Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning - Explanation
The poem "Porphyria's Lover" penned by Robert Browning. It is a type of Dramatic Monologue, a form in which an individual, not the poet, narrates the poem. The poem exhibit abnormal psychology and eccentricity of a person who without any hesitation murders her lover, just to relieve her from "the conflict", upholding his action with justification. The poem has some similarity with Browning's other poem "My Last Duchess" in which the Duke similarly have her murdered for a petty reason.
The narrator describes the rainy late evening and the strong and gloomy wind begins to blow. It breaks the top-most portion of Elms tree and it seems that it has grudge against it. The lake has also bear its brunt of it. These may be signs of bad omen. The narrator listens to all above phenomenon with his "heart fit to break". It seems that he is a little discontented and wait for someone i.e. his beloved, Porphyria. She enters and shut the door because of the ongoing storm and cold weather. She lights the "cheerless grate" and makes the room warm. After this, she withdraws her wet cloak and shawl because of rain, she lays her dirty gloves and untie her hat and loosen her slight wet hair. At last, she sits by her lover and calls him. He doesn't reply maybe because of some early displeasure. She tries to woo him by putting his arm around her waist and make her "smooth white" shoulder naked and move her yellow hair disorderly. She makes romance with him and whispers how much she loved him and he knows that too. He finds that she is "too weak" to exhibit and set all her heart's passion free. Her pride and inclination towards "vainer ties" which separate her from him and prevents her from loving him. "Vainer ties" here, may refer to the already marital ties of Porphyria with another person. He knows that sometimes passion can't be restrained or controlled and aware of the fact she has only come to him facing harsh weather, all for her love. He looks into her eyes and finds joy and satisfaction in her eyes and knows that she loves him more than anything else. This insight makes his "heart swell" but he intends to do something.
That moment when he sees her supreme love for him, he wants to capture that moment and want to live the moment and knows that in that moment she entirely belongs to him. He comes to an arrangement and put her long hair around her throat three times and strangle her. It seems to him that she feels no pain and is quite sure about it. This act tells us about the abnormal mental condition of him. He carefully opens her eyes and finds her eyes laughing and without a stain. He then loosens her hair and kiss her and finds her cheek "blushing bright". As he is no more, he supports her head with his shoulder. Her face still smiles and now the narrator is glad that all her grief and conflicts ends at once and points that he has attained Porphyria' s love. He boasts of himself to grant her wish to come true. He sits him with her and doesn't move throughout the night and clarifies his doing by saying that God has not said or done anything.
The narrator describes the rainy late evening and the strong and gloomy wind begins to blow. It breaks the top-most portion of Elms tree and it seems that it has grudge against it. The lake has also bear its brunt of it. These may be signs of bad omen. The narrator listens to all above phenomenon with his "heart fit to break". It seems that he is a little discontented and wait for someone i.e. his beloved, Porphyria. She enters and shut the door because of the ongoing storm and cold weather. She lights the "cheerless grate" and makes the room warm. After this, she withdraws her wet cloak and shawl because of rain, she lays her dirty gloves and untie her hat and loosen her slight wet hair. At last, she sits by her lover and calls him. He doesn't reply maybe because of some early displeasure. She tries to woo him by putting his arm around her waist and make her "smooth white" shoulder naked and move her yellow hair disorderly. She makes romance with him and whispers how much she loved him and he knows that too. He finds that she is "too weak" to exhibit and set all her heart's passion free. Her pride and inclination towards "vainer ties" which separate her from him and prevents her from loving him. "Vainer ties" here, may refer to the already marital ties of Porphyria with another person. He knows that sometimes passion can't be restrained or controlled and aware of the fact she has only come to him facing harsh weather, all for her love. He looks into her eyes and finds joy and satisfaction in her eyes and knows that she loves him more than anything else. This insight makes his "heart swell" but he intends to do something.
That moment when he sees her supreme love for him, he wants to capture that moment and want to live the moment and knows that in that moment she entirely belongs to him. He comes to an arrangement and put her long hair around her throat three times and strangle her. It seems to him that she feels no pain and is quite sure about it. This act tells us about the abnormal mental condition of him. He carefully opens her eyes and finds her eyes laughing and without a stain. He then loosens her hair and kiss her and finds her cheek "blushing bright". As he is no more, he supports her head with his shoulder. Her face still smiles and now the narrator is glad that all her grief and conflicts ends at once and points that he has attained Porphyria' s love. He boasts of himself to grant her wish to come true. He sits him with her and doesn't move throughout the night and clarifies his doing by saying that God has not said or done anything.