Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning
"Porphyria's Lover" really grabbed me with its use of irony and symbolism. It was such a shock when I got to line 41, "And strangled her. No pain felt she." It was such a shock because of the way he describes her "Murmuring how she loved me - she," (Line 21). She is obviously in love with him and he with her. Him so much so that he kills her to keeping her from ever leaving him and loving someone else. She does like to provoke him though. "And, last, she sat down by my side," (14) shows how she likes to keep him waiting for her attention. She should have been careful though, "It tore the elm-tops down for spite, And did its worst to vex the lake," (3-4) gives a foreshadowing of what his mood is because he has been waiting for her; probably unsure of where she has been. I really liked this poem, and at the same time didn't like how it ended. It was definitely surprising though.
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You are dead right (no pun intended) about your conclusion that "She is obviously in love with him and he with her" Beyond that your interpretation breaks down because the reason for the speaker killing Porphyria is, without a doubt, euthanasa. Porphyria is a dreaded disease that predates the writing of Browning's poem. Further the common symptoms for the disease of porphyria are spread throughout the poem. Thus, the speaker did not want her to suffer such a grisly death. It was a death she wanted, thus her "smile." For a full analysis regarding euthanasa as the basis of Porphyria's death go to: http://porphyriaslover.tripod.com/index.html
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