Every week you will be asked to respond in detail to a set question. You will be expected to offer evidence of your ideas and analyse as far as you can the topic in question. This weeks question is inspired by King Duncan's comment on the appearance of people in Act 1 Scene 4:
There’s no artTo find the mind’s construction in the face.He was a gentleman on whom I builtAn absolute trust.
Here, Duncan is talking about the former Thane of Cawdor and how shocked he is at discovering his treachery. False appearances and placing your trust in the wrong person are a theme in Macbeth, as we are beginning to explore with the main character. I would like you to apply this idea to one of the poem's we have studied so far. The question is this:
How does Browning give the speaker in his poem a deceptive/ false appearance? Pick one poem to explore this. You must analyse 3 quotations to support your answer.
All answers to be posted in the comments section. End your response with your initials or first name. Deadline for the response is Monday 19th May. Any problems posting, then email 10zsjwms@gmail.com or bring in a paper response to class.
Please find the poems in the POETRY section of the blog.
The theme of being unable to read someone from just their face is shown in both the poem, 'Porphyria's lover' and Macbeth Act 1 scene 4.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare uses Duncan to say 'there's no art, to find the mind's construction in the face'. Here, Duncan is referring to the previous Thane of Cawdor who has betrayed him. The use of the word 'construction' creates a feel of the old Thane having no heart as the word makes him look and appear like a building that has no heart of feeling. This foreshadows Macbeth in the future of the play becoming more and more evil with no heart or feeling for anyone. Also the them of being unable to trust or read someone is shown as Shakespeare uses the phrase 'the mind's construction in the face'. This phrase suggests that the face is like a mask for the mind and is almost like a lie. This suggests how 'brave Macbeth' is might actually not be brave because that 'brave' image may just be a mask that is hiding his 'mind's construction.
In Porphyria's lover, a similar theme is used by Robert Browning in the poem of 'Porphyria's lover'. A metaphor is used of the disease of porphyria to create the intended theme of the poem. The same 'mask like feeling is shown as Porphyriais shown to have 'yellow hair' and a 'smooth white shoulder' despite her being a deadly and dangerous disease behind her beautiful looks. The speaker of this poem notices this and then kills her as though he, like King Duncan in Macbeth, has discovered who that person really was inside. This is again a metaphor for the speaker getting rid of the disease that seamed good. This is similar to that of Duncan's words of being unable to 'find the mind's construction in the face'. Both show the difficulty of reading someone.
To conclude, both the poem of 'Porphyria's Lover' and the extract from Macbeth Act 1 Scene 4 show a sense of being unable to know who is really behind someone's face.
MHS
Hi Matthew, thanks for your response. I think your part about Macbeth is a good idea and I like how you have attempted to link this to the poem. We can say that a 'disease of the mind' certainly lurks beneath the noble features of both characters.
DeleteHowever I think you can draw more links to really polish your idea, as I think it merits an 'original'. It is a sophisticated interpretation and could be made better with refining your response with more evidence.
* Consider the colour yellow (her hair is like the sun, warming, beautiful and resembles gold yet yellow was also the colour of illness, disease and caution). She is certainly not what she seems if she does represent porphyria the disease.
* Consider how the soldier's praise of Macbeth is only 'skin deep'. He only focuses on Macbeth's physical prowess. This was a society that focused on brave acts to prove one's greatness. How has this proven to be a fatal flaw of Duncan when choosing his men?
* Consider how the speaker in Porphyria's Lover (the man) and Macbeth kill without remorse. The way the poem is set up surprises us with its ending of the girl's death. We do not expect it as he seems like a man who wouldn't do that kind of thing. Could parallels be made between this and Macbeth's personality?
Reply with further thoughts on this questions above. It would be nice to see other people weighing in on this to see what they think.
Well done!
Miss Galip
The extract from Macbeth mentioned is in many ways similar to the Brownings poems "The Laboratory" and "Porphyria's Lover". In these poems there are various ways in which true intentions are hidden or things that are not what they seem.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem "the Laboratory" the speaker is said to be "tying thy glass mask tightly". The initial message of this is quite simple she's just putting on the mask to protect herself from the poisonous fumes in the chemists. However it can be interpreted a different way King Duncan said about the "construction in the face" Her putting the mask can be seen as reconstructing her face in oder to be serviced by the chemist. This can be supported by the authority she shows towards the old man "Now, take all my jewels".
Also there is a theme recurring through the poem where the poison is seen as colourful and vibrant however as we all know deadly. "Quick---is it finished? The colour's too grim!" this shows she's even purposely disguising the poison as some thing attractive to entice her victim. Or in a way is she reconstructing the normal ingredients to hide what the poison is.
The speaker is describing the poison with absolute confidence and as the answer to all of her problems. In other words she has built absolute trust in this poison "Which is the poison to poison her, prithee". Although she is building up this trust in the poison just from watching the chemist assemble the poison she cannot tell what it's going to do or how it will help. Much like king Duncan couldn't tell how the thane of Cawdor would do even with absolute trust.
DG
I like how you have taken the mask reference in the poem as a point of analysis. There is much to say about this. Apart from what you have stated, could it be that she is also using it to protect/ hide her true nature? Could we link to this to the famous line 'Fair is foul and foul is fair?'
DeleteMiss Galip
Browning and Shakespeare both give their characters false appearances in their works. In Macbeth, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as an idyllic and noble knight, but beneath Macbeth's mask of chivalry lies an evil state of mind plagued with disturbing thoughts and desires. In Brownings' 'Porphyria's Lover', Porphyria is depicted as a beautiful with golden, yellow hair and blue eyes. But this however hides a darker truth to her presence.
ReplyDeleteThe quote from Browning's poem 'And spread, o'er all, her yellow hair' at first portrays Porphyria as an elegant and beautiful character. But the use of yellow could harness a more in depth meaning. Yellow has connotations with danger and even sickness, which could show she is not to be trusted. This links to her name itself. Porphyria is a blood disease which made people insane and paranoid. This shows how Porphyria was at first a good thing for the speaker of the poem, but now made him insane and infected by her evil nature. In Macbeth, King Duncan calls him a 'valiant cousin' which shows that he trust Macbeth and that he is sure that Macbeth will be loyal to him at all times. This is some way is similar to Porphyria's Lover, where the speaker trust Porphyria at first and loves her. But when Macbeth later says, ' let light not shine upon my black and deep desires', we begin to realise that Duncan has lost the loyalty of Macbeth when Macbeth holds disturbing thoughts towards Duncan which is similar to the speaker losing his love for Porphyria.
In both texts, death plays a major part in unravelling the true natures of both Porphyria and Macbeth. In the last lines of Act I Scene II death seems to cross paths with Macbeth. The quote' go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth' shows this. Death and Macbeth both rhyme together as a rhyming couplet, this shows how Death and Macbeth go hand in hand and that wherever Macbeth is, death will follow. This also refers to Macbeth's newly acquired position, Thane of Cawdor, which only occurred due to the presence of death (execution of previous Thane).Therefore, overall emphasising how death will always be with Macbeth, and that his previous depictions of valour and loyalty may not be necessarily true. In Porphyria's lover, death is also play a major role in unmasking Porphyria. 'When glided in Porphyria' is a quote which depicts Porphyria's true persona. To glide in could show she is supernatural, or in other terms the Angel of Death. This reflects upon how she is viewed as a danger and an illness, because in biblical terms if the Angel of Death glides over you, death will likely occur. The supernatural reference in Porphyria's Lover could relate to the three witches in Macbeth, and how they changed the nature of Macbeth and planted the seed of evil into his head and poisoned his mind, turning him from the chivalrous knight, to the treacherous and evil Thane of Cawdor.
Chiranth B.
Sorry for the no paragraphs
ReplyDeleteRemember them next time!
DeleteMiss Galip
In both Macbeth written by Shakespeare and Porphyria's lover written by Robert Browning, a character is portrayed to be different in looks, to who they actually are.
ReplyDeleteIn Porphyria's lover, Porphyria is described by the speaker as a beautiful young women. The first mention of her, "When glided in Porphyria; straight she shut the cold out and the storm, and kneeled and made the cheerless grate blaze up, and all the cottage warm. “ Suggests that she brings happiness to the cottage, yet her name suggests otherwise. Porphyria is a disease that affects the chemicals of the body, so this beautiful women is actually a horrid illness, showing her false appearance. This links to Macbeth, where after an encounter with the witches, Macbeth and Banquo suggest that they have eaten an "insane root" such as Belladonna or hemlock. Belladonna, which translates to beautiful women, was thought to cause madness and blindness. Since Macbeth and Banquo just encountered witches, they must think that their eyes are deceiving then, suggesting beautiful things, in both Porphyria’s lover, and in Macbeth, cause death or illness.
Also in Robert Browning’s poem, Porphyria is described to have bright yellow hair. “And all her yellow hair displaced, and, stooping, made my cheek lie there, and spread, o’er all, her yellow hair.” The speaker clearly has an obsession over her yellow hair, so it must be something special and of beauty, yet it is also the thing that killed her. “In one long yellow string I wound Three times her little throat around, and strangled her.” This shows her looks are very deceiving since death is very different to happiness. This links to Macbeth, where he should be “noble” yet the quote “go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth” suggests he isn’t noble. Both Macbeth and death rhyme, implying that Macbeth himself is deceiving and is actually just the hair bringer of death.
Linking to death, both the speaker in Porphyria’s Lover, and Macbeth, show no doubt when they take a life. The speaker of Porphyria’s lover says at the last line of the poem “And yet God has not said a word!” which supports the point that he thinks he has done well, and that his “God” hasn’t stopped him. The reader was deceived to think he was just a lover, but he is actually a “bloodthirsty” killer. This links to Macbeth, where he was described to have “fix’d his head upon our battlements.” Showing he is not only bloodthirsty, and again, not some noble Thane, but a savage, who doesn’t care who he kills.
Morgan Rees
Great interpretation of 'belladonna' and linking it to Macbeth and the question! Some really good comparisons here that also considers the reader being deceived by these characters as well.
DeleteWhat else can you say about the theme of 'nobility'? We certainly feel that the speaker in the poem has noble, passionate feelings towards the girl like a normal lover yet ends up acting in a completely different way. Don't both of these characters take 'fate' into their own hands to get what they want?
Well done Morgan.
Miss Galip
Robert Browning uses a range of techniques to show a false/deceptive image of a character. In the Poem Porphyria’s lover she is describe to be a loving women but is inferred to be a ghost or supernatural being.
ReplyDelete“ glided in Porphyria” this quote shows that porphyria is elegant and when she walk it’s like she is “glided” around.However it could also mean that she is unnatural is actually gliding.this shows that Robert Browning used deceptive imaging to shaw a false character
“ She shut the cold out and the storm” this is an other example of porphyria being shown to be a magnificent women that she is capable of keeping the cold and rain out of the cottage. It could also show that she has the supernatural ability to create heat and control the weather and at will another example of false imaging
“And strangled her. No pain felt she” this is an example of porphyria’s lover killing her by strangling her to death with her own hair. However it continues by saying that “no pain felt she” this could mean that porphyria was very brave or knew not to struggle and went unconscious before any pain was felt. It could also be interpreted to show that she has supernatural abilities to make sure that she felt no pain.
Taseen H.
You make some interesting points Taseen; who can we now compare Porphyria too in Macbeth? The question asks you to consider how looks are deceiving in both texts. Who will you choose? The witches? King Duncan? Or will you choose the compare her to how deceptive the prophesy is? This can probably be done, after all one interpretation is that she is not a woman at all but a disease that induces madness.
DeleteMiss Galip.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK 1
ReplyDeleteThe theme of deception can be seen in both Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning. In Macbeth, King Duncan says ‘To find the mind’s construction in the face. He was a gentleman whom I built absolute trust’. From this line, it is clear to the audience that the king is saying that the expression on ones face doesn’t reflect his true intentions. This sentence is a reference to the old Thane of Cawdor, who the audience finds is actually a traitor to the king. The fact that he says ‘construction’ and ‘whom I built’. This may suggests how the Thane of Cawdor’s thinking may have been formed buy the King’s ideology, which was ‘built’ by the King. It could reflect the king’s power, and that deception and false appearance maybe more powerful. This can also be seen in Porphyria’s lover
There can be a comparison between the characters- the Thane of Cawdor referred by Duncan and the description of Porphyria in Porphyria lover. The fact that Duncan describes the Thane as a building, could show deception, as things, such as private possessions can be kept in a building, but a building can always collapse, or the possessions can get stolen. The comparison to the building, could show the ambiguous nature of the Thane of Cawdor, as even though the King has trusted him, he was still able to deceive the king, and therefore, worthy of death. Also, the fact that the king build trust, could show how the king build this house, but got locked out. In contexts, got deceived. Therefore, if Macbeth is given the title of Thane of Cawdor, it foreshadows how the same may happen the king. In the same way, in Porphyria’s lover by Robert Browning, pathetic fallacy is used by the male speaker, saying that ‘The sullen wind was soon awake’ and ‘When glided in Porphyria; straight she ‘shut the cold out and the storm’. The speaker gives Porphyria a God like description-only she can stop the bad weather. This is a stark contrast to the fact that Porphyria is a disease that caused madness and other symptoms, which could show how the speaker may have been mad. The use of pathetic fallacy, creates a sense in the readers mind that Porphyria is the saviour of the pain that the speaker feels, however, we see at the end of the poem, the speaker says ‘Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss.’ It gives Porphyria a sense of living, even though it is clear she is dead. This could show deception. If we look at the disease interpretation, it could show, how the disease, had mocked him, and how he looks back with great happiness that he has rid himself of this disease. This false appearance as Porphyria, as a disease, could show how women were represented at the time, that they were people that couldn’t be trusted, in this poem, like a disease that shows signs of ‘shutting the cold out and the storm’ but actually ‘worshipped’ him. And the use of rhythm with the ABABB, could show how Porphyria, may have been repeatedly trying to ‘attack’ the speaker. This false appearance can also relate to Macbeth, as the new Thane of Cawdor-(whom Macbeth had been replaced by the king), is rapt by the witches, who have beards but seem to be women. This deceptive power, may have given women more power; in the poem, porphyria, was a disease that could kill, showing how women could cause death.
Overall, in both Macbeth and Porphyria’s lover, there are false appearances and deception.
In Porphyria’s Lover, the speaker expresses how much he loves Porphyria, likewise to how the previous Thane of Cawdor is said to have thrown away “the dearest thing he owed.” From the way which Malcolm describes the old Thane’s as being the ‘dearest’ thing to him, the audience regards him as a man that doesn’t disdain his own life but wants to salvage it. The same isn’t seen with Macbeth because he fights so mercilessly. Concerning Porphyria’s Lover, the speaker says how much he loves and how much he wants her to love him, “For love of her, and all in vain.” This is the same as when he betrays the King and risks everything he holds ‘dearest’ to him – being Thane, his trust with his King, and his life – and it all goes ‘in vein.’
ReplyDeleteIn addition, similarly to how King Duncan says “’there’s no art,” the speaker in Browning’s poem says there is no way to know when one’s passions can overcome all emotion of love because he says how Porphyria’s “passion sometimes would prevail” all that she felt for him and once again her love would be ‘all in vein.’ Therefore he can never no “the mind’s construction.”
Porphyrias lover
ReplyDeleteIn the poem porphyrias lover there are many ways in which Robert browning portrays the speaker as a deceptive/ false appearing character. This is first shown in the middle of the poem when the speaker talks about being deceived by the speakers love. This is shown by the words of the speaker:
“And spread, o’er all, yellow hair, Murmuring how she loved me...”
This could be interpreted as a malicious tone, as if her deceiving him involved her using him. Him being the speaker. The speaker says “loved” in past tense this leads me to believe that this was past and that in the present day she no more loves him. This could foreshadow the reason of the killing of his lover.
In porphyrias lover the speaker talks using lots of personal pronouns, this is portrayed with the persistent use of “I”. It is because of this and the persistent tone of love in death throughout the poem that leads me to believe that the speaker is the deceptive character. Descriptive language such as "dripping" and struggling" creates a visual image and also sets the scene. It shows that the persona is watching Porphyria's every move which emphasises his obsession with her.
Another technique that shows that the persona is not entirely himself is the use of third person. As the rest of the poem is written in first person a line written in third person such as "when no voice replied" shows that the persona is not himself and it hints to the responder that there may be some insanity involved in what he is about to do. It also shows that he has no control over what he is doing. "Mine, mine" is an example of repetition. When the speaker says this he also talks about loving “her “ but then he kills her. This is not an accurate display of love. It seems as this is almost revenge for the preceding betrayal. These words emphasise the emotional triumph and the emotional intensity to the responder. It shows that the persona can't believe that Porphyria is finally his. "No pain, No pain" is another example of repetition in this monologue. The blatant switch from 1st to 3rd person is a strong example of a deceptive appearance.
JO