Foreshadowing in Porphyria's Lover
Courtney Blatchford September 24, 2006
Porphyria’s Lover
Regarding the first twenty-five lines of the poem, “Porphyria’s Lover”, Robert Browning subtly hints to the darker nature of the second half of the poem through such devices as pathetic fallacy and through the use of descriptive language.
The poem begins with the narrator describing the storm that is currently outside his house. Here, Browning uses pathetic fallacy to insert the narrator’s own feelings at the moment into the inanimate object that is the storm. Browning through the narrator describes how violent the storm is being and how “It tore the elm-trees down for spite,/ And did its worst to vex the lake:” (ll. 3 – 4). In this instance, Browning is showing that the narrator is feeling very angry about something, and wants very much to express that anger, but for some reason, he cannot. The next line states: “I listened with heart fit to break.” (l. 5), this suggests that the narrator’s cause of anger has something to do with a recent heart ache, or a problem that has occurred with his lady love. In just the first five lines of the poem, Browning is already suggesting the darker nature that his narrative is about to take.
When Porphyria is introduced in the next half of the poem, Browning is able to both reveal the cause for the narrator’s anger, and also still manage to hint at the events that will take place only too shortly. Porphyria enters into the narrator’s cottage after leaving a dinner party (Browning insinuates this in l. 27), and immediately, she goes and makes a fire in the grate, in order to warm up the cold cottage, before going and attending to her own needs. The narrator then describes how after taking off her own wet cloak and shawl, she then proceeds to pay much attention to him: embracing him, and telling the narrator of her love for him. In this case, Browning cleverly compares Porphyria’s treatment of the cottage to the treatment that she bestows upon her lover. As was mentioned before, the first act that Porphyria does upon entering her lover’s cottage is to go and prepare a fire: “. . . straight/ She shut the cold out and the storm,/ And kneeled and made the cheerless grate/ Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;” (ll. 6 – 9), it is after doing this that she then begins to attempt to embrace the narrator. The narrator describes how Porphyria “. . . sat down by my side/ And called me. When no voice replied,/ She put my arm about her waist,” (ll. 14 – 16). This description of her actions and the narrator’s own actions, is Browning’s way of foreshadowing the future events. Not realizing just how angry her lover is, Porphyria attempts to warm him up, much like how she managed to shut out the cold of the cottage. However, it appears that this is failing, as the narrator makes no response to her, so that she is forced to draw a response out of him by placing his arm around her waist.
It is only after receiving no response from her lover that she begins to tell the narrator of her great love for him, and it is at this moment, that Browning finally reveals the cause of the narrator’s anger towards his lover. The narrator states: “Murmuring how she loved me – she/ Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavor,/ To set its struggling passion free/ From pride, and vainer ties dissever,/ And giver herself to me for ever.” (ll. 21 – 25). At last Browning has revealed to the reader the cause for the narrator’s anger; the fact that she refuses to marry him because he is of a lower class than herself.
Thus, through the subtle use of foreshadowing Browning is able to suggest that more sinister events are to follow in this seemingly innocent love poem.
Porphyria’s Lover
Regarding the first twenty-five lines of the poem, “Porphyria’s Lover”, Robert Browning subtly hints to the darker nature of the second half of the poem through such devices as pathetic fallacy and through the use of descriptive language.
The poem begins with the narrator describing the storm that is currently outside his house. Here, Browning uses pathetic fallacy to insert the narrator’s own feelings at the moment into the inanimate object that is the storm. Browning through the narrator describes how violent the storm is being and how “It tore the elm-trees down for spite,/ And did its worst to vex the lake:” (ll. 3 – 4). In this instance, Browning is showing that the narrator is feeling very angry about something, and wants very much to express that anger, but for some reason, he cannot. The next line states: “I listened with heart fit to break.” (l. 5), this suggests that the narrator’s cause of anger has something to do with a recent heart ache, or a problem that has occurred with his lady love. In just the first five lines of the poem, Browning is already suggesting the darker nature that his narrative is about to take.
When Porphyria is introduced in the next half of the poem, Browning is able to both reveal the cause for the narrator’s anger, and also still manage to hint at the events that will take place only too shortly. Porphyria enters into the narrator’s cottage after leaving a dinner party (Browning insinuates this in l. 27), and immediately, she goes and makes a fire in the grate, in order to warm up the cold cottage, before going and attending to her own needs. The narrator then describes how after taking off her own wet cloak and shawl, she then proceeds to pay much attention to him: embracing him, and telling the narrator of her love for him. In this case, Browning cleverly compares Porphyria’s treatment of the cottage to the treatment that she bestows upon her lover. As was mentioned before, the first act that Porphyria does upon entering her lover’s cottage is to go and prepare a fire: “. . . straight/ She shut the cold out and the storm,/ And kneeled and made the cheerless grate/ Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;” (ll. 6 – 9), it is after doing this that she then begins to attempt to embrace the narrator. The narrator describes how Porphyria “. . . sat down by my side/ And called me. When no voice replied,/ She put my arm about her waist,” (ll. 14 – 16). This description of her actions and the narrator’s own actions, is Browning’s way of foreshadowing the future events. Not realizing just how angry her lover is, Porphyria attempts to warm him up, much like how she managed to shut out the cold of the cottage. However, it appears that this is failing, as the narrator makes no response to her, so that she is forced to draw a response out of him by placing his arm around her waist.
It is only after receiving no response from her lover that she begins to tell the narrator of her great love for him, and it is at this moment, that Browning finally reveals the cause of the narrator’s anger towards his lover. The narrator states: “Murmuring how she loved me – she/ Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavor,/ To set its struggling passion free/ From pride, and vainer ties dissever,/ And giver herself to me for ever.” (ll. 21 – 25). At last Browning has revealed to the reader the cause for the narrator’s anger; the fact that she refuses to marry him because he is of a lower class than herself.
Thus, through the subtle use of foreshadowing Browning is able to suggest that more sinister events are to follow in this seemingly innocent love poem.
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