Porphyria’s lover Literature GCSE Paper 2

Class reading of the poem Class reading of the poem. 2nd reading - in pairs (read six lines each) diagnostic discussion Where is the volta? How do you feel about the poem? Who? What? Where? When? Porphyria = a rare disorder of the blood that may cause mental, nervous or skin problems Vex = annoy Soiled = dirty, unclean Dissever = to separate Oped = opened Tress = a long lock of hair

Getting the narrative clear… Who? Dramatic monologue spoken by the male lover of Porphyria What? The speaker without a word of explanation or regret tells of Porphyria’s visit to him and his subsequent murder of her. Then he spends the night alone with the dead body. Where? In an isolated cottage When? One dark, stormy night.

The poem’s volta and a shift in tone Until line 42, the speaker has a tender tone as he recounts the events of the previous evening. A critic has said the ‘whole perspective is gentle or feminised’ However the speaker is also mad, and the crucial event of the poem throws his previous solicitude (concern) and apparent love and care for Porphyria into a dark and deadly ironic light.

About the poet Robert Browning was the master of dramatic monologues. In this poetic genre the skill is in conveying the innermost thoughts and feelings of the speaker, often when it involves uncovering uncomfortable truths about themselves Written in 1836 Was published alongside another poem in the same form ‘Johannes Agricola in Meditation; both are about someone wanting total possession of another

A02 form and structure Pathetic fallacy and setting Why a storm? Why an isolated cottage? Highly controlled structure Regular unvarying rhyme scheme – units of five lines which rhyme ABABB CDCDD etc . A critic has called this ‘assymetric rhyme’ – why use it? Why end on a couplet? Any half-rhyme ? Monosyllabic or polysyllabic? Enjambment – over a third of lines are run-on lines and without end-stopping. Why? Any specific examples? Are there any heavy caesuras? What is the effect?

There are deliberate ambiguities in this poem AO3 Why is Porphyria unable to fully give herself to him? (barriers? Reasons?) Why does the speaker kill her? Anchor your reading of the poem to specific quotations

Types of love Transgressive love Forbidden love Illicit love outside of wedlock Sensual love

How do you understand the final line? Discuss and share

Physical description & sensuality Her ‘rosy little head’ could be a sexual reference to the hymen ‘Shut bud that holds a bee’ sexual connotations? Hair descriptions? Skin descriptions? Victorian prudery triggered a backlash with heightened interest in the forbidden and sexual fetish/ prostitution However, sex here appears more natural and acceptable

Alternative readings of the poem: It is impossible to know the true nature of his relationship to Porphyria. 1. An incestuous relationship has been suggested; Porphyria might be the speaker’s mother or sister. 2. Or a former lover, now betrothed, or even married. 3. Alternative, they may be divided by social class. 4. Other sources speculate that the lover might be impotent, disabled, sick or otherwise inadequate and unable to satisfy Porphyria 5. Porphyria is not a woman at all but the disease personified that the speaker is trying to control – Browning has an avid interest in such pathologies and may have been aware of the new disease

Critical viewpoints – start bringing in level 8/9 skills ‘There has been some disagreement as to whether the lover kills Porphyria because he loves or hates her.’ The speaker has a megalomaniac stance towards his lover and he is ‘self-deceiving’ By draining Porphyria of her life, he can assume…control’ Browning presents very well the contrast between a cold outside world and a warm interior Porphyria can be seen as the passionate outsider penetrating that interior who brings warmth to the immobile dreamer within The poem is essentially about a man’s ‘pathological love for a socially –superior woman It is impossible to know the true nature of his relationship to Porphyria. An incestuous relationship has been suggested; Porphyria might be the speaker’s mother or sister. Or a former lover, now betrothed, or even married. Alternative, they may be divided by social class.’