Porphyria's Lover

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning (1842)

Also a dramatic monologue, “My Last Duchess” is one of Browning’s most famous and anthologized poems. Like “Porphyria’s Lover,” it centers on a woman’s murder. The Duke is a far wealthier man than the lover, but he, too, is worried about fidelity. About to be remarried, he reveals to the unseen emissary of his betrothed’s family, a portrait of his late wife, explaining that when he found that she smiled too much at other men, he ordered her killed. While possessiveness is at the heart of both poems, the Duke’s actions seem far more calculated than those of Porphyria’s lover.

“Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister” by Robert Browning (1842)

Another dramatic monologue from the Dramatic Lyrics, this poem is told by a grumpy monk who rails against another in his cloister, Brother Lawrence. As they go about their day, the monk judges Brother Lawrence on his small sins. Ironically, he wishes for his demise, imagining ways to kill him. The perceptions of the monk are unreliable just like the lover’s, though this poem is more humorous, and a murder isn’t actually committed.

“Count Gismond” by Robert Browning (1842)