Comparing the two poems Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess Essay

By comparing the two poems Porphyrias devotee and My Last Duchess,explore how Browning deals value the root of green-eyed monster.Jealousy is a theme that occurs quite regularly in Brownings poems.This was particularly noticed in both(prenominal) of the poems Porphyrias Loverand My Last Duchess where in both cases, the masculine protagonists werejealous of the extra attention that their yellowish browns received from otheradmirers. When studying both poems, the reader can create in theirmind a vivid picture of both the feminine characters. However, becausethe male protagonists gave their view on their lovers, the reader isonly given details about the male protagonists feelings, not abouthis features or qualities. Because of this, it needs to be taken intoaccount that the reader is assessing the situation from only oneparticular point of view.In both of the poems Porphyrias Lover and My Last Duchess thereader is told that the male protagonist has murdered their lover as aresul t of jealousy. However, the murders are entirely different.In Porphyrias Lover the relationship between Porphyria and herlover is very positive and the reader can sense a strong get betweenthe two characters. Lines 29-34 extract how strong the bond is betweenPorphyria and her lover. For love of her and all in vain So, she wascome through wind and rain. Be sure I lookd up at her eyes Happy andproud at last I knew Porphyria worshippd me surprise Made my heartswell, and still it grew. Because of this strong bond between the twocharacters, there is evidence in the poem that Porphyrias lover couldnot handle the thought of them not being together, and for this reasonthe lover murders Porphyria in a moment of passion. The reader c... ...actions. For thisreason it would be correct for the reader to assume, that both of thefemale characters are partly to blame for the male protagonistsactions. This is because the female characters were not focusing ontheir actual partners feelings, and we re just pleasing themselves,regardless of how the situation was affecting their partner, or lovedone.I think that Browning has dealt with the theme of jealousy in greatdepth and has shown the male protagonists feelings very thoroughly,making it possible for the readers to even sympathise with the maleprotagonists. Because of the way in which the theme of jealousy isportrayed, the reader can have a great understanding of the emotionsthe male protagonists are feeling throughout the poems. This makes thepoem and the consequences of the female characters actions, a loteasier to understand.