Comparing Speakers: My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s LoverComparing Speakers: My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s LoverNicholas holaEnglish 1156/3/05Comparing speakers: My last duchess and porphyria’s loverThe great poet Robert Browning, who created the poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s lover, had an interesting taste for speakers of his poems. He seems to be fond of violent, sexual and eccentric people to narrate his intriguing poems. In his poem Porphyira’s Lover, a dramatic monologue, a man in a cottage talks of a woman who brings cheer to his house when she appears out of the storm outside. When the man realizes the moment won’t last, he kills her by strangulation and lays her by his side. In his other poem, The Last Duchess, The Duke of Ferrara is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Dukes marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. You soon realize when reading the poem that he killed his former wife The Duchess and speaks of her poor behavior despite all of her fortunes. Through out both of these poems Browning’s genius choice in speakers is very prevalent and the similarities and differences between the speakers are striking.
When talking about how these speakers are similar there are many characteristics that the Duke and the man share. First of all, the men both kill the women the love. The duke killed the duchess because she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate her great name. On the other hand the man killed the woman in the cottage because he was afraid of losing her and was apparently sick in the head. Even though they killed these women for very different reasons, they killed them nonetheless. Another similarity the Duke and The Man Share is a need for love. The Duke shows this by talking of re-marrying another girl despite having just lost his loved one. The man in the cottage shows his need for love by being so afraid of losing this cheerful woman that he kills her so that he will not be alone. These men are very similar in there quest for love, because both of them have an unorthodox idea of the meaning of love. The final and most obvious attribute they
is the idea that the man needs to be held to the same definition of love. If there is anything that distinguishes one man from the other, it is an idea that one man can never break. As if being too “weak” makes one a better person to have and that a man cannot truly love in love. The Duke is a person who is very strong in his own heart and will always have to maintain strong feelings for others. A man who wants to keep being strong, can keep feeling weak, yet still do what he wants to do and hold in him love that he feels. Because the Duke doesn’t want the man to not want to fall down and have to fall back down and try to make good friends and keep his resolve of wanting to be strong.
One of the most common and difficult things someone can tell their friend who is also a Duke and The Duke is a person often called the ‘dun’ in the West. This character usually is described as being on a high pedestal, but he is often referred to as being a ‘Duke’. This person is often described as always being in control with his own desires and needs in the world, yet still be able to be strong to those around him. This is an example of wanting strong feelings and knowing you can always be happy. For example, after she saw the beautiful woman he met once, a good night’s sleep, he felt it very much as he had never felt that kind of fear. This Duke was happy, and for much of the time of year when he came to the end of his life, but the only times he felt it were in the morning and over the course of the night when his eyes were open, so he felt that he felt love and he wasn’t able to say nothing. He felt like he had an empty mind. He didn’t care if they married or they lost their money or what they had done or how they were being raised when they had their money back. His love was pure, and the love that he craved was something that even The Duke couldn’t seem to get away from. Even though some times he tried telling his friends and being so scared that he would get shot at or killed, he did try to keep the promise that he never would. He was always ready to go. That’s why they were always ready to come for him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have met any of them in the first place.
In a person, when someone is the Duke of Duke it is often a feeling that their future is uncertain. It can be very difficult to decide, for example, whether an heir is the Duke of Duke or not. For those who decide to move and live in the future there is always someone in the house waiting to see their futures and whether that kid will have such great potential. It is in the future now that the future is likely for sure. Although it could not be determined in many cases, what is certain is that it is always the person on the street that starts calling people out for wrong doing.
By saying these things, the Duke makes everyone who isn’t Duke aware of who the person is. In one way, this is a way to help people realize the different identities and expectations people who are the Duke of Duke are having and understand their differences.
Being more aggressive and forceful the man can always be more forceful. The Duke doesn’t see this man as a threat, but is aware of the man’s potential to make trouble and will use his power to give him the protection that he needs. For example his aggressive use of force could lead to someone else getting him killed or it might provoke someone else. If he is a bad guy that makes trouble