Thanks for the very quick and detailed responses. Why do I think 'there's not been a murder'? Well, ...


It is obvious that Browning had the poetic skill to clearly show, beyond reasonable doubt, that this was a murder, but he did not. He choose instead to create dramatic impact from tragedy and, more effectively, from confusion and uncertainty. And it works. The poem grasps our imagination from the outset, draws us in, and hits us hard with the tragic loss of a life. Tragic because both characters appear to be weakened by love. Tragic because of the freakish nature of events. These events also confuse, so we read the poem again .

Every detail of the imagery in the opening lines sets out a stormy mood – a mood which is symbolic of the thoughts of the narrator.

‘The rain set early in. ’ As rain is a very poor timekeeper, this could be a reference to something else, the narrator’s state of mind perhaps - mood swings?

‘I listen'd with heart fit to break’. Why is the narrator already heart-broken. Something is not quite right.

Porphyria ‘glides in’ - Ghosts are pretty good at gliding, whereas humans are not.

The ghostly image casts out the storm and brings warmth to the setting. The narrator’s mind is turning from the unsettled stormy mood to a glowing sexual fantasy… he imagines Porphyria teasing him by making her shoulder bare and dropping her yellow hair… he imagines she is a passionate about him – unconditionally until death, it seems.

‘ A sudden thought of one so pale’ reinforces the ‘pale’ ghostly image.

And the following two conflicting lines tell us more –


‘ For love of her, and all in vain:’

‘That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good’

He is in love with her, but it is all in vain because she is not available to him - for some reason. Is she already dead? Is he a jilted lover?

The strangulation with the victim’s long yellow hair, without a reaction from her and without pain is pretty macarbe – but let’s not hang the defendant just yet.

[Technically, her hair would need to be very long indeed – from head to neck + three times around neck + enough to grip – probably around 4ft – even if she has a pretty skinny neck!]

her cheek once more
Blush'd bright beneath my burning kiss

Blushing colour returning to the cheeks of a corpse just wouldn’t be possible - especially if she was pale when alive… without a heart beat she’d be even paler.

He dreams about her all night and he knows he has sinned against the will of his god in either or all of ‘thought, word and deed’. The evidence points to ’thought’- obsessive sadistic ones.

His irrational thoughts have been formed by mental illness, that is clear, but what is not clear is whether or not an actual murder has taken place. His mental illness may have been ignited by many things, guilt, jilted love, death of his lover – we will never really know.

This poem was originally entitled ‘Porphyria’ when first published.