Compare the methods both poets use to explore unusual events in
Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning and The Lammas Hireling by Ian
Duhig.
Both Browning and Duhig explore unusual events in their poems, namely
murder, but while The Lammas Hireling focusses on the speaker’s guilt
and psychological turmoil surrounding the act, Porphyria’s Lover examines
the lead-up to the crime, exposing a twisted perception of love and
control. Through their use of dramatic monologue, structure, and imagery,
Duhig criticises religious guilt and repression while Browning satirises
ideals of love, perception, and male dominance. Both poets criticise
societal repression and classic views, including those of organised
religion.
Firstly, both poets use dramatic monologue to provide direct access to the
narrators’ disturbed minds. In Porphyria’s Lover, the narrator has a calm
tone that is chilling, reinforcing the delusion. Browning opens the poem
with ‘The rain set early in to-night, /The sullen wind was soon awake’. This
style of storytelling is very typical and similar to children’s stories, as the
use of weather features is often used in allegories and fables with a moral.
The words used are factual, and the personification of the wind serves as
pathetic fallacy – the adjective ‘sullen’ implying a bad mood but without
any excessive dramatic emotion. This opening sets the tone for the poem
as dark and moody yet apathetic, directly contradicting the emotion and
shock of the story’s plot. The ending line ‘And yet God has not said a
word!’ suggests that the narrator sees divine approval in his actions,
emphasising Browning’s criticism of the Church’s selective moral values.
The word ‘yet’ changes the tone of the phrase, as it casts doubt on the
worth of God’s approval, especially in the context of such an abhorrent
and disturbed tale. In The Lammas Hireling, Duhig also utilises the
dramatic monologue narrative voice. The narrator’s confession-like tone
contrasting to Browning’s detached voice, showing more guilt in his
attempted justification. The ending sentences of the Lammas Hireling,
‘Bless me Father for I have sinned. /It has been an hour since my last
confession.’, also ends with the theme of religion. The temporal indication
that he has confessed only an hour ago implies an obsession with guilt
and religious fear. It also makes the narrator even more unreliable, as a
confession is only valid if the whole truth is told. Therefore, we can
assume that the story we have just read is not the actuality of what
happened. The word ‘Father’ tells the reader that this story is being told to
a priest, so what is missing must be something deemed a sin in the
Church, like homosexuality. The implication that he can admit to the
murder, but not his homosexuality, is another criticism of the wholly
contradictory values of the Church. By ending the poem in a religious
Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning and The Lammas Hireling by Ian
Duhig.
Both Browning and Duhig explore unusual events in their poems, namely
murder, but while The Lammas Hireling focusses on the speaker’s guilt
and psychological turmoil surrounding the act, Porphyria’s Lover examines
the lead-up to the crime, exposing a twisted perception of love and
control. Through their use of dramatic monologue, structure, and imagery,
Duhig criticises religious guilt and repression while Browning satirises
ideals of love, perception, and male dominance. Both poets criticise
societal repression and classic views, including those of organised
religion.
Firstly, both poets use dramatic monologue to provide direct access to the
narrators’ disturbed minds. In Porphyria’s Lover, the narrator has a calm
tone that is chilling, reinforcing the delusion. Browning opens the poem
with ‘The rain set early in to-night, /The sullen wind was soon awake’. This
style of storytelling is very typical and similar to children’s stories, as the
use of weather features is often used in allegories and fables with a moral.
The words used are factual, and the personification of the wind serves as
pathetic fallacy – the adjective ‘sullen’ implying a bad mood but without
any excessive dramatic emotion. This opening sets the tone for the poem
as dark and moody yet apathetic, directly contradicting the emotion and
shock of the story’s plot. The ending line ‘And yet God has not said a
word!’ suggests that the narrator sees divine approval in his actions,
emphasising Browning’s criticism of the Church’s selective moral values.
The word ‘yet’ changes the tone of the phrase, as it casts doubt on the
worth of God’s approval, especially in the context of such an abhorrent
and disturbed tale. In The Lammas Hireling, Duhig also utilises the
dramatic monologue narrative voice. The narrator’s confession-like tone
contrasting to Browning’s detached voice, showing more guilt in his
attempted justification. The ending sentences of the Lammas Hireling,
‘Bless me Father for I have sinned. /It has been an hour since my last
confession.’, also ends with the theme of religion. The temporal indication
that he has confessed only an hour ago implies an obsession with guilt
and religious fear. It also makes the narrator even more unreliable, as a
confession is only valid if the whole truth is told. Therefore, we can
assume that the story we have just read is not the actuality of what
happened. The word ‘Father’ tells the reader that this story is being told to
a priest, so what is missing must be something deemed a sin in the
Church, like homosexuality. The implication that he can admit to the
murder, but not his homosexuality, is another criticism of the wholly
contradictory values of the Church. By ending the poem in a religious
