Compare and contrast Human Interest and Porphyrias Lover Essay Example For Students

Compare and contrast Human Interest and Porphyrias Lover Essay In this essay, I will be examining two poems Porphyrias Lover, by Robert Browning, and Human Interest, by Carol Ann Duffy. The poems, which are both dramatic monologues, have many similarities, but they also have many differences. Porphyrias Lover first appeared in January 1836, whereas Human Interest was written in the late 1900s. The murderers in Porphyrias Lover and Human Interest have some similarities, as well as many differences. I will examine the similarities first. The first similarity is that both murderers are almost certainly male, although there is more evidence in Human Interest than in Porphyrias Lover. I believe that both are male because in Human Interest the murderer talks about the other bloke, implying that this persona is male, and in Porphyrias Lover the killer strangles Porphyria. This suggests a degree of strength not commanded by nineteenth-century women. Also, homosexuality was not acceptable then, although this may go towards an alternative explanation as to why the two lovers can only meet in secret. I also know that both murderers loved their victims; the text in Human Interest clearly states I loved hermy baby, and Porphyrias lover describes his love of her. Because the murderers loved their victims it makes the motives for the killings, which I will examine later, all the more interesting and the murders themselves harder to comprehend. Another similarity that I have noticed is that both murderers are mentally weak they both murder their partners because they are jealous that they may end up marrying someone else. Succumbing to jealousy in this way also suggests that they are in some way insecure, and need to remove the cause of the problem, that is their partners, to feel secure again. There are also many differences between the two murderers. Exploring their lifestyles, we can see that the murderer in Porphyrias Lover is quite lazy, leaving Porphyria to make the cheerless grate blaze up instead of doing it himself. In contrast, the killer in Human Interest says Id slogged my guts out for her, implying that he is a very hard worker. The murders themselves also differ enormously the murderer in Human Interest brutally stabs his victim, presumably after an argument or when she becomes upset, whereas Porphyrias lover strangles her in cold blood. Also, unlike Porphyrias lover, the Human Interest murderer is bitter about murdering his love, and the fact that hes been convicted and jailed he recollects Id slogged my guts out for her, but she lied when I knew different. Conversely, Porphyrias murderer is unfazed by his act, and proud that God has not said a word. Also, it seems that Porphyrias lover has not yet been caught. Studying the poem further explains this the murderer is talking about his deed on the night of the murder, so no-one has noticed yet. Another difference that I have noticed is that the Human Interest murder is completely spontaneous, unlike the briefly pre-planned murder of Porphyria. In Human Interest the victim turned away, dismissing her (ex-)lover, and the murderer stabbed, whereas Porphyrias lover debated what to do. I will now study the similarities and differences between the victims, once again beginning with their similarities. Unlike the murderers, it is easier to determine the gender of the victims both murderers refer to them with words like her and she. Porphyria is an unusual name, and although it sounds feminine, I cannot conclude from the name alone that the victim is female. We do not know the name of the victim in Human Interest. We know that both victims were workers Porphyrias first action upon appearance is to make the fire blaze up, and the killer in Human Interest claims that his victim used to meet some prick after work. This suggests that they have something in common both are happy to go against the standard form of conduct (male works, female stays at home) and work for their loves. This suggests a strong character in both women. I will now investigate the differences. In Porphyrias Lover, we know that Porphyria was not a bad person. In fact, she seemed to be very loving, kind and gentle she shut the cold out and the storm, and made the cheerless grate blaze up. We know that she loved her killer, as she was murmuring how she loved me . In contrast, the victim in Human Interest may have been sleeping with someone other than her lover/husband, although we dont have conclusive proof that she was. Indeed, the only reason I think this is because the murderer says that she used to meet some prick after work. His proof is that he found a silver heart, which he assumes the other bloke had bought her. Analysis Of the poem 'Limbo' EssayTaking the idea of the woman Porphyria representing all sufferers further, we could say that the murderer in Human Interest is symbolic of all those who have done the same, and his words are their thoughts. This raises the issue of crime and murder being far too common in the modern world, and perhaps that law and order generally is breaking down. When the poem was written, fifteen to twenty years ago, the punk era was just about at its height, and this may symbolise the mass rebellion against conventional etiquette. There are many important techniques which the two writers, Robert Browning and Carol Ann Duffy, have used and I will now compare and contrast these. The first, and possibly most obvious, technique used is to do with structure. Unlike Human Interest, Porphyrias Lover is set out as one long verse, with no line breaks. This gives the structure no defining characteristics, and therefore gives nothing away about the content of the poem. It could be symbolic of the murderer having something to hide, for example the murder. It could equally suggest that the speaker is in a hurry to say what he wants to. Human Interest, on the other hand, has an intriguing structure, as it is that of a sonnet (four verses set out where the first verse and third verse have four lines, and the second verse and fourth verse have three lines). This is so interesting because, although the principle theme of the poem appears to be the murder, poems set out in this way are usually love poems. The poem starts of in quite an angry tone, but it seems that the murderers sentiments switch to loving his victim in the final two verses. An angry Id slogged my guts out for her appears in the second verse, but in the third verse the murderer says that he loved her. There is also a definite rhyming pattern in Porphyrias Lover in sections of five lines, the last words rhyme in the following order: A, B, A, B, B. Although there is rhyming present in Human Interest, it is erratic. This suggests confusion in the personas mind. Furthermore, the neatly arranged rhyming in Porphyrias Lover suggests that the persona has complete control of their thoughts, and that they are completely calm. The style of the writing also differs between the two poems in Human Interest, standard, (that is, how one would normally speak) informal, colloquial language is used. This gives the impression that the persona no longer cares, and cant even be bothered to speak properly. The text is also in a confessional style, which is typical of Duffy. Porphyrias Lover, on the other hand, is quite a formal style, and the persona is simply telling the story, without any obvious guilt. In Porphyrias Lover, Browning has used exaggeration for effect by having the persona say that he wound Porphyrias hair three times her little throat around. I believe this to be exaggerated because, if it were true, Porphyrias hair would have to be about four feet long, which is ridiculous. There is no exaggeration in Human Interest, but there is a lot of isotropy the persona repeatedly emphasised the point that he loved his victim. This is demonstrated in quotes like I loved her, my baby, and she wasnt a tart. He also emphasises his angry reaction to her infidelity thirty seconds to complete, I stabbed, she stank of deceit. Finally, both poets use enjambment, albeit irregularly. This shows long and deep, but slightly erratic, thought at times by both personas. After reviewing Porphyrias Lover and Human Interest, I have found that they are very similar in many ways, although they do have their differences. Both poems are based on the theme of murder for love, and murder resulting from jealousy.