Why does he shift the the first person plural w Essays -

why does he shift the the first person plural we' in the final lines of the poem? The narrator feels a sense of frustration as he waits for his lover as evidenced through the first person , " I listened with heart fit to break." The shift to second person in the last lines of the poem, "And thus we sit her enow" indicates how his frustration of waiting for his lover are now appeared through her death as he has possession of her, "And I untightened next to the tress." Through her murder he has gained control of his lover now she will never leave him again. What is the effect of repeating and' Thecumulativeeffect ofand', shows the actionofPorphyria'sloveras illustrated in "And kneeled and made the cheerless grate" and shows her dominance in the relationship. This poem was written during the Victorian period- why is it important to have an understanding of this period when you read the poem It is important to understand the context of the poem as in the Victorian Period there was certain social constraints and gender expectations such as the male being dominant' and 'powerful' in a relationship. Women were also not allowed to have affairs and be dating people of lower social status to them. Without knowing it would be hard to develop a deeper understanding as to why there relationship was behind closed doors and why at first Porphyria' had more power. Thus the reason behind why she was killed. Porphyria is perfectly pure and good and thus satisfies her role as a traditional Victorian women. Why is this ironic? find quotes to support your answer. This is ironic as she subverts the 19 th century gender and relationship expectations as demonstrated through "she put my arm about her waist", to convey her control and dominance within the relationship. During this time period men were usually powerful' and dominant'. However this is not the case in her relationship. This is further supported by the use of active verbs and repetition of and' in "And kneeled and made the cheerless grate" showing her action and the fact that she is in control. What might the removal of her dipping cloak and shawl' etc be symbolic of? This shows her status , and conveys the fact that she is behind the closeddoor which is metaphoric/symbolic of her freedom from theoutside constraints. Although Porphyria's lover appears to be insane Browning is making a comment about the Victorian social class system- what do you think he is trying to say? He is trying to convey that in the Victorian Social class system women generally were not dominant and did not have power in the relationship. They were also not allowed to be have affairs. In the poem Porphyria' is dating a person on a lower social status to her which was not socially accepted in this time period and thus she had more power and control. This is why their relationship was behind closed door showing the society's opposition to their unequal match of their inequality. The poem Porphoriyas lover' was opposite to what was socially acceptable in that time period and hence leading to her lover murdering her. Extended response Browning examines the potential for tragedy when lives are controlled by thee strict social rules such as those of Victorian England Browning examines the potential for the tragedy when lives are controlled by the strict social rules such as those of Victorian England. Porphyria subverts the 19 th century expectations as demonstrated through "she put my arm about her waist", to convey her control and dominance within the relationship. Due, to the constraints of that time, the lovers meet in secret as metaphorically depicted through "she shut the storm", where the words cold' and storm' indicate society's opposition to their unequal match of inequality. The removal of her dipping cloak and shawl' indicate her status and convey the fact that she is behind closed doors which is symbolic of her freedom from the outside constraints .The persona refers to Porphyria as " To weak, for all her heart endeavour' implying that although in love with him pride' will not allow her to dissever' her' social ties' as she is vain and will not surrender her position in society.