“Trifles” is a one act play that tells the tale of a group of women and men who seek clues in a tragic case of a confined woman suspected of murdering her husband. In “Trifles”, Susan Glaspell explores law and justice through a feminist and modernist perspective, as well as creates a dichotomy of perception.
Poem Analysis: “Porphyria’s Lover” Like many Victorian writers, Browning was trying to explore the boundaries of sensuality in his work. How is it that society considers the beauty of the female body to be immoral whole never questioning the morality of language’s sensuality – a sensuality often most manifested in poetry? Why does society see both sex and violence as transgressive? What is the relationship between the two? Which is “worse”?
An example of this perception is shown in the poem when Porphyria gave herself to him, and he murdered her; to preserve her love for him forever. The line “That moment she was mine, mine, fair, perfectly pure and good” is written by Browning to prove that once the female has shown her interest, he has then rejected to gain power, authority and a higher status. The use of repetition and alliteration has been utilized by Browning to support this idea and positions the responder to feel that the man is controlling and
Bronte describes in the novel how they seem themselves as one person, if one dies then the other can no longer belong. But, she does not show this in the conventional way of them simply falling in love. Two of the main emotions portrayed in the book are revenge and violence. This is how we see Heathcliff’s feelings towards Catherine, he does not merely say the words ‘I love you’. There relationship is much deeper than that, it could even be associated with that of a sibling’s relationship, but maybe with a twist.
Poetry Compare and Contrast Love and Madness True love is the theme in the poem “Porphyria’s Lover,” by Robert Browning, and “Annabel Lee,” written by Edger Allen Poe. They were written in the same time period both having romantic notions, and share the same dramatic monologue style. Both are similar poems in their deranged views of love. However, the manner in which their beautiful lovers die and how they felt after their death, differ greatly. The men in both poems truly loved their women in the beginning, but by the end they had become obsessive, drove themselves to insanity, and slept next to the dead bodies of their lovers.
Prophyria’s Lover Robert Browning’s poem “Prophyria’s Lover” represents a sexually abusive and a Victorian ideal that determined the guidelines for social etiquette during the nineteenth century. A traditional system of patriarchy flourished under the strict gender stratifications of the time period. His dramatic monologue, “Prophyria's Lover,” delves into the patriarchal mind, illustrating the power struggle of a woman and her lover. Through the manifestation of the speaker’s mentality and motivation, Browning reveals the injustice of patriarchal society and male supremacy. From the beginning of Browning’s poem, the speaker sees Prophyria as an assertive woman who openly expresses her sexuality.
Robert Browning was born into this conservative time period, but was able to employ expressive freedom through literature. His dramatic monologue, “Porphyria’s Lover,” delves into the psychology of a patriarchal mind, illustrating the power struggle of a woman and her lover. Through the manifestation of the speaker’s mentality and motivation, Browning reveals the gross injustice of patriarchal society and male supremacy. In the latter half of the 19th century, Victorian ideals dominated the domestic sphere. To the Victorian, the home and family were sanctuaries where the impurity and vice of the outer world could not invade.
This sort of pain is compared to death when he refers to the woman “[having] put on black” .This typifies the pain that men can feel and shows a somewhat excellent sensitive side that not only Shakespeare but other patriarchally born men of his time may have shared. Following these somewhat harsh words seen in the opening lines it can be noted this isn’t a normal petrarchan sonnet, instead it is labelled an anti-petrarchan sonnet due to its subtle attack on a unattainable idealized female. Shakespeare uses the senses as well as emotions cleverly in the poem. Although he knows this beautiful woman has no similar feelings towards him the man still can’t help but proclaim her beauty. In line 4 the poet shows just how
Robert Browning uses jealousy as a theme for most of his poems, claiming that the duke in the poem “My Last Duchess” was obsessed with the Duchess and kills her due to the fact that he does not want other men to be seduced by her appearance, and likeness. In relation to this in “Porphyria's Lover” Browning displays this theme in the poem by talking about how the Young man took this nice young woman into his house, and then strangled her and kept her corpse so he could be with her. In the poem “A Light Woman” Browning talks about a flirtatious woman who takes a man’s attention and then diverts her attention towards one of his friends who in the end wins her heart. The speaker unravels his jealousy as she changes her attraction to another man. He uses the characters portrayal in each of the poems.
The Techniques Used in “My Last Duchess” The poem “My Last Duchess”, written by Robert Browning, is an example of a Victorian love story but with a twist. The words that describe this poem are murder, mystery, and deception. The entire poem is written as a dramatic monologue and deals with the theme of controlled love and jealousy. The main character, the Duke, talks about the murder of his duchess, revealing more than what he intends to. Now, I will discuss the many different features Robert Browning has used in the poem.