Comparing the two poems Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess Essay

By comparing the two poems Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess, explore how Browning deals worth the theme of jealousy. Jealousy is a theme that occurs quite regularly in Browning’s poems. This was particularly noticed in both of the poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ where in both cases, the male protagonists were jealous of the extra attention that their lovers received from other admirers. When studying both poems, the reader can create in their mind a vivid picture of both the female characters. However, because the male protagonists gave their view on their lovers, the reader is only given details about the male protagonists’ feelings, not about his features or qualities. Because of this, it needs to be taken into account that the reader is assessing the situation from only one particular point of view. In both of the poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ the reader is told that the male protagonist has murdered their lover as a result of jealousy. However, the murders are entirely different. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ the relationship between Porphyria and her lover is very positive and the reader can sense a strong bond between the two characters. Lines 29-34 show how strong the bond is between Porphyria and her lover. ‘For love of her and all in vain: So, she was come through wind and rain. Be sure I look’d up at her eyes Happy and proud; at last I knew Porphyria worshipp’d me surprise Made my heart swell, and still it grew’. Because of this strong bond between the two characters, there is evidence in the poem that Porphyria’s lover could not handle the thought of them not being together, and for this reason the lover murders Porphyria in a moment of passion. The reader c... ...actions. For this reason it would be correct for the reader to assume, that both of the female characters are partly to blame for the male protagonists’ actions. This is because the female characters were not focusing on their actual partners’ feelings, and were just pleasing themselves, regardless of how the situation was affecting their partner, or loved one. I think that Browning has dealt with the theme of jealousy in great depth and has shown the male protagonists’ feelings very thoroughly, making it possible for the readers to even sympathise with the male protagonists. Because of the way in which the theme of jealousy is portrayed, the reader can have a great understanding of the emotions the male protagonists are feeling throughout the poems. This makes the poem and the consequences of the female character’s actions, a lot easier to understand.