Porphyria’s Lover Speaker Point of View Who is the speaker, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him? The speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" sounds awfully straightforward. is tone is incredi!ly reasona!le, which makes it even creepier considering he's descri!ing horrific things such as strangling his girlfriend and cuddling with the corpse#. e even makes it sound as though he was doing her a favour $ he calls it "her "her darling one wish" line line %&#. t's hard hard to tell from the speaker's speaker's language language that he's he's off his rocker, since he speaks very smoothly and matter(of(factly. The rhyme scheme remains steady, and the meter is pretty regular e)cept for a few places $ check out "*orm and +eter" for some telling e)ceptions#. What kind of psychopathic murderer would !e a!le to descri!e his crimes so calmly? Thus, the calm, smooth tone of the speaker adds to the effect of the poem. The speaker is kind of like the killer in the movie Seven Seven he doesn't think he's done anything wrong, and that's part of what makes him so terrifying. Porphyria's Lover Setting The poem takes place in a house near a lake, pro!a!ly out in the country somewhere. There are trees around, and it's pro!a!ly a pretty nice place to visit when the weather's good. Too !ad the weather's so crummy on the night the poem takes place. t's raining and so windy that the speaker imagines that the wind is consciously trying to !reak down trees out of "spite" line -#. The speaker doesn't tell us much a!out what the inside of the house looks like. There's no fire in the "grate" until Porphyria arrives, so the house is pro!a!ly pretty cold. f there's no fire, there must not !e any servants most middle class ictorians kept at least one servant#, so the speaker might !e relatively poor. /fter all, the house is descri!ed as a "cottage" line 0#. Porphyria sure does a lot to cheer up the inside of the house, though1 The fire makes everything all cosy. t doesn't seem all that !ad $ a nice cosy cottage with a !right fire on a rainy night. 2eems like the perfect time and place to curl up with your significant other and cuddle !y the fire, right? 2ure, until the speaker decides that it's also the perfect time and place to strangle Porphyria to death with her own hair. The Storm The speaker of "Porphyria's Lover" opens !y descri!ing the storm outside. 3ddly, he descri!es the storm with ad4ectives that suggest that the weather is conscious of what it's doing. / ictorian critic named 5ohn 6uskin scathingly ridiculed this literary move, in which the outside world is descri!ed in a way that reflects the inner mood of a character. e called it the "pathetic fallacy." /fter all, 6uskin pointed out, the weather isn't conscious of whether we're in a good mood or not. t's not like it starts raining 4ust !ecause we're heart!roken, or turns sunny and warm the moment we fall in love. Writing poems or novels in which the weather reflects the inner state of the characters, 6uskin argued, is 4ust !ad craftsmanship. Line 7 The words "sullen" and "awake" personify the weather. t's not like the wind can literally feel "sullen," nor was it asleep !efore it started to pick up. Line - +ore of what 6uskin calls the "pathetic fallacy" the wind doesn't actually feel "spite" when it tears up the trees. 8rowning 4ust decided to personify it again. Line 9 /nd now the lake is !eing personified. :ou can't really "ve)," or irritate, a !ody of water, no matter how hard you splash it. Line & Porphyria has some kind of power over the storm $ she is a!le to "shut ;it< out" almost instantaneously. The speaker doesn't descri!e her actions $ only their effects.
Eyes There's not a lot of talking in this poem. Porphyria doesn't get any direct dialogue, and the entire poem is the speaker's possi!ly internal# monologue. =yes do most of the talking in "Porphyria's Lover." Let's see what they say> Lines -(-7 The speaker does something active for the first time in the poem1 nstead of 4ust lying there like @um!y, allowing Porphyria to rearrange his lim!s as she sees fit, he "look;s< up at her eyes." t's not clear whether "happy and proud" descri!e her "eyes," or the speaker. t's am!iguous. 8ut it's clear that the speaker sees something in her eyes that convinces him that she really, really loves him. Lines 9-(99 This is a weird simile. The speaker compares Porphyria's closed eyes to a closed flower "!ud" with a "!ee" inside. s he afraid of getting stung !y her eyes when he opens them again? 3r is it a se)ual metaphor, since !ees, after all, pollinate flowers? /lso note that the alliteration the repeated "!" sounds# connects the "!ud" and the "!ee." Line 9% There's a lot going on in this line. The speaker is usingsynecdoche !y making Porphyria's "!lue eyes" represent the whole woman "synecdoche" is when you have a part of something stand in for the whole thing#. /fter all, "eyes" don't "laugh" !y themselves. 8ut there's also an odd metaphor at the end of the line. What kind of "stain" could the eyes have? Aoes he mean that they're clear, and not !loodshot as you might e)pect the eyes of a strangled woman to !e#? 3r does he mean that, !y dying, the "stain" of Porphyria's sin is gone? 3r is he saying that there's no "stain" of his sin his sin of killing her# visi!le in her eyes? Cuddling by the ire Porphyria and her lover spend most of the poem cuddling !y the fire. 3f course, she's dead for half of it, and their positions get reversed, !ut still there's not a lot of movement in this poem. Let's take a look at how they're positioned> Line B Porphyria is the active one here she physically takes the speaker's arm and pulls it around her "waist." e 4ust sits there like a lump and lets her rearrange him. Line 0 /gain, Porphyria is active, and the speaker is passive. 2he's the one to pull his head down against her shoulder. Line - ere, e)actly halfway through the BC(line poem, the speaker finally does something active. e turns and "looks up" at Porphyria's face. Lines 90(%C Dow the speaker is the active one $ their positions are reversed. Porphyria's head now leans against his shoulder, and he's the one rearranging her lim!s. Porphyria's Lover Theme of Love 2ure, the speaker ends up killing Porphyria, !ut the poem includes "lover" in the title, so you have to figure that "love" is going to play some kind of role. :ou're right, though what passes for "love" in the world of this poem isn't going to win you any prom dates. /fter reading this poem, you'll likely feel that the speaker has earned a one(way trip to a federal prison. 3r to a mental hospital. Porphyria's Lover Theme of Sin There's some pretty o!vious sinning going on in "Porphyria's Lover" $ after all, the speaker descri!es how he strangled his lover. 8ut there's some less o!vious sin here, too. ictorian moralists were all a!out repressing female se)uality and pretending that it didn't e)ist. *or a woman to acknowledge that
she even had se)ual desires was considered sinful, and actually acting on those desires was !orderline Porphyria's Lover Theme of Power The "love" !etween the speaker and Porphyria turns pretty Euickly into a power play. Porphyria seems to !e the one who's in control at the !eginning of the poem, then the speaker completely reverses things. e seems to want to possess Porphyria, so he reduces her to an o!4ect a corpse, instead of an independently(thinking individual#. Porphyria's Lover Theme of Passivity Porphyria and the speaker keep switching places. /t the !eginning, the speaker is passive, and allows Porphyria to move his arms around as she sees fit. 2he does everything, while he 4ust sits on the couch like a lump. 8ut then, a!ruptly, they swap the speaker strangles her, and makes Porphyria even more passive than he was. Porphyria's Lover Theme of So!iety and Class This is one of the more understated themes of this poem. Porphyria seems to !e of a higher social class than the speaker. er reluctance to !e with him might have to do with her reluctance to give up social standing. Aeath, however, acts as a social leveller $ killing her makes her social class irrelevant. The difference in social class !etween Porphyria and her lover creates a disparity in their power dynamic during the first half of the poem. The speaker murders her in an attempt to !ring !alance to their relationship. The difference in social class !etween Porphyria and her lover makes a!solutely no difference their power dynamic is uneven !ecause of her intense agency and his e)treme passivity, not !ecause of her social rank.
Porphyria's Lover Love "uotes Fuote G +urmuring how she loved me 7# This could !e really sweet. /fter all, Porphyria is "murmuring" softly in the speaker's ear. ow romantic1 3r it could !e that she's still hesitant, and can't !ring herself to say it more directly. Fuote G7 To set its struggling passion free *rom pride ;>< 7-(79# The speaker says that Porphyria's "passion" "passion" is "struggling" "struggling" in her heart. 2he's too "weak" to set it free. Love is getting figured in terms of freedom and restraint again $ Porphyria is constrained !y something the "vainer ties" that never get e)plained# and can't love freely. Fuote G / sudden sudden thought thought of one so so pale *or love of her, and all in vain 7H(70# The speaker imagines that Porphyria came to his house that night !ecause she couldn't !ear the thought of him suffering alone in his love for her. Fuote G9 ;>< at last knew Porphyria worshipped me ;>< -7(--# When love isn't !eing figured in terms of freedom and restraint, it's descri!ed as "worship." Why can't love !e eEual in this poem? Porphyria worships the speaker or so he assumes#, so he strangles her so that he can idoliIe her !eauty in the same way. Fuote G% /nd , its love, am am gained instead1 %%# %%# Porphyria has !een strangled and reduced to a corpse $ a mere o!4ect, rather than a thinking individual. The speaker even uses the pronoun "its" to descri!e her, instead of "her." Fuote GB Porphyria's love she guessed not how er darling one wish would !e heard. %B(%&# The title of the poem is almost $ !ut not Euite $ uttered in line %B. t's 4ust missing the final "r."
Porphyria's Lover Sin "uotes Fuote G /nd laid her her soiled gloves gloves !y ;>< 7# 7# Why are her gloves "soiled," or dirty? 2ure, it's raining outside, !ut this is an interesting, and perhaps telling, detail to include. Perhaps the "soiled gloves" are somehow sym!olic of Porphyria's "soiled" virtue or reputation. Fuote G7 ;>< untied er hat and let the damp hair fall, 7(-# We pointed out the importance of the word "fall" in "2ym!olism, magery, Wordplay" $ it could suggest the ictorian idea of the "fallen woman," who has "fallen" from virtue !y having se) outside of marriage. Fuote G /nd made her smooth white shoulder shoulder !are &# The "smooth white;ness<" of Porphyria's shoulder contrasts with the sin she's committing !y visiting her lover. Fuote G9 ;>< she Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, To set its struggling passion free *rom pride, ;>< 7C(79# The speaker doesn't consider Porphyria's presence there to !e a sin. *or him, the real sin is her "weak;ness<" and "pride" $ her unwillingness to throw off society's e)pectations and !e with him forever. Fuote G% That moment she was mine, mine, fair, Perfectly pure and good ;>< -B(-&# The moment that Porphyria "worship;s<" the speaker, he decides that she's no longer committing the sin of "pride" and she !ecomes "perfectly pure and good." Fuote GB ;>< found / thing thing to do;>< do;>< -&(-H# The murder of Porphyria, in the speaker's mind, isn't a sin at all $ it's 4ust "a thing to do." e's awfully casual a!out killing his lover.
Porphyria's Lover Power "uotes Fuote G t tore the elm(tops down for spite -# The power of the storm is personified in the opening lines of the poem. t's important to remem!er, though, that the poem is written from the point point of view of a very unsta!le unsta!le mind. Fuote G7 When glided in Porphyria straight 2he shut the cold out and the storm. B(&# Aespite the awesome power of the storm, Porphyria seems to !e a!le to "shut ;it< out" almost without effort. Fuote G;>< she Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, To set its struggling passion free *rom pride, ;>< 7C(79# Love, as we've seen, is figured in terms of freedom and constraint. Porphyria's "weak;ness<" here suggests that she's neither as powerful nor as free as she seemed at the !eginning of the poem. Fuote G9 Dor could tonight's gay feast restrain 7&# /gain, the metaphor metaphor of of freedom and and restraint1 restraint1 The power power of Porphyria's Porphyria's love for for the speaker speaker made her her skip a party. 2he simply couldn't "restrain" the urge to visit him. Fuote G% /nd all night night long we have have not stirred, stirred, /nd yet @od @od has not said a word1 This reference to @od is the only suggestion of an outside system of ethics in the poem. t almost seems to !e a taunt, as though the speaker laughs at the idea of any kind of retri!ution.
Porphyria's Lover Passivity Fuote G listened with heart fit to !reak. %# The speaker's passivity at the !eginning of the poem is pretty e)treme. is only response to the storm is to "listen," even though listening makes his heart !reak. Fuote G7 /nd kneeled kneeled and made made the cheerless cheerless grate 8laIe up, and all the cottage warmJ H(0# Porphyria, on the other hand, has more agency and activity than the speaker can handle $ she's a!le to make the fireplace "!laIe up," apparently without even lighting a match1 2he's the opposite of passive. Fuote G /nd last, she sat sat down !y my side /nd called me. me. When no voice replied, replied, 9(%# 9(%# The speaker can't even !e !othered to answer Porphyria when she calls to him. /nd he doesn't even say, " didn't answer" $ he 4ust notes, "no voice replied." Fuote G9 2he put my arm a!out her waist, B# The speaker is so passive and apathetic that he 4ust lets Porphyria move his arms around like a doll. Fuote G% propped her head up as !efore, 3nly, this time my shoulder !ore er head, which droops upon it still 90(%# 8y the second half of the poem, the ta!les have turned now Porphyria is the passive one !ecause she's dead#, and the speaker moves her !ody around as though she were a doll. Fuote GB The smiling rosy little head, 2o glad it has its utmost will %7(%-# The speaker refers to Porphyria 4ust as a "head" $ an o!4ect, something that can't have a "will" of its own at all.
Porphyria's Lover So!iety and Class "uotes Fuote G /nd kneeled kneeled and made made the cheerless cheerless grate 8laIe up, and all the cottage warmJ H(0# The fact that the speaker lives in a "cottage" that didn't even have a fire on a cold and stormy night suggests that he !elongs to a lower class. Fuote G7 ;>< she Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, To set its struggling passion free *rom pride, and vainer ties dissever, /nd give herself herself to me forever;>< forever;>< 7C(7%# 7C(7%# Porphyria, we're told, has !een struggling with "pride" as she decides whether or not to !e with the speaker. What are those "vainer ties" that she's thinking a!out !reaking? s she already married? 3r does she !elong to a higher social class than the speaker? Fuote G8ut passion sometimes would prevail, Dor could tonight's gay feast restrain 7B(7&# ere's another clue that Porphyria !elongs to a higher social class than the speaker she skipped out on a "gay feast" to !e with him. f she lived in a cold cottage like his, she wouldn't have many invitations to "gay feasts."
