Robert Browning and the Power of the Dramatic Monologue Form

Robert Browning and the Power of the Dramatic Monologue Form The dramatic monologue form, widely used by Victorian poets, allows the writer to engage more directly with his reader by placing him in the role of listener. Robert Browning utilised the form to a famously profound effect, creating a startling aspect to his poetry. In poems such as â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover,† and â€Å"My Last Duchess,† for example, Browning induces a feeling of intimacy by presenting the reader as the ‘confidant’ to the narrator’s crimes; in â€Å"Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister,† the reader is more a witness to the narrator’s increasing instability. Thus, Browning is able to use the dramatic monologue form both to expose the narrator’s frailties, and as a channel†¦show more content†¦Browning immediately makes this attitude appear ridiculous by demonstrating the Duke’s bullish approach to the painter of his wife’s image. The Duke condemns the â€Å"earnest glance† required by the painter’s profession in exaggerating its â€Å"depth and passion.† The Duke seems to interpret his wife’s happiness as an affront to his â€Å"gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name,† complaining that â€Å"She had/ A heart†¦ too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed.† The envy stems from a materialistic fixation similar to that of the Bishop in â€Å"The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church,† whose holiness is undermined with an obsession for an extravagant resting place. â€Å"Vanity, saith the preacher, vanity!† declares the Bishop in the poem’s opening line, setting the tone for the rest of the monologue. The Bishop appears transfixed with the idea of an overstated tomb that would undermine the â€Å"paltry onion-stone† of that of his rival, Old Gandolf. He interrupts his philosophising to declare that the tomb should be â€Å"Peach-blossom marble all†¦ True peach/ Rosy and flawless.† Later though, he supersedes even this outrageous demand, asserting â€Å"All lapis, all, my sons,† referring to the incredibly rare lapis lazuli, â€Å"Big as a Jew’s head† and â€Å"Blue as a vein o’er the Madonna’s breast† that he had stolen from the church. The requests seem outrageous for a man who has vowed to live in poverty. However, the most despicable examples of his vanity are demonstrated byShow MoreRelatedAchievement of Self-Expression Through Concealment in Dramatic Monologue2761 Words   |  12 PagesHow does the dramatic monologue achieve self expression through concealment? Discuss with reference to any three Browning poems. When discussing the poetic form of dramatic monologue it is rare that it is not associated with and its usage attributed to the poet Robert Browning. Robert Browning has been considered the master of the dramatic monologue. 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Although the dukes monologue appears on the surface to be about his late wife, a close reading will show that the mention of his last duchess is merely a side note in his self-important speech. Browning uses the dramatic monologue form very skillfully to show us the controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits the duke possessedRead More Porphyria’s Lover, My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay2600 Words   |  11 Pages In this essay I hope to prove that Robert Browning’s murder mystery poems are fulfilled with intrigue and excitement. I also hope to prove that in his poems he creates vivid characters and uses poetic techniques to expose a world of madness and wickedness. To show that the statements above are true I will be writing about the characters, the poetic features in each poem and the madness and wickedness in each poem. This essay will include three of Robert Browning’s poems; they are Porphyria’s