The Point Of View In "Porphyria's Lover"

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after her arrival. The
description of the articles of clothing that Porphyria is wearing helps the
reader know that Porphyria is from an upper-class family. She was wearing a
cloak and shawl, a hat, and gloves. It is apparent that the speaker works for
Porphyria's family. He lives in a cottage, somewhat distant from the main house.
The cottage is cold until Porphyria warms up the room with her presence and by
stirring up the fire. The way the speaker introduces Porphyria is very unique.
He states that Porphyria "glided" into the room. With this description, the
lover insinuates to the reader that the he sees Porphyria as some kind of angel
who moves swiftly and gracefully across the floor.
The speaker is upset about the party going on in the main house.
Porphyria will be married soon, and he feels that if he were an upper-class
citizen, Porphyria would be able to marry him. There is definitely much love
felt between the two, and the speaker realizes that he will lose ...

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that she will be his forever.
The speaker also sees this as the next best thing to marriage. He is completely
out of his mind, and thinks that she does not feel any pain when he strangles
her. Robert Browning does an excellent job in emphasizing that Porphyria's
lover is not sure if, in fact, Porphyria feels no pain. The speaker states: "No
pain felt she;/ I am quite sure she felt no pain(Barnet 568)." By strangling
Porphyria, the speaker believes that they will be together, and that everything
will be better in the near future. It seems the speaker "witnesses the woman's
apparently wholehearted love-(and) is also the moment that he attempts to
preserve by killing her (Maxwell ...

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