Porphyria’s Lover (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Each poetry anthology at GCSE contains 15 poems, and in your exam question you will be given one poem - printed in full - and asked to compare this printed poem to another. As this is a closed-book exam, you will not have access to the second poem, so you will have to know it from memory. Fifteen poems is a lot to revise. However, understanding four things will enable you to produce a top-grade response:

• The meaning of the poem
• The ideas and messages of the poet 
• How the poet conveys these ideas through their methods
• How these ideas compare and contrast with the ideas of other poets in the anthology

Below is a guide to Robert Browning’s poem 'Porphyria’s Lover', from the Love and Relationships anthology. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations
• Writer’s Methods: an exploration of the poet’s techniques and methods
• Context: an exploration of the context of the poem, relevant to its themes
• What to compare it to: ideas about which poems to compare it to in the exam

In order to answer an essay question on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell
• A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section
• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Browning’s intention and message

'Porphyria’s Lover' in a nutshell

'Porphyria’s Lover', written by the Victorian poet Robert Browning in 1836, is a dark dramatic monologue. Browning’s persona describes the night he strangles his lover, Porphyria, as a result of his complex emotions and jealous desire.

Porphyria’s Lover overview

Lines 1-4

“The rain set early in to-night,

The sullen wind was soon awake,

It tore the elm-tops down for spite,

And did its worst to vex the lake:”

Translation

• The poem begins by describing the night Porphyria visits

Browning’s intention

• Browning personifies nature as angry, which sets an ominous and violent scene
• The descriptions suggests disharmony within nature, reflecting his own mood

Lines 5-7

“I listened with heart fit to break.

When glided in Porphyria; straight

She shut the cold out and the storm,” 

Translation

• The speaker tells readers of his broken heart
• He suggests, however, that when Porphyria arrives, this changes 

Browning’s intention

• Here, the speaker suggests painful emotions, reflected by the dark storm outside
• However, the arrival of his lover seems to bring relief as she closes the door on the storm 
• It is worth noting that Porphyria is a disease which brings hallucinations
• The reference to her “gliding” creates a supernatural quality to her character which could indicate a vision or sense of jealous madness

Lines 8-9

“And kneeled and made the cheerless grate

Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;”

Translation

• The speaker describes how Porphyria immediately lit a fire 

Browning’s intention

• These lines narrate Porphyria’s actions as cheering the speaker, suggesting she brings warmth, or intense desire within him

Line 10-13

“Which done, she rose, and from her form

Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,

And laid her soiled gloves by, untied

Her hat and let the damp hair fall,”

Translation

• Here, the speaker describes in detail how Porphyria begins to take off her wet clothing  

Browning’s intention 

• The speaker seems to be transfixed by Porphyria’s actions, suggesting she is in control of the situation; she is active while he passively watches
• This is not typical of love poems of the era, and challenges gender stereotypes

Lines 14-15

“And, last, she sat down by my side

 And called me. When no voice replied,”

Translation

• The speaker tells readers Porphyria finally joins him
• She speaks but he does not reply

Browning’s intention

• Here, Browning alerts readers to the way the speaker is watching Porphyria rather than communicating with her, showing the complex imbalance of their relationship

Lines 16-20

“She put my arm about her waist,

And made her smooth white shoulder bare,

And all her yellow hair displaced,

And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,

And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair,”

 

Translation

• The speaker lists the actions of Porphyria: she frees her hair and clothes, places his cheek on her shoulder and covers his face with her hair

Browning’s intention

• Browning alludes to Porphyria as in control here, showing her actions as deliberate and independent of his own choices

• By suggesting she is acting flirtatiously Browning presents a woman as leading the seduction, subverting social norms

Lines 21-25

“Murmuring how she loved me — she

 Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour,

To set its struggling passion free

From pride, and vainer ties dissever,

And give herself to me for ever.”

Translation

• The speaker explains how Porphyria whispers of her love for him, yet is still unable to commit
• He explains that despite her feelings, she is tied to another

• • Her “pride” and “vainer ties” allude to her status and reputation (probably through marriage) which she refuses to give up to be with him

Browning’s intention

• The speaker is aware of Porphyria’s passion and desire for him
• The speaker’s emotions begin to get the better of him as he begins to consider her weaknesses (her lack of commitment to him) which he sees as vain

• • This presents his jealousy as stronger than his love for her

Lines 26-30

“But passion sometimes would prevail,

Nor could to-night's gay feast restrain

A sudden thought of one so pale

For love of her, and all in vain:

So, she was come through wind and rain.”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker explains that Porphyria could not resist coming to see him, despite a special occasion which she has left for him and the bad weather
• He suggests she thought of him, “pale” with frustrated love for her

Browning’s intention

• The speaker appears to be aware of Porphyria’s passion for him, aware of what she is giving up

  • However, he suggests she feels pity for him

Lines 31-35

“Be sure I looked up at her eyes

Happy and proud; at last I knew

Porphyria worshipped me; surprise

Made my heart swell, and still it grew

While I debated what to do.”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker tells readers that he is pleased to learn how much she loves him
• However, despite his pleasure at her love for him, it makes him happier to consider how to deal with the situation

Browning’s intention

• His use of the word “worshipped” presents the extreme desire and imbalance within the relationship which grows as he decides what to do about it
• He confirms that he takes pleasure in his control of her
• Browning hints at the speaker’s sense of pride, suggesting his narcissism rather than feelings of love for her
• The speaker is rational in the midst of her seduction, shifting the power back to the speaker and alluding to the disharmony of their relationship

Lines 36-38

“That moment she was mine, mine, fair,

Perfectly pure and good: I found

A thing to do, and all her hair”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker sees Porphyria as his possession, and is now beautiful and pure
• Amid this passion, the speaker decides what to do about the situation

Browning’s intention

• The speaker shows his excitement at her desire and how his possession of her helps him decide what to do, suggesting a dark narcissism
• Browning presents possessive and jealous love

Lines 39-40

“In one long yellow string I wound

Three times her little throat around,”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker explains how he begins to strangle Porphyria 

Browning’s intention

• The calm and deliberate tone here presents the control and power of the speaker
• The speaker emphasises her small stature to present her physical vulnerability and shock readers at his abuse of power

Lines 41-42

“And strangled her. No pain felt she;

 I am quite sure she felt no pain.”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker explains how he strangles Porphyria and assures himself she was not hurt

Browning’s intention

• Browning begins to present an unstable narrator to emphasise the speaker’s madness and delusion evoked by jealous love
• The speaker justifies his actions by repeating she is not hurt

Lines 43-45

“As a shut bud that holds a bee,

 I warily oped her lids: again

 Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.”

 

Translation

• Browning’s speaker compares Porphyria’s closed eyes to a flower
  • His reference to a bee suggests a ‘sting’, presenting his anger towards her 
• He believes her eyes have not changed, despite death 

Browning’s intention

• The speaker again shows his cruel madness as he pretends she is alive
• He describes his actions as natural and loving, although the image is violent
  • Browning connects passion with death and danger, presenting complex and destructive relationships

Lines 46-48

“And I untightened next the tress

About her neck; her cheek once more

Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker now takes off the string from his lover’s neck and kisses her cheek
• He believes she responds to this, even though she is dead  

Browning’s intention

• The speaker continues his calm narration, showing he is unmoved by the violence
• Browning presents a sinister image of the speaker, showing his unstable and dangerous emotions

Lines 49-51

“I propped her head up as before,

Only, this time my shoulder bore

Her head, which droops upon it still:”

 

Translation

• Browning’s speaker describes how Porphyria’s lifeless head leans on his shoulder, but this time, she has not placed it there 

Browning’s intention

• The speaker seems to take pleasure in his ability to control her movements, suggesting his abuse of power and the danger of a power imbalance in relationships

Lines 52-55

“The smiling rosy little head,

So glad it has its utmost will,

That all it scorned at once is fled,

And I, its love, am gained instead!”

 

Translation

• Browning’s speaker sees Porphyria as if she is still alive and happy
• He explains that now she is dead her worries are over and have been replaced by his love

Browning’s intention

• The speaker’s denial reinforces his destructive behaviour as a result of desire and jealousy
• His arrogance and delusion is presented through his belief that she has benefited from her death: she now has his eternal love

Lines 56-57

“Porphyria's love: she guessed not how

Her darling one wish would be heard.”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker believes that he has made her wish come true as she is now forever with him 

Browning’s intention

• Browning’s speaker presents his pleasure at the power he has over her: he seems to have enjoyed surprising her  
• The speaker’s jealousy leads him to cruel delusion

Lines 57-59

“And thus we sit together now,

 And all night long we have not stirred,

 And yet God has not said a word!”

Translation

• Browning’s speaker completes his tale explaining he has spent the night with Porphyria’s dead body and nothing has happened, so God must have accepted it 

Browning’s intention

• The speaker’s insanity is clear as the poem ends, showing desire and jealousy leading to tragedy
• Browning’s speaker ends the poem suggesting, arrogantly, that he has got away with murder: his blasphemous statement suggests God accepts his actions

Although this section is organised into three separate sections - form, structure and language - it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Browning’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

• Form
• Structure
• Language

Form

'Porphyria’s Lover' is presented as a chronological story, written in the form of a dramatic monologue. Typical of Robert Browning’s monologues, the speaker seems to tell a story to a silent listener, revealing his speaker’s twisted nature and attitude to love through a dominant, yet unstable voice.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Complex and imbalanced relationships	The speaker delivers a  dramatic monologue, narrating his version of the story	Browning’s speaker controls the story by presenting his perspective on the deadly night with Porphyria: this highlights his delusion as he presents a warped and twisted narrative
	The first-person speaker describes Porphyria in third-person, using the plural “we” only once	By referring to Porphyria this way Browning reflects the distance the speaker feels between he and his lover, presenting his emotions as detached
	Browning’s speaker gives a detailed account of his murderous night with his lover in this long monologue	Browning presents a powerful and controlling speaker who dominates the story just as he dominated events with his lover

Structure

The poem follows a long stream of consciousness as the speaker lists each action of the deadly night. However, his unstable voice suggests the extreme emotions of the speaker and this presents a dangerous and destructive love.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Desire	The poem’s form, a stream of consciousness, expresses the changing thoughts and feelings of the speaker the poem’s structure changes from a controlled, stiff tone to emotional enjambment	The speaker’s tone changes when Porphyria arrives to reflect the speaker’s desire for her: his voice suggests he is transfixed by her every move
	By the middle of the poem, the speaker begins to list each event with repetition of “And”	The speaker’s passive and cold observation of Porphyria begins to alert readers to a more sinister desire
	By the end of the poem, the speaker’s tone becomes unstable, alternating between calm lines and excited exclamations	Browning’s speaker, once he has strangled Porphyria, begins to become erratic and emotional: he sounds excited to finally own her completely, as well as unperturbed by her death
	Browning presents a speaker whose desire seems to grow once he possesses Porphyria and punishes her for her lack of commitment to him
	Browning challenges imbalanced power dynamics within relationships by suggesting extreme desire can lead to jealous, calculating cruelty

'Language

Browning’s poem, Porphyria’s Lover', uses imagery which presents the power dynamic and tense emotions within a strained affair. He comments on destructive relationships by illustrating the thoughts and brutal actions of a jealous and insecure lover.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Violent relationships	The poem begins with pathetic fallacy reflecting the dark mood of the speaker in disharmony with his environment: the “sullen wind” acts out of “spite” to “vex the lake”	The personification of nature as angry creates an ominous setting for the dark narrative
	The speaker describes Porphyria, at first, as loving and flirtatious: she visits him in difficult circumstances despite other offers, warms the cottage with a fire and takes control: “And made her smooth white shoulder bare,” and “made my cheek lie there”	Here, Porphyria seems to be in control, but her seduction appears to receive no response and begins to show a tension in the relationship: the speaker does not reply and starts to debate what to do with her
	Once the speaker has taken back control and decides what to do to  ensure Porphyria stays with him, he describes her as vulnerable and pure:  She is “pale” and he ties the string around her “little throat”	Browning presents a speaker who resorts to violence upon a weaker and smaller lover to keep her with him in a brutal portrayal of the abuse of power
	The speaker’s dark emotions result in a shocking act of violence upon an unsuspecting and vulnerable lover
	Browning presents possessive love as dangerous and destructive, and comments on the danger of imbalanced relationships

Examiners repeatedly state that context should not be considered as additional factual information: in this case, it is not random biographical information about Robert Browning or the Victorian era which is unrelated to the ideas in 'Porphyria’s Lover'. The best way to understand context is as the ideas and perspectives explored by Browning in 'Porphyria’s Lover' that relate to love and relationships. This section has therefore been divided into two relevant themes that Browning explores:

• Imbalanced and complex relationships
• Destructive love

Imbalanced and complex relationships

• 'Porphyria’s Lover', by Victorian poet Robert Browning, was written at a time when British society favoured relationships which were respectable and kept to a strict code of conduct:
  • Relationships and marriages within the upper class were often contractual, based on status and social mobility
  • This led to a dark and hidden world where desires outside of these strict marriages were enacted in secret
  • In this poem, Browning depicts a forbidden affair between an upper-class woman and the speaker, whom Browning implies is of a lower status or class
  • However, the poem presents the tragic consequences of the jealousy and insecurity of the speaker, challenging the nature of imbalanced relationships caused by strict social codes
• Browning’s poem was written at a time when British society frowned upon and repressed female sexuality
  • The poem depicts a flirtatious and unfaithful woman who, despite her love for him, is punished for her sexual freedom
  • Browning conveys the powerful emotions of the speaker, confused and excited by her desire for him but simultaneously repelled by her unfaithfulness, to challenge readers’ values regarding gender

Destructive Love

• Browning‘s poem, 'Porphyria’s Lover', illustrates the close connection between sex and violence at a time when relationships were constrained by strict social rules:
• Marriages which were arranged within upper-class society often led to passionate affairs conducted in secret, such as in the poem
• Browning alludes to the hidden nature of forbidden love as dangerous:
• He shows a vulnerable woman murdered and left with her murderer all night 
• Browning challenges a typically religious Victorian reader to consider values relating to Christianity and female sexuality: 
• In the Victorian era, British society condemned female promiscuity and considered sexual desire among women as sinful:
• Porphyria is seductive and flirtatious with her lover
• In the poem, the murderer believes he is sinless when he has punished the woman for her sexual transgression and vanity
• His blasphemous exclamation at the end of the poem is a shocking commentary on how the speaker justifies his violence in the name of religion

The essay you are required to write in your exam is a comparison of the ideas and themes explored in two of your anthology poems. It is therefore essential that you revise the poems together, in pairs, to understand how each poet presents ideas about love or relationships, in comparison to other poets in the anthology. Given that Porphyria’s Lover explores the ideas of complex relationships, destructive love and desire, the following comparisons are the most appropriate:

• 'Porphyria’s Lover' and 'Love’s Philosophy' 
• 'Porphyria’s Lover' and 'Sonnet 29 – I think of thee!’ 
• 'Porphyria’s Lover' and 'The Farmer’s Bride'

For each pair of poems, you will find:

• The comparison in a nutshell
• Similarities between the ideas presented in each poem
• Differences between the ideas presented in each poem
• Evidence and analysis of these similarities and differences

Porphyria’s Lover and Love’s Philosophy

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover and Shelley’s Love’s Philosophy convey the speaker’s intense feelings, as well as a sense of intention and power, in their response to desire. However, Browning’s obsessive narrator depicts possessive and destructive love, while Shelley’s speaker explores natural abandonment and the power of unity.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems suggest complex responses to feelings of desire and control
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Love’s Philosophy'
	Browning’s first person dramatic monologue presents a passionate lover in control of his thoughts, while experiencing intense desire: His controlled tone and strict rhyme alternates with enjambment as he narrates the deadly tale	Similarly, Shelley’s first-person speaker alternates between an excited and a composed tone as he persuades a silent listener to surrender to desire: He employs a controlled and structured argument with repeated rhetorical questions and a strict rhyme scheme with lines of enjambment to present his frustrated desire
	Browning’s speaker employs religious imagery to justify his violent desire and appear rational: He suggests his lover, Porphyria, worships him and that after his night of passion and murder “God has not said a word!”	Similarly, Shelley’s speaker uses religious imagery to add weight to his logical argument that desire is natural and a sacred law: He convinces his silent listener that the heavens mix in “sweet emotion” forever and that desire and physical love is a “law divine”
	The speaker in Porphyria’s Lover presents overpowering emotion leading to a loss of control:  The repetition of “And” as he narrates the events of the night shows his obsessive observation of her	At times Shelley’s speaker presents a loss of control as well, indicating intense and overwhelming emotion:  The repetition of “And” to introduce each reason for the physical relationship brings a desperation to his voice
	The complex emotions of desire are presented in both poems with speakers who are, at times, composed and manipulative, and at other times, emotional and out of control
	Both poets comment on ideas related to consent and power in response to desire, however Browning’s speaker does not need consent to act, whereas Shelley’s speaker leaves the poem awaiting his lover’s consent

Topic sentence	Both poets convey intense emotions in romantic relationships
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Love’s Philosophy'
	Browning evokes nature’s power to represent his own intense emotions:  “The sullen wind” tears down tree-tops and did its worst to vex the lake”	Shelley also presents nature as powerfully connected to his feelings of love and desire, using personification:  He describes how the winds mix with “sweet emotion” and how the natural elements “kiss” and “clasp” each other
	Both poets convey their strong feelings related to romantic love and desire by showing their connections with nature as powerful and emotional

Differences:

Topic sentence	While Browning’s poem illustrates destructive disharmony in relationships, Shelley’s poem connects love with freedom and harmony
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Love’s Philosophy'
	In Porphyria’s Lover, the speaker describes disharmony within nature as he shows his own destructive response to physical love	In Love’s Philosophy, the speaker depicts harmony within nature in a bid to convince his lover that humans should, equally, engage in physical and natural love
	Browning justifies his actions as accepted by God and presents love and physical desire as controlling and possessive: “That moment she was mine, mine, fair”	Shelley conveys Romantic themes of love as a unifying force, and presents physical desire as liberating: “All things by a law divine/In one spirit meet and mingle”
	Shelley’s speaker is concerned about the freedom of physical love and suggests desire is a natural law, whereas Browning’s speaker illustrates an immoral and possessive attitude to love

'Porphyria’s Lover' and 'Sonnet 29 – I think of thee!’ 

Comparison in a nutshell:

This is an effective comparative choice to explore desire and longing within complex romantic relationships. Both Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover and Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 29 - ‘I think of thee!’ consider physical unity as a natural part of love, and present strong emotions when this is denied them.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems show longing as a result of denied physical love in romantic relationships
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’
	A first-person speaker presents a relationship separated by distance: the affair is forbidden and Porphyria must visit him at his cottage	Similarly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s first-person speaker conveys strong  intense emotions in a romantic sonnet dedicated to a silent lover who is absent
	Browning’s speaker conveys frustrated and intense emotion with caesura and enjambment: “Murmuring how she loved me — she/Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour”	The speaker here conveys similar frustration with broken lines: “Drop heavily down,—burst, shattered, everywhere!”
	The poem evokes natural imagery which reflects the speaker’s frustrated love: “The sullen wind was soon awake,/It tore the elm-tops down for spite”	Elizabeth Barrett Browning, too, uses natural imagery in an extended metaphor which connects the power of her feelings with the power of nature: “Renew thy presence; as a strong tree should”
	The poets comment on the overwhelming power of denied physical love within romantic relationships, and how it can lead to unstable emotions and longing

Topic sentence	Both poems comment on desire and physical love in romantic relationships
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’
	Browning alludes to Porphyria’s presence as metaphorically shutting out the cold and the storm, after which she begins to seduce him: she bares her shoulder and places his cheek on it	Similarly, Elizabeth Barrett Browning comments on desire for physical love: “I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud/About thee, as wild vines, about a tree”
	Both poems present female sexual desire in romantic relationships at a time when this would not be typical or acceptable, thus they both comment on gender roles and subvert conventional love poems which presented female partners as passive and coy

 Differences:

Topic sentence	While Robert Browning’s speaker resorts to violence and jealousy, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s speaker presents a hopeful and positive resolution
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’
	The poem ends with a disturbed and murderous speaker explaining how he has spent the night with Porphyria’s dead body: he has killed his lover	However, the sonnet ends with a sense of resolution for the pair: “I do not think of thee - I am too near thee”
	The speaker’s jealous and possessive love is presented via a cold and calculating speaker who seems to enjoy possessing her entirely by the end of the poem, despite her death: he debates what to do about her weak and unfaithful commitment to him and decides to strangle her so she is with him and only him forever	The speaker understands and controls her thoughts and emotions: “I will not have my thoughts instead of thee”
	Both poems express passion in a frustrated relationship, however the speaker in 'Porphyria’s Lover' decides to end his lover’s life, while the speaker in 'Sonnet 29 - I think of thee!’ ends the poem deciding to be with her lover

Porphyria’s Lover and The Farmer’s Bride

Comparison in a nutshell:

Both Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover and Mew’s The Farmer’s Bride convey powerful feelings of frustrated desire in romantic relationships. They both suggest a power imbalance which leads to aggression.

Similarities:

Topic sentence	Both poems highlight how frustrated desire in imbalanced romantic relationships can lead to violence
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'The Farmer’s Bride'
	The first-person speaker in Browning’s poem conveys a frustrated jealousy towards his lover: he says she is too weak to give herself to him forever	Similarly, Mew’s first-person speaker conveys frustration at the distance between he and his bride: “Sweet as the first wild violets, she,/To her wild self. But what to me?”
	Browning’s speaker uses repetition to express his need to possess her: “That moment she was mine, mine, fair”	Mew’s speaker’s frustration is similarly expressed: “her hair, her hair!”
	The poets both comment on power imbalances within romantic relationships by showing frustrated speakers whose lovers will not commit to them as much as they desire
	Browning’s poem draws upon comparisons with nature to represent his jealous frustration: the “sullen wind” vexes the lake and tears down trees in spite	Here, too, natural imagery is used to present the speaker’s frustration at his bride’s lack of commitment to him: her smiles stopped “Like the shut of a winter’s day”
	The poems allude to a darkness within these relationships with natural imagery, which highlights the distance between the lovers
	Browning’s speaker decides what to do about his jealousy: he strangles her, plays with her corpse and spends the night with her	Mew’s speaker resorts to violence as well: “We caught her, fetched her home at last/And turned the key upon her, fast”
	The poets both present lovers resorting to physical aggression due to frustrated desire and possessive love

Differences:

Topic sentence	While both poets explore possessive speakers within romantic relationships, Browning’s poem depicts a tale of intimate love and murder, while Mew’s poem depicts a physical distance between the farmer and his bride
Evidence and analysis	'Porphyria’s Lover'	'The Farmer’s Bride'
	Browning presents a sensual and intimate night between Porphyria and the speaker: Porphyria warms his cottage with a fire and seduces him with a pale bare shoulder and yellow hair	However, Mew uses natural imagery to represent the fear and distance within the romantic relationship between the farmer and his bride: the bride is compared to a “mouse”, a “leveret” and a “larch tree” who is happy “So long as men-folk keep away”
	Browning’s speaker spends the night with Porphyria, believing she worships him and treating her dead body as if she were alive: touching her “rosy little head” and placing a “burning kiss” on her cheek	Mew’s speaker, however, is aware of the distance between he and his bride who is in the attic: “Alone, poor maid. ’Tis but a stair/Betwixt us”
	Browning’s poem describes a night of passion, whereas Mew’s poem depicts a lack of intimacy which leads to a silent barrier between the farmer and his bride
	While Browning’s speaker resorts to delusional violence, Mew’s speaker is left frustrated and aware of his bride’s lack of love for him