Compare and contrast Porphyrias lover and My last Duchess Essay

In the story “My last Duchess,” the Duke is speaking to the envoy of another nobleman of his second bride to be. The Duke describes the circumstances of his last duchess in which it was painted and boasted how Fra Pandolf the painter made her “look as if she was alive”. The Duke continues speaking about the unfortunate fate of his former wife. It is evident that a crime has been committed; He was jealous and annoyed of his easily impressed wife so he murdered her. His tone and demeanor is one of extreme arrogance and it is clear he is a dangerous man who poses a threat to any and all women he claims to love.

obert Browning, on the surface is a celebrated poet. But what was on the inside? We may have a glimpse into his mind through his poems. Specifically, his two poems My Last Duchess, and Porphyria’s Lover. These two texts share some startling similarities, and some thoughtful differences. “Social comparison is important.” (Festinger) Browning’s two poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover follow a similar idea, and in the following text, will be compared in three main areas.

Different social and cultural implications are constructed in different literature approaches. Feminist literary criticism is extended of Gender criticism, which is concerned with women and the construction of gender and sexuality. In the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, and the short story "Sweat" by Zora Hurston, the combination of race, gender, and feminism is reflected through the characters. When closely interpreting the two literary pieces, a feminist viewpoint is displayed and demonstrated throughout the way the women in the pieces are introduced, perceived, and portrayed. Robert Browning and Zora Hurston, both from different backgrounds and history; Victorian Age and African American eras, but yet both somewhat share the same themes. Some of the greatest presented themes in their famous literary works are gender, feminism, and race. However you may interpret those themes, nothing defeats the way both authors reflect women’s oppression and male dominance.

not made known who the recipient of this poem is. I believe it to be

Wonder, for a moment, what Shakespeare means when he uses the word “love”, if it really does exist in any of the relationships in this play, particularly between Petruccio and Katherine. Is love not a certainty?

It is no secret that Ron Rash’s Serena is a very similar character in comparison to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth. These two women are very much alike and only slightly different. Though Rash does not claim to base his work off of Macbeth, the two characters resemble each other in a couple different ways. Serena and Lady Macbeth are alike in the fact that they are both ambitious, malicious, and cold-blooded women who are driven by their love for their husbands. Neither of these women exhibit typical female behaviors and it causes readers to be captivated by their motives and actions.

“Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess” are both very dramatic poems. The author for both poems are written by Robert Browning. The speaker for both poems were very dramatic, insane, crazy, and controlling over their particular lover. Both poems has similarities in killings in their lovers over jealously. Jealously also plays a huge, important role in both poems.

These two dramatic monologues by Robert Browning there is Porphyria’s Lover and the Dutch of My Last duchess. These dramatic monologues are similar in the ways that the two lovers of the women each kill their lover. They are also similar in the way that the lovers talking are both giving this story after it has happened. The contrast that this story has is that Porphyria’s lover killed Porphyria because he wants to spend forever with her, and My last duchess killed his wife because he gets jealous because she gives attention to other men. Theses two dramatic monologues have a very similar story yet have two very different men that act in such ways that cause there to be two different story lines at the same time.

Browning presents the duke as an arrogant, jealous character with an ostentatious disposition .In the dramatic monologue of the Duke it would seem he over analyses his duchesses interactions in the poem, particularly that of the male gender. This institutes that the Duke is a jealous man and also that he regards the duchess as more of a possession than a person. This is also portrayed through the possessive pronouns used throughout the poem such us “my” and “mine.” Another fact that expresses his officious nature would be that as his wife didn’t act like ‘his’ possession he had her killed and turned into something he could control. This is shown in the fact he had her portrait put behind a curtain which only he was allowed to open this is symbolism for being able to hide and control her unlike when she was alive. The curtain also draws attention the painting behind it which shows his theatrical side as he just shows it off to strangers “strangers like you that pictured countenance.” His theatrical side is also shown when he drops

The Victorian Age was a time of relative prosperity, improvement and stability. At the same time, there was also a strong emphasis on individuals becoming more educated and in two seemingly normal pieces of literature, “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” written by Robert Browning, are in actuality so twisted that the lovers of each poem are characterized as deranged. Both monologues incorporate unique aspects of love that deviate from the norm because it is nowhere close to a happy ending. The lovers of each poem provide contrasting views on love that convey their haughty attitude towards love and their irrational reasoning that justifies their behavior. Disturbing images are prevalent in both poems creating a mysterious and elegiac tone. Browning also includes fervent diction to contrast the different behaviors of each speaker in the poems and convey that pursuing love comes along with inevitable consequences.

Since Time began, women have always been thought of as unequal to men. Women were thought of as property, owned by their fathers and later, their husbands. Royal women, or women raised in very high respected families were traded into an arranged marriage to keep the peace between the families, Often times, their wealthy husbands were very old and even sometimes abusive. Other times, women who were not in wealthy families were also abused. A poet by the name of Robert Browning wrote two very famous poems. My last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover. I believe that these two poems are very similar yet very different in many ways.

To understand Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth it is necessary to fully comprehend the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The differences between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are profound. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare skillfully changes the role of the two characters. Macbeth is frightened at the beginning then confident at the end while Lady Macbeth confident at the beginning and frightened at the end.

Williams Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth, opens with a strong relationship between the main characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth that is based on concern, love and devotion to each other. As the play continues there is a change in their relationship.

Through these two sonnets Shakespeare attempts to define love. To us, love is merely a word and only takes the evocative power which we give it. Maybe love can be the ageless, unbending, and prevailing entity that stands the test of time during everything. Or maybe it can vary: yielding and changing shape but never breaking or losing strength. Is true love transient or is it boundless?

However, upon knowing his death at the brothel, she becomes