⬆️Read the poem “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning, then answer the following questions.
1. What’s the relationship between the murderer and his victim in “Porphyria’s Lover”?
2. Why did he kill the victim?
3. What emotions is he trying to stir in the reader?
4. What are three words he uses that have synonyms and what is the emotional impact of his choices compared to those synonyms?
For example:
In the second line of the second stanza of “An Old Story,” it said he “slew a being brave with breath.”
Saying “a being” rather than a “woman” or “your mother” obscures her identity.
“Brave with breath” emphasizes that the life he took had value and was admirable.
5. What are 1-2 uses of imagery he used and what was the emotional effect of those compared to other possible choices?
For example:
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids
That sounds a lot nicer than “I opened her dead eye.”
6. Which word choices and imagery were most effective and why?
