Porphyria’s lover- Research task
Critical theories in the poem
1. The speaker in the poem murders his lover in an attempt to
preserve a perfect moment.
Within the poem, the line “And I it’s love, am gained instead!” where the
speaker could be analyzed to be trying to preserve a perfect moment. This
could be further explained by “She was mine, mine” where the speaker
throughout the poem is almost bitter that Porphyria prioritize him last,
seen clearly within “And, last, she sat by my side”. Where the commas
create an emphasis on “last” which highlights this irrationality that he
has- believing she should have come to him first. Therefore when he killed
her, and she was his (“mine, mine”). Therefore he preserved a perfect
moment- which to him is her being purely his with no other commitments.
2. The speaker thinks that Porphyria’s love is not going to last
and kills her out of fear of this.
Throughout ‘Porphyria’s lover’, there is an element of insecurity through
the narrator. This is not a masculine trait which further highlights the
untraditional power dynamic- where Porphyria has all the control. This
insecurity is him thinking Porphyria is not fully his- she could stop loving
him. This is seen within the line, “From pride and vainer ties dissever/ And
give herself to me forever”. It could be argued that his lobe for Porphyria
is what drove him to insanity, or that is his psychotic state he truly
believed at this moment in the dramatic monologue he decided the only
way she could be his forever is if he murdered her. Then she was his.
Some critics would believe this is why “God has not said a word!”,
because it was an act of love.
3. The two characters in the poem are engaged in an act of
erotic asphyxiation and Porphyria isn't murdered at all, but
instead becomes temporarily unconscious after a sexual act.
The title, ‘Porphyria’s lover’ highlights the idea that the relationship is an
illicit affair creating ideas of Porphyria leaving a party to see her lover for
sex. Throughout the duration of the dramatic monologue the narrator
describes Porphyria in a sexualized way, continuously mentioning sexual
parts of her body “smooth white shoulder blade”. Even through the
suspected murder he sexualizes her, “about her neck; her check once
more”. This could cause critics to believe this was a moment of erotic
asphyxiation. The use of the blunt “And strangled her” could just be
cutting the intimate moment short as its socially unacceptable to openly
talk about sex in the 19th century. The erotic act could be her “darling one
wish” as the fallen woman she is.
Critical theories in the poem
1. The speaker in the poem murders his lover in an attempt to
preserve a perfect moment.
Within the poem, the line “And I it’s love, am gained instead!” where the
speaker could be analyzed to be trying to preserve a perfect moment. This
could be further explained by “She was mine, mine” where the speaker
throughout the poem is almost bitter that Porphyria prioritize him last,
seen clearly within “And, last, she sat by my side”. Where the commas
create an emphasis on “last” which highlights this irrationality that he
has- believing she should have come to him first. Therefore when he killed
her, and she was his (“mine, mine”). Therefore he preserved a perfect
moment- which to him is her being purely his with no other commitments.
2. The speaker thinks that Porphyria’s love is not going to last
and kills her out of fear of this.
Throughout ‘Porphyria’s lover’, there is an element of insecurity through
the narrator. This is not a masculine trait which further highlights the
untraditional power dynamic- where Porphyria has all the control. This
insecurity is him thinking Porphyria is not fully his- she could stop loving
him. This is seen within the line, “From pride and vainer ties dissever/ And
give herself to me forever”. It could be argued that his lobe for Porphyria
is what drove him to insanity, or that is his psychotic state he truly
believed at this moment in the dramatic monologue he decided the only
way she could be his forever is if he murdered her. Then she was his.
Some critics would believe this is why “God has not said a word!”,
because it was an act of love.
3. The two characters in the poem are engaged in an act of
erotic asphyxiation and Porphyria isn't murdered at all, but
instead becomes temporarily unconscious after a sexual act.
The title, ‘Porphyria’s lover’ highlights the idea that the relationship is an
illicit affair creating ideas of Porphyria leaving a party to see her lover for
sex. Throughout the duration of the dramatic monologue the narrator
describes Porphyria in a sexualized way, continuously mentioning sexual
parts of her body “smooth white shoulder blade”. Even through the
suspected murder he sexualizes her, “about her neck; her check once
more”. This could cause critics to believe this was a moment of erotic
asphyxiation. The use of the blunt “And strangled her” could just be
cutting the intimate moment short as its socially unacceptable to openly
talk about sex in the 19th century. The erotic act could be her “darling one
wish” as the fallen woman she is.
