Write about the ways Browning tells the story in 'Porphyria's Lover'.

(21 marks) The poem, 'Porphyria's Lover' has been written in the form of a dramatic monologue, by the writer Robert Browning. As a dramatic monologue, the poem tells the story from a first-person narrative perspective (more specifically, the perspective of Porphyria's deranged, sadistic lover) in which, the character addresses the audience, and forms a sense of special intimacy (albeit, the character isn't aware of this intimacy). While it is Porphyria's Lover whom tells the tale, the character remains anonymous (which adds to the characterisation of the character it shrouds them in ambiguity), and therefore, the poem revolves primarily around Porphyria as the central character of the narrative. In dramatic monologues, it is typical of the speaker who details the course of the narrative, to indirectly reveal aspects of their own attributes and traits, and as expected, Porphyria's lover does so too, presenting his oddity and psychotic tendencies to the audience through the use of phrases such as And strangled her. No pain felt she; (Line 41). It is important to consider the underlying presence of the auditor of the poem (Browning), and acknowledge that the poem has been structured strategically to enhance the interests of the audience, as well as describing the story in both a retrospective and informative manner. In addition, the story has been structured in a chronological order, in which it transitions from the immediate past, to the climatic murder of Porphyria, and finally the present, where the murderer lies with Porphyria's body. Moreover, Browning has utilized such techniques as imagery to explain the story. For instance, Browning incorporates the use of pathetic fallacy into his writing by stating the following: The rain set early in to-night (Line 1) which ironically suggests that the narrative will revolve around romance, love and compassion. In addition, Browning has coined The sullen wind was soon awake which is an explicit implication of the brute force that Porphyria's lover possesses, and psychotic behaviour that the character attributes. This becomes immediately apparent to the audience as it is unusual of a lover to inherit such traits and tendencies, which, when considered shows Porphyria's lover's oddity. In addition to the aforementioned, Browning, not only uses pathetic fallacy, but imagery of the weather, which can be interpreted in a metaphoric sense and notably contrast each other. For instance, subsequent to the characters comment on the wind, he adds And did its worst to vex the lake (Line 4). The lake can be perceived as representing the love and bond that the characters shared, while the wind can be interpreted as a type of foreshadowing of Porphyria's lovers actions which will ultimately shatter the bond. The term vex emphasises this. The imagery perpetuated in Porphyria's Lover is extremely powerful, and provides the audience with insight into the relationship the duo had, while also allowing them to sympathize to a certain extent. Furthermore, the tone is quite arguably, one of the most powerful techniques that Browning has used within the poem. The tone is calm, collective and concise, expressed in a nonchalant manner which disguises the distinction between the immoral murderer and passionate lover. The use of iambic tetrameters assist in presenting the tone in a cool manner as it rolls freely of the tongue. The tone is surprising considering the events which have occurred, and the manner in which Porphyria's lover attempts to justify his actions I am quite sure she felt no pain (Line 42) and the manner, in which he reassures himself that he hasn't sinned And yet God has not said a word (Line 60) presents his madness to the audience, as does his simple rhetoric and failure to comprehend the consequences of his actions.

The language in Porphyria's Lover, and the technique of alliteration which commonly accompany it, are another method, and demonstration of how Browning tells the story in this poem. The colloquial language helps the audience to develop an intimacy, and close connection to the character. While, the alliteration reveals a lot of characteristics and information about this character to the audience, for instance, the use of alliteration in the sense of mine, mine (Line 36) shows not only the strangely obsessive love that the murderer has, but his possessiveness and need to control. The language used also serves to indicate the emotions of the character and their feelings. In conclusion, Browning utilizes a variety of different techniques to tell the story in Porphyria's Lover which interact with the audience, and allow him as the auditor to convey the narrative.