Possessive Love (Comparative essay between Robert Browning "My Last Duchess" and Porphyria's Lover". Browning's "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover" have been very popular throughout the years because their dramatic monologue styles require interaction between the reader and the character. The audience's direct involvement in uncovering the speaker's character represent an evocative feature of these two well-known monologues. A closer look at the poems reveals their striking similarities of total love, intense jealousy, social pride, …showed first 75 words of 1478 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1478 total…total love. They suggest infidelity in their women when there is none. The women simply can balance their love life and social life. However, jealousy compels their men to think that the women’s social life must be controlled. The possessive desire in both speakers has hindered their full enjoyment of love because love can never be truly consummated when one partner fails to cooperate and relish the pleasure, especially when the person is dead.