Pre-1900 poetry. Compare the themes of jealousy and murder in the poems 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'The Sisters'.

Essay by pbolaHigh School, 11th grade November 2003

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I am going to write about the poems 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'The Sisters' and compare the themes of jealousy and murder.

' Porphyria's Lover' was written by Robert Browning. He was born on the 7th of May in Camberwell (a small village) in Southeast London. His father worked as a clerk in the bank of England. His father had a love of books and art and taught Robert to paint and read. Roberts's mother was musician and she encouraged him to listen and play music. As his parents were quite talented they encouraged Robert to read and offered him all the help they could in teaching him. Robert had a lot of fun at home and therefore he found school dull and boring and he left University College after less than a year because he found it too narrow. Robert travelled abroad when he was in his twenties and for a short while he became diplomatic secretary to the Russian consul general and visited Russia for three months.

In the 1830's, Robert Browning met William Macready, a famous actor and theatre manager, who invited him to write plays. In 1836 he wrote the play 'Strafford' which was staged in London, and he later went on to write other plays. Browning loved to write poetry and had begun writing poems when he was just twelve years old. In 1842 he published a collection called 'dramatic lyrics' which became very popular. His poems were unusual for the time and included odd characters and exciting situations. These poems include 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess'. Robert Browning fell in love with another poet, Elizabeth Barrett. He liked her poems and wrote many letters to her in the 1840's. Elizabeth was often ill and spent most of her time...