Tone In Porphyria's Lover

The tone in Porphyria’s Lover is a dark, depressing tone. In the very first line one could tell that it was going to be a sad poem. “The rain set early in to-night,” ( Browning, Line 1), generally rain is setting a person up for sadness. As the poem goes on depressing tone does not improve until about 15 lines later and the tone changes to more of a loving or adoring tone as he describes her. Then after line 21 it is back to depressing and dark again, then in lines 31-35 it is a bright and happy tone as “Happy and proud; at last I knew” (Browning line 31) is said it gives the reader a light of brightness for a quick second before the poem goes back to its depressing tone. Then as the poem goes on a sense of possessiveness happens as he talks about how she is all his and then as he is talking about winding her hair around her neck. Overall this poem has a very dark depressing tone and in the end the reader can see why it is so depressing.
Jennifer Haverkamp