Robert_Browning_-_My_Last_Duchess_and_Porphyria's_Lover

Question: “Browning’s Poetry presents intriguing insights into the human condition” To what extent is this true of the poems you have studied. Composers take an interest in human nature, providing insight to the human condition, exhibiting a deep understanding to what makes us human. Society is reflected through Browning’s poems where we discover interesting aspects of human nature through the focus on man’s desire for dominance and how love has the power to corrupt our lives. In Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess, Browning presents a subverted idea of dominance in a relationship, focusing on how men desire to obtain love with a patriarchal view, allowing them to possess all the power. Both poems focus on how the speakers gain their dominance through placing their lover in a submissive position in their life. Browning also highlights how love corrupts lives when it turns into a manic quest for their perception of the perfection of love, leading to a drive due to jealousy. Browning depicts the idea where dominance is only gained through placing the superior person in a submissive position allowing the speaker to gain all power. This is focused through the inversed idea of a patriarchal relationship, where an inferior male wishes to gain all power over a superior female. In Porphyria’s Lover, “Her smooth white shoulder bare...Made my cheek like there” emphasizes how the woman is in complete power and that she has the ability to control the speaker’s actions. This highlights the subverted idea how men are not the dominant person in a relationship, but rather inferior and imasculine. Browning accentuates that placing a superior person in a submissive position results in turning inferior, allowing the speaker to gain total dominance. This is expressed through contrasting the differences of before and after he murdered her. “This time my shoulder bore her head,” emphasizes how now he holds all the power as he has objectified Porphyria, placing her in a submissive position. By murdering her, the speaker has gained all power, placing her in an inferior position, allowing him to control her at all circumstances. This highlights how Browning conveys that to obtain power, you must place yourself in a superior position over others by placing them in a submissive position. Similarly, Browning makes it evident that in This highlights how Browning conveys that to obtain power, you must place yourself in a superior position over others by placing them in a submissive position. Similarly, Browning makes it evident that in My Last Duchess there is an unequal distribution of power resulting in the speaker desiring to obtain all power. This is focused through the uncontrolled nature of the Duchess, where she is “too soon made glad, Too easily impressed.” As a woman in the 19th Century she was meant to be composed and reserved. As she did not conform to what was socially acceptable and the Duke chose “never to stoop”, she was never disciplined to social guidelines. This emphasizes the subverted idea of a dominant male and portrays how the speaker does not have the capability to control the Duchess, highlight his inferior position. The reference to the painted portrait of the late Duchess underlines Browning’s comments in placing a superior person in a submissive position “non puts by the curtain I have drawn for you but I,” accentuates how the Duke has subjugated the Duchess, objectifying her as a possession for himself. Placing her in this submissive position allows the Duke to trap her in the painting, obtaining complete control in a patriarchal relationship symbolized by “Neptune taming a seahorse” where man has control over woman. Browning reflects on the human condition, where when man feels threatened by another person’s abilities, we place them in a position where we have full control and superiority. Browning’s representation of an inferior man and his desires to obtain a patriarchal relationship provides insight to power, reflecting on humanity’s desire to be distinct in society and how we act to achieve our goals. Browning also portrays how love has the potential within us for corruption, through the manic quest for the perception of the perfection of love. He highlights how the pursuit to perfect love drives the speaker to jealousy. Browning conveys the jealousy of the speaker in Porphyria’s Lover through the power Porphyria possesses over him. The speaker desires to obtain the dominant role in the relationship to therefore what he believes as the perfect relationship in patriarchal society. This is evident when the speaker realises “Porphyria worshipped me [the speaker]” resulting in the speaker’s epiphany to murder her to obtain all power. Browning comments on how the speaker’s determination to obtain his perception of love is so strong that it corrupted his life by the immoral sin of murdering another human. The speaker’s drive to possess power led him to murder, highlighting he will go to many lengths to achieve his objective. Likewise, My Last Duchess, expresses how the Duke is jealous as the Duchess fails to see him as superior opposing his belief of true love. This is achieved through the focus of the Duchess receiving gifts. “She ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift” emphasizes the jealousy of the Duke as she accepted anyone’s gift happily. The Duke believed that his gift to the Duchess, being under his respected family name, should be much more significant and of higher rank compared to “the bough of cherries” and “the white mule.” This draws attention to how he wishes to be seen as superior by the Duchess to obtain his aspiration of love, as currently she fails to see why he should be more important. “Then all smiles stopped together,” suggests that he killed the Duchess to obtain his aspiration of the perfection, patriarchal relationship. Browning presents intriguing ideas of love, through the jealousy of the speakers throughout the poem, reflecting on how humanity’s desire to obtain our aspirations. His representation of the speaker’s goal to gain their perception of the perfect love, a patriarchal relationship, reveals the determination and lengths humanity goes to achieve it. Browning is commenting on the human condition how we will do anything to attain and accomplish what we desire, even immoral acts such as death and murder. Composers reflect the fascinating aspects to the human condition within their work to provide interesting insights to what makes who we are. Browning reflects human nature through his presentation of the speaker’s desire to obtain all power. He reveals how an individual in society aims to be significant and will place others in inferior positions to obtain superiority. Browning also highlights the power of love, where it can lead to corruption due to immoral actions. He exposes the human condition where man will go to many lengths to achieve their aspiration, even if it results in sins. Browning takes interesting insights to human nature, allowing the audience to reflect on themselves, leaving a significant impact on the reader.