“Porphyria’s Lover” is a poem written by Robert Browning. It was first published in 1836 under the title “Porphyria” in a magazine called Monthly Repository. Later, in 1842, Browning included it in his collection called Dramatic Lyrics, where he paired it with another poem, “Johannes Agricola in Meditation,” under the title “Madhouse Cells.” However, the poem didn’t get its final title, “Porphyria’s Lover,” until 1863. This poem is special because it’s Browning’s first short dramatic monologue, and it’s also his first poem that looks into abnormal psychology.
In 1 – 5 lines, the poet describes a stormy and turbulent night. The rain started early, and the wind quickly became strong and angry. The wind was so fierce that it even damaged the tops of the elm trees out of sheer spite. It seemed determined to trouble or upset the peaceful lake. The poet was listening to this tumultuous weather, and it deeply affected his emotions, making his heart feel like it might break. These lines create a vivid picture of a stormy night and the poet’s emotional response to it.
In 6- 15 lines, the speaker describes how Porphyria enters a cottage on a stormy night. She closes the door to keep out the cold and the storm. Then, she kneels by the fireplace and gets a fire going, warming up the entire cottage. his is the picture of rural simplicity—a cottage by a lake, a rosy-cheeked girl, a roaring fire.
After she has successfully warmed up the place, she stands up and removes her wet cloak, shawl, and gloves. She unties her hat and lets her damp hair fall down. Finally, she sits down beside the speaker and calls him.
The key elements in these lines are the contrast between the stormy weather outside and the warm, cozy atmosphere Porphyria creates inside the cottage. Her actions suggest that she cares for the speaker and wants to make him comfortable.
In 15- 21 lines, the speaker describes how Porphyria, after getting the cottage warm and comfortable, gets physically close to him.
She calls the speaker and when nobody responds to her, she takes the initiative to get close to the speaker. She puts the speaker’s arm around her waist and then proceeds to reveal her smooth, white shoulder by displacing her hair. She stoops down, allowing the speaker’s cheek to rest on her bare shoulder. She also lets her yellow hair fall over both of them. Porphyria murmurs to the speaker about how much she loves him.
In 21 – 25 lines, lines the speaker describes how Porphyria is willing to overcome her own inner struggles and feelings of pride. She’s determined to set free the passion that’s been struggling within her heart. She wants to break free from any vain or meaningless ties or attachments that may be holding her back. Her ultimate goal is to give herself to the speaker forever. These lines emphasize her strong desire to be with the speaker and her willingness to make sacrifices to be with him.
In 26 – 30 lines the speaker admits that despite his earlier description of Porphyria’s love and her desire to be with him, his own passion sometimes gets the better of him. He couldn’t resist the urge to be with her, even though he knew she was supposed to be at a festive gathering that night. A sudden thought of Porphyria’s pale appearance and his deep love for her overwhelmed him.
So, despite the wind and rain, she came to him. The lines suggest that the speaker’s intense desire for Porphyria led him to act on his feelings, even if it meant going against social norms or expectations, as well as the stormy weather outside. These lines foreshadow the dramatic turn of events in the poem.
In these 31 – 41 lines, the speaker describes how he felt when Porphyria looked at him with happiness and pride. He believed that she truly loved him, and this realization filled his heart with joy and surprise. He felt that at that moment, she was completely his, and she appeared to be perfectly pure and good.
However, the poem takes a dark and shocking turn. In the next lines, the speaker reveals that he decided to do something terrible. He took her long yellow hair and wound it around her throat three times, strangling her. This sudden and violent act is a shocking twist in the poem, and it reveals the depth of the speaker’s possessiveness and obsession with Porphyria, leading to a tragic and disturbing ending to the story.
In these 41 – 48 lines, the speaker reveals that she felt no pain. The speaker is quite sure that she feels no pain as he is strangling her because she loves him. The speaker compares Porphyria’s eyes to a closed flower bud that contains a bee. This comparison is used to emphasize the surreal and disturbing nature of the situation. When he gently opens her eyelids, he notices that her blue eyes appear to laugh without showing any harm or damage.
The speaker talks about what he does next after loosening the tresses of Porphyria’s hair from around her neck. He says that her cheek, which had paled earlier during the strangulation, regains its natural rosy color. This change happens when he kisses her cheek, and he describes it as a “burning kiss.”
In these 49 – 57 lines the speaker describes how he arranges Porphyria’s lifeless body as he did before, with her head resting on his shoulder.
The speaker mentions how Porphyria’s head, with a smile on her face, seems content and pleased. Her wishes have all been fulfilled, and any doubts or hesitations she might have had are gone. The speaker believes that he has become the object of her affection, replacing all the other things she might have cared about. He emphasizes that Porphyria didn’t know that her deepest and most cherished wish would be fulfilled in this way.
In the 58 – 60 last lines of the poem, the speaker reveals that he and Porphyria’s lifeless body are sitting together in a macabre and silent companionship, and they haven’t moved all night. The speaker concludes by saying that despite these disturbing events, there has been no divine intervention or punishment. He observes that God has remained silent and has not uttered a word about the actions he has taken. These lines add to the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the poem and suggest a lack of moral or divine judgment in the speaker’s mind.
In conclusion, the poem raises questions about the nature of love, power, and control, as well as the moral and psychological aspects of the speaker’s actions. It is a notable example of Browning’s exploration of complex and often morally ambiguous characters in his poetry.