning expresses, “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 would / Three times her little throat around, / And strangle her” (Browning 36-41). In these lines, the readers get the glimpse of a lover’s affection turning into madness. Through the use of repetition, “she was mine, mine,” the readers can see that the madness driven by the desire of a Porphyria’s lover. He longs for her love and wants to preserve the moment forever. His psychotic intention further grows when he says, “Perfectly pure and good; I found/ A thing to do.” This statement uses situational irony to demonstrate that he plans to do something dreadful to her because Porphyria is a “pure” and benevolent woman. Moreover, he loses his sanity when he chokes her to death. He depicts “In one long yellow string I would / Three times her little throat around, / And strangle her.” Here, imagery is being used to illustrate how he preserves the attentive moment by murdering her. Because she sacrificed societal expectation, he fears that she might stop loving him one day due to social pressures. His desire indicates an egotistic response, which is created by taking action on his terms, rather than understanding from Porphyria’s perspective. Thus, Browning validates that a lover’s desire for love can motivate him to become a compulsive
person.
Consequently, desires negatively impact people, according to the poems created by Robert Herrick and Robert Browning,. In the “To the Virgin, to Make Much of Time,” Herrick utilizes Carpe diem theme to intrigue women’s pride of being ladies in order to attract more Church members. Likewise, Robert Browning writes the “My Last Duchess” using dramatic monologue to prove that desire makes the Duke become ferocious. He further shows how desire turns love into insanity in the “Porphyria’s Lover.” Because desires are part of human nature in life, many authors and poets manifest how desires can change people in negative ways. Therefore, in order to separate both positive and negative desire, one must adapt to restrain his or her thought and control self-demand. By doing so one can restrict themselves from unethical behaviors and corruptions.
intention on killing his beloved.
Robert Herrick demonstrates how desires impact people negatively in the “To The Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” In the poem, Herrick addresses why he, as a priest, wants the ladies pursue marriage by manipulating women’s vanities. In 1619, when he becomes a cleric for a rural church, he needed to attract more members. Because of this, he uses Carpe diem, the idea of enjoying life while he or she can, in his poems to attract more members for the Church. In the poem, he particularly encourages ladies to pursue marriage while young and beautiful before it is too late. Herrick expresses, “That age is best which is the first, / When youth and blood are warmer; / But being spent, the worse, and worst / Times still succeed the former” (Herrick 9-10). In this statement, Herrick proclaims the importance of time and youth. Through the use of symbolism, he addresses “That age is best which is the first”. In this statement, the “first” represents human’s momentary young adulthood, but it is the best stage in life. Furthermore, he uses a metaphor to stress why young adulthood is the climax of life. The “youth and blood are warmer” is compared to the life full of allurement and energy. Herrick also uses Aphorism to describe the value of time. The statement “Time still succeed the former” is relevant to every single human being because he is articulating that youth does not last forever. Because people get older every minute, they should not waste the opportunity. Additionally, Herrick wants the ladies to pursue marriage in order to spread the influence of the Church and maintain his job as a priest. The reason is during that time, the church approves the marriage between lovers and when more babies are born, the church baptizes them. He particularly targets the ladies by using their vanity to develop families and children. Thus, Herrick is negatively influenced by his desire to sustain his position in the church.
In addition to Herrick, Robert Browning portrays a destructive side of human desire in the poem “My Last Duchess.” Browning demonstrates this through the Duke becoming hostile toward his Duchess when she fails to live up to his expectation. Browning begins his dramatic monologue with a Duke talking to a count about his last Duchess on the portrait while negotiating marriage with his daughter. Strangely, the portrait of the Duke’s former wife is placed behind a curtain where only he is allowed to see it. When the count settles on the bench while looking at the portrait, the Duke begins to talk about the unfortunate fate of his former wife. The Duke describes, “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. There she stands / As if alive” (Browning 43-47). In these lines, the Duke is articulating the death of former Duchess. He uses characterization when he depicts “Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt, / Whene’er I passed her.” Here the Duke is describing that his Duchess did smiled and respected him but he feels that her action is nothing special and that she acted that way to everyone else. Consequently, the Duke’s jealousy has develop into insanity when he claims, “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.” In this statement, the readers clearly see the first person narration and how he acted upon his last wife because of his desire. Nevertheless, the word “I” implies that he is the cause of her death because she failed to live upon his expectations. The Duke wanted her behave like a married lady and only smiles at him. Furthermore, a simile is being used to when he says, “There she stands / As if alive.” Here the Duke is comparing the portrait to when she was still alive. This emphasizes that he finally get what he wanted after murdering her. Because the portrait is hidden behind a curtain, only he is allows do whatever he desires. In other words, the Duchess gives her attention only to him through the portrait. Hence, Browning proves that the Duke becomes a pernicious individual due to his desire to obtain the Duchess alone.
Browning further justifies that desires influence people negatively in “Porphyria’s Lover.” Browning shows this through Porphyria’s death, which is caused by her lover’s desire to have her forever.
He utilizes dramatic monologue to portray the poem from the perspective of a Porphyria’s lover. The poem begins with the speaker sitting alone in the house one stormy night, but the atmosphere suddenly changes when Porphyria visits him, sacrificing social expectation. His inner desire provokes when he realized she loves him. Browning expresses, “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 would / Three times her little throat around, / And strangle her” (Browning 36-41). In these lines, the readers get the glimpse of a lover’s affection turning into madness. Through the use of repetition, “she was mine, mine,” the readers can see that the madness driven by the desire of a Porphyria’s lover. He longs for her love and wants to preserve the moment forever. His psychotic intention further grows when he says, “Perfectly pure and good; I found/ A thing to do.” This statement uses situational irony to demonstrate that he plans to do something dreadful to her because Porphyria is a “pure” and benevolent woman. Moreover, he loses his sanity when he chokes her to death. He depicts “In one long yellow string I would / Three times her little throat around, / And strangle her.” Here, imagery is being used to illustrate how he preserves the attentive moment by murdering her. Because she sacrificed societal expectation, he fears that she might stop loving him one day due to social pressures. His desire indicates an egotistic response, which is created by taking action on his terms, rather than understanding from Porphyria’s perspective. Thus, Browning validates that a lover’s desire for love can motivate him to become a compulsive
person.
Consequently, desires negatively impact people, according to the poems created by Robert Herrick and Robert Browning,. In the “To the Virgin, to Make Much of Time,” Herrick utilizes Carpe diem theme to intrigue women’s pride of being ladies in order to attract more Church members. Likewise, Robert Browning writes the “My Last Duchess” using dramatic monologue to prove that desire makes the Duke become ferocious. He further shows how desire turns love into insanity in the “Porphyria’s Lover.” Because desires are part of human nature in life, many authors and poets manifest how desires can change people in negative ways. Therefore, in order to separate both positive and negative desire, one must adapt to restrain his or her thought and control self-demand. By doing so one can restrict themselves from unethical behaviors and corruptions.