ABSTACT

The Victorian Age remains one of the most turbulent times in English history. The growth of industrialism
and technology, the discoveries in the natural sciences and the subsequent crises in religion contributed
to the sudden loosening of traditional values and faith. . The break with the past accelerated by mid-
century under the influence of geological, astronomical and other scientific investigations. The eons of
time demonstrated by geology and the immensely vast universe demonstrated by physics significantly
altered the perceptions of creation as depicted in the Biblical Genesis.Even before Charles Darwin’s
Origin of Species in 1859, Victorians were inundated with scientific data that shook the foundations of
their lives and beliefs. Darwin’s findings that placed humans squarely within the animal kingdom served
simply as the “lightning rod” for the intense debates already raging about God, the special creation, and
the teleological universe. Browning re-fashions the dramatic monologue with its complex hermeneutics
as the primary vehicle of cultural dialogue about the most controversial subjects of his time—religion,
morality, sexuality, and science. Recognizing the fragmentation already present in the individual self and
the In the dramatic monologue Browning focuses attention upon the fragile lines of communication and
contradiction present in all communicative acts. He seeks to discover whether “networks of
understanding and cooperation can be created or repaired” (Martin 28).

INTRODUCTION

A dramatic monologue is a type of poem in which the speaker is directly addressing and talking to some
other person. The speaker in such poems usually speaks alone, in a one way conversation, and so it is
called a monologue.

The setting of such poems is dramatic. As the poem begins, we find that the main character is found
engaged in an emotional expression of his ideas and feelings; he is confident, excited, angry or proud. So
the character will reveal us many secrets or hints about something he would not say consciously. The
poems of John Donne are also dramatic monologues to some extent, but Browning’s dramatic
monologues have more unique dramatic techniques. Dramatic poems must involve at the major
dramatic elements of the characters, plot, and speech, though it may just be a one way monologue.
Besides, some dramatic poems will also include other dramatizing elements like quickness in action,
surprise, tension and so on. Poems of John Donne also have such elements, but Browning’s special
“Dramatic Monologue” has some more elements like character revelation with an ironic exposure of
what he is not conscious. This means that the character will be found talking to someone in such a
situation and manner that he exposes the secrets about his real character. Browning’s characters are
usually rogues who prove how corrupted they are in the process of trying to prove how great they are!
This is what happens in the poem “My Last Duchess”. Browning’s poems have a subtext, or a deeper
level of the story of reality, which the reader explores gradually and understands the reality behind the
bragging.Browning’s dramatic monologues are conversational poems set dramatically in such a situation
that the speech reveals a lot of the hidden story, a story which the character usually tries to disprove.
They have been sometimes called mask lyrics for their being oblique expressions of the poet’s feelings
through the character. But the character expresses something that the reader analyzes as an
outrageously lie. It is a kind of monopolized conversation. The major ‘ingredients’ of the dramatic
monologue are: dramatic situation, a speaker and at least one interlocutor, interaction, dramatic action,
plot development and character revelation in the process of the one way conversation. The character is
revealed by means of ironic discrepancy so that the reader is made to make their own judgement about
the character’s real characteristics: the character is usually caught in a moment of emotional intensity
and though he does try to justify himself, the reader understands a very different subtext. It enables the
reader, the character and the poet to be located at an appropriate distance from each other, aligned in
such a way that readers must work through the words of the speaker towards the meaning of the poet
themselves. For instance, in “My Last Duchess”, we listen to the duke as he speaks of his dead wife to a
man, but to us it is as if we are overhearing a man talking into the telephone of a booth adjacent to ours.
From his one sided conversation we piece together the situation, both past and present and we infer
what sort of woman the Duchess really was, and what sort of man the duke is. Ultimately, we may also
infer what the poet himself thinks of the speaker he has created. In this instance, from evidence outside
the poem we know that Browning had a special hatred of domestic tyrants, and that the speaker was a
real historical duke of Renaissance Italy, but even without this information we are able to conclude from
our own analysis of the character that he represents a tyrannical, criminal and unrepentant savage called
an aristocrat. But many other poems of Browning do not allow us to make a judgement about the poet’s
attitude as easily as this: he makes it difficult for us to pass easy verdicts as jurors about the character
also. For instance, in “A Grammarian's Funeral”, another famous dramatic monologue, we are really
obliged to grope toward a choice as to whether the grammarian is meant to be a heroic man or a fool
spending his life in mere rules of grammar at the cost of acknowledging and enjoying the prerogatives of
life. Besides the technique of expression, the language and diction, the rhythm and tone are also
important and unique in the dramatic monologue.

ESSAY

In this essay I will be analysing the poems, ‘The Man He Killed’ by Thomas Hardy and Robert Browning’s
‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ were both written in
the Victorian era, and ‘The Man He Killed’ was written just after Queen Victoria died. All of the poems, I
am studying, are dramatic monologues, which are used by poets to portray their powerful emotions to
the reader only through a single character. Dramatic monologues usually deal with issues that are of
controversial nature, which are shocking and create drama and suspense through the poets’ use of
dramatic language.

‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ are both set in the 19th century; both monologues focus on
the views of the patriarchal Victorian society, dominated and often corrupted by powerful men. Women
were not allowed to voice their opinions or disobey the forceful male authority, which controlled them.
Disobedience meant ruthlessly harsh and terrible consequences.

This abuse of power is well illustrated in ‘My Last Duchess’, in which the Duke, a man of power and
command, misunderstands his wife and conflicts harsh treatment upon her.

We know that the Duke is powerful as he has the power to kill his wife without being suspected: ‘I gave
commands. /Then all smiles stopped altogether’ line 45/46. This is dramatic as the Duke abuses his
power to rid himself of his innocent misunderstood wife. Moreover, this is shocking to the audience as a
man who people believe to be virtuous, exploits his authority, in addition, he murders a naïve woman
whose only crime was being appreciative and pleased for her life.

The Duke describes the Duchess as beautiful, kind-hearted and easily pleased by small things. The Duke
believed that instead of being cheerful to everyone she meets, the Duchess should have behaved in a
more regal manner; ‘spot of joy’ is a metaphor for blushing meaning that other men could easily make
the Duchess blush, probably by complimenting her beauty, she thought they were just being kind
however the cynical Duke considered it as flirting and disapproved of her reactions to such remarks, he
says that ‘she had a heart too soon made glad’.

Throughout the poem, Browning uses caesuras which suggest that the Duke was hiding something or
pausing to think, this indicates that the Duke was apprehensive when he was talking about his wife; this
can also suggests that the Duke did not know his wife and therefore could not easily describe her.

In line 45, ‘I gave commands/Then all the smiles stopped together’, we learn that the Duke ordered the
assassination of his wife, he casually informs the silent listener about how he murdered his wife.
Furthermore, he is boasting about it, expressing no regret at her death but focusing on the artistry of the
artist for catching her expression.

The is Duke callous, he is not poignant for her death; he tries to presents his pleasant side towards the
audience, nevertheless though his speech the reader can see that he is very jealous and devious.

When she was alive the Duke could not control her smile and did not understand her love for him
therefore he considered her to be unfaithful. The Duke likes the smile in the painting as he can control it
and only he can receive it as he owns the painting and it is placed behind a curtain, hence he controls
who she smiles at. This to the audience is shocking as a woman is treated like an object.

The Dukes controlling behaviour can be compared with the lover’s in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ as he too had a
peculiar approach towards his love. The unnamed lover transforms from being passive to controlling
towards the end of the poem when he brutally murders Porphyria to ensure that Porphyria would only
belong to him.

‘Porphyria’s Lover’ seems like a typically romantic poem; however it reveals shocking and horrific
elements as in this poem a wealthy, high-class lady (seeking comfort and love) has an affair with a poor
low-class man, who unjustly murders her.
The unnamed lover knew that society would not let them be together, therefore, he decides to be with
his lover forever in death. Dramatic phases like: ‘Three times her little throat around, /And strangled
her’, are used to create shock in the readers mind. This quote is very dramatic and powerful as this act
was a murder, which the reader witnesses. This would create shock and horror within the readers mind.
It would also make the reader curious as the reader would want to know why the unnamed lover
murdered Porphyria when she truly did love him.

The main issues that are dealt within this poem are class differences; different classes had to keep
separate, however a forbidden love was blooming midst this diverged society. This was considered as
unacceptable and would have never been supported in the society at that time. They knew that society
will not allow their affair to continue therefore the lover makes the decision that in order to keep
Porphyria with him he would have to kill her. By killing Porphyria, the lover seeks to stop time and
preserve the moment of love that they share. They cannot be together ‘vainer ties dissever’ as Porphyria
cannot break free from her wealthy friends, as she was ‘too weak’, thus the lover decides that he would
kill her in a deranged attempt to be together forever. Through this dramatic monologue Robert Browning
brings out an issue that was evident during the time, but one that was overlooked and secreted.
Browning wrote this to show that women, in the Victorian society, trod on a fine line between
possessing a life and being impressionable objects denied of any rights.

Both ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ convey the same form of love; a love based on jealousy
and possession. Both speakers of the monologues are possessive of their love and murder their love in
order to ensure that they remain faithful to them only and do not fraternise with any other males in the
society.

‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ are both about possessive, psychotic men who murder their
love. In both poems, the two speakers kill their lovers based on what their individual psychosis caused
them to see; however, what the two speaker saw was different, due to this the reason and the way the
two speakers kill their love is different.

Even though the speakers’ attitudes between the lovers are different in both poems, both the Duke and
the unnamed lover are unable to deal with their feeling realistically or appropriately. They both neglect
the women’s feelings and physical wellbeing in favour of their own selfish love.

In both monologues the women were seen as a prize that could be gained. In ‘My Last Duchess’, the
Duke tries to win over the Duchess by presenting her with lavish gifts, however that was not enough to
win her love. The Duke believed that the Duchess did not see him as nothing special or important: ‘but
who passes /Much without the same smile’ he deduces this as she did not have a special smile for him.
He thought that his greatest gift to her was his ‘gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name’. Nevertheless, the
Duchess did not believe that she should treat the Duke superior to anyone else and due to this the Duke
considered that she was ungrateful to be married to a wealthy, influential man like him.

The attitudes shown in the two poems are very different, whereas hardy creates a modest, baffled
character who feels very guilty, browning’s Duke is a vain, proud man who has killed his wife in a
premeditated manner.

Both poem are about killing, the solider feels very guilty for his actions; evident, when he says ‘I shot him
dead because… that was clear although..’ his guilt is evident as he is questioning his own actions, this
strikingly contrasts the Dukes attitude who is relatively content about murdering his wife as he believes
that it was the right thing to do to protect his family’s honour.

All three poems are developed around the theme of murder and killing. Hardy’s character feels liable for
the death of a stranger; however, both of Browning’s characters are unconcerned about the death of
their beloved.

‘…cottage…dripping cloak and shawl…soiled gloves…’ lines 9, 11, 12 this quote is dramatic as it shows
that the man porphyria has an affair with is a poor low-class man as he lives in a cottage. The dramatic
theme comes in as we find out that Porphyria is a rich, wealthy lady who can afford expensive garments.
This would create a powerful impact on the audience as in Victorian times rich and poor never mixed. It
was highly unusual for rich people to even touch a low classed person; nevertheless porphyria breaks all
society’s rules and dares to have an affair with the low classed man.

The lover believes that he was right in his decision in killing Porphyria and justifies his actions as they
were performed with the pure intention God has not said or done anything. Furthermore, he believes
that he made the right decision as Porphyria let him kill her. She did not struggle or resist therefore he
believed that he made reasonable decision. It is arguable that she agreed with his decision as she loved
him and she let him do anything he wanted with her.

The poem is of hopeless love and disturbing death. Lines 21-25, the lovers cannot be together as
Porphyria is already committed to someone else. She is probably married or engaged and thus she is
committing adultery. This is shocking to the Victorian society as the young woman is betraying her family
by fraternising with the low classed man.The poem is deplorable to the audience of the time as the
young woman takes off her clothes in front of a stranger:

• She begins to expose herself: he is morose even though she is elegant and beautiful
• Now HE has the power

• He dehumanises her by referring to her as it.

• He reassures himself again: states she wanted to die

Browning uses contrast – a kind gentle wife and a cunning suspicious husband.The Duke has an
avaricious personality. In the monologue, the Duke is shown as an insane and sick man with absolute
power, utterly remorseless, a man unable to express love or pleasure; this is the description of a
dangerous monster. This also shows that the Duke could not see the value of love and friendship; he only
wishes to own all that is rare and unique ‘Notice Neptune…a rarity/Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in
bronze for me!’ This quote shows that the Duke had a taste for collecting pieces of rare art; this shows
the reader that in the Duke’s view his wife was merely another item in his possession, an ornament to
him which increased his status within society. When he felt that the Duchess might cause him to ‘stoop’
he decided that it was better to kill her than let her destroy his reputation with her ‘trifling’.

Does not have skill in speech- ‘which I have not’- only has skill in power and force.

The Duke is powerful as he does not need the dowry from his new Duchess, ‘dowry will be disallowed’
this shows the reader that the Duke is very wealthy and powerful.

Furthermore, in the next few lines of the monologue, we discover that to the powerful Duke the new
Duchess would be just another possession, ‘his fair daughter’s self…is my object’ and ‘Notice Neptune,
though, /Taming a sea-horse,’ This quote shows that the Duke believes that the Dukes daughter will
become his new ornament, he also implies the fact that she will be tamed just as Neptune, the god of
the sea tames a wild seahorse. This shows that the Duke considers himself to be superior to anyone else
and believes that he has had power over all who enter his realm.

Thomas Hardy wrote the poem, ‘The Man He Killed’, demonstrating the effect war has upon soldiers and
how war changes friend into a foe. The Man He Killed reveals the speaker’s feelings about killing another
innocent soldier during the battle. The poem is dramatic as the single speaker mentions how much they
both had in common; ‘he thought he’d list off hand just as I’, this quote justifies the other man’s
innocence.

The poem is dramatic because the audience is shocked by the speaker’s sense of regret about his own
behaviour. The poem is highly ironic as the speaker mentions that war is ‘quaint and curious’. He is saying
that war is strange because people want to join the army to satisfy their curiosity, only to find that they
kill innocent people who are just like them. The drama of the monologue reveals that the soldier does
not understand the seriousness or the purpose of war, ‘You shoot a fellow down’ the speaker does not
know why it is right to murder innocent people.

This is further emphasised when the speaker move on to show his confusion as he does not know the
reason he killed the other man; ‘I shot him because – because’, the repetition of ‘because’ and the use of
the hyphen indicate a pause to show that the young soldier is still living in a state of shock.

The speaker believes that the innocent young man he killed probably joined the army for the same
reason as him- to get some money so that they could live appropriately. However, the soldier did not
know that the glamorous life that the army showed them would be cursed. The government made the
army look exotic and exciting as the men had the opportunity to go abroad. In the readers’ viewpoint
this would be shocking as in that period, people believed that the government went to save the people,
not kill them. Visiting abroad, at the time, was only available to wealthy, who could afford to spend a
large sum of money on luxury.

Moreover, the speaker believes that money is the bane of life as he had to kill to earn it this shows the
reader that the speaker, unlike the Duke, was not driven by money or the power that originates from it;
however, just the two other monologues, in this monologue someone dies due to class distinctions and
misunderstandings.

understanding dramatic monologue :

What is the situation?

Who is the speaker talking to and why?

What tactics is the speaker using to make his case?

Does the speaker seem to change his mind during the poem?

What do you think about this character and what he has to say?

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279533776_Robert_Browning_and_the_Dramatic_Monologu
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