By Robert Browning

Full Text:

The rain set early in to-night,
The sullen wind was soon awake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did its worst to vex the lake:
I listened with heart fit to break.
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;
Which done, she rose, and from her form
Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Her hat and let the damp hair fall,
And, last, she sat down by my side
And called me. When no voice replied,
She put my arm about her waist,
And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
And all her yellow hair displaced,
And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
And spread, o’er all, her yellow hair,
Murmuring how she loved me — she
Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
To set its struggling passion free
From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
And give herself to me for ever.
But passion sometimes would prevail,
Nor could to-night’s gay feast restrain
A sudden thought of one so pale
For love of her, and all in vain:
So, she was come through wind and rain.
Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Happy and proud; at last I knew
Porphyria worshipped me; surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew
While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good: I found
A thing to do, and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat around,
And strangled her. No pain felt she;
I am quite sure she felt no pain.
As a shut bud that holds a bee,
I warily oped her lids: again
Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
And I untightened next the tress
About her neck; her cheek once more
Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
I propped her head up as before,
Only, this time my shoulder bore
Her head, which droops upon it still:
The smiling rosy little head,
So glad it has its utmost will,
That all it scorned at once is fled,
And I, its love, am gained instead!
Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how
Her darling one wish would be heard.
And thus we sit together now,
And all night long we have not stirred,
And yet God has not said a word!

---

Line-by-Line Paraphrase in Contemporary English

Original: The rain set early in to-night,
Contemporary: The rain started falling early this evening,

Original: The sullen wind was soon awake,
Contemporary: The gloomy, angry wind soon picked up,

Original: It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
Contemporary: It violently ripped the tops off elm trees as if out of malice,

Original: And did its worst to vex the lake:
Contemporary: And did everything it could to disturb and agitate the lake’s surface:

Original: I listened with heart fit to break.
Contemporary: I sat listening with a heart so heavy it felt like it might break.

---

Original: When glided in Porphyria; straight
Contemporary: Then Porphyria glided into the cottage; immediately

Original: She shut the cold out and the storm,
Contemporary: She shut the door, keeping out the cold and the storm,

Original: And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Contemporary: And knelt down by the fireplace and made the sad, dark fireplace

Original: Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;
Contemporary: Burst into flames, warming up the entire cottage;

Original: Which done, she rose, and from her form
Contemporary: Having done that, she stood up, and from her body

Original: Withdrew the dripping cloak and shawl,
Contemporary: She removed her soaking wet cloak and shawl,

Original: And laid her soiled gloves by, untied
Contemporary: And set down her dirty gloves, untied

Original: Her hat and let the damp hair fall,
Contemporary: Her hat and let her damp hair fall down,

Original: And, last, she sat down by my side
Contemporary: And finally, she sat down next to me

Original: And called me. When no voice replied,
Contemporary: And spoke to me. When I didn’t answer,

---

Original: She put my arm about her waist,
Contemporary: She took my arm and placed it around her waist,

Original: And made her smooth white shoulder bare,
Contemporary: And exposed her smooth, pale shoulder,

Original: And all her yellow hair displaced,
Contemporary: And moved aside all her blonde hair,

Original: And, stooping, made my cheek lie there,
Contemporary: And, bending down, placed my cheek against her bare shoulder,

Original: And spread, o’er all, her yellow hair,
Contemporary: And spread her blonde hair over everything (covering us both),

---

Original: Murmuring how she loved me — she
Contemporary: Whispering softly about how much she loved me — she said she was

Original: Too weak, for all her heart’s endeavour,
Contemporary: Too weak, despite all her heart’s efforts,

Original: To set its struggling passion free
Contemporary: To set her struggling passion free

Original: From pride, and vainer ties dissever,
Contemporary: From her pride, and to break free from more superficial social obligations,

Original: And give herself to me for ever.
Contemporary: And give herself to me forever.

---

Original: But passion sometimes would prevail,
Contemporary: But sometimes passion would win out,

Original: Nor could to-night’s gay feast restrain
Contemporary: And tonight’s fancy party couldn’t stop

Original: A sudden thought of one so pale
Contemporary: A sudden thought about someone (me) who was so pale

Original: For love of her, and all in vain:
Contemporary: Because of his love for her, and all without any hope:

Original: So, she was come through wind and rain.
Contemporary: So, she had come here through the wind and rain.

---

Original: Be sure I looked up at her eyes
Contemporary: You can be certain I looked up into her eyes

Original: Happy and proud; at last I knew
Contemporary: Feeling happy and proud; at last I understood

Original: Porphyria worshipped me; surprise
Contemporary: That Porphyria worshipped me; this surprise

Original: Made my heart swell, and still it grew
Contemporary: Made my heart fill with emotion, and it kept growing

Original: While I debated what to do.
Contemporary: While I tried to figure out what to do.

---

Original: That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Contemporary: In that moment she was mine, completely mine, beautiful,

Original: Perfectly pure and good: I found
Contemporary: Perfectly innocent and good: I figured out

Original: A thing to do, and all her hair
Contemporary: Something to do, and I took all her hair

Original: In one long yellow string I wound
Contemporary: Like one long blonde rope and I wrapped it

Original: Three times her little throat around,
Contemporary: Three times around her slender neck,

Original: And strangled her. No pain felt she;
Contemporary: And strangled her to death. She felt no pain;

Original: I am quite sure she felt no pain.
Contemporary: I am absolutely certain she didn’t feel any pain.

---

Original: As a shut bud that holds a bee,
Contemporary: Like a closed flower bud that has a bee inside it,

Original: I warily oped her lids: again
Contemporary: I carefully opened her eyelids: once again

Original: Laughed the blue eyes without a stain.
Contemporary: Her blue eyes seemed to laugh, completely clear and unstained.

---

Original: And I untightened next the tress
Contemporary: And next I loosened the strand of hair

Original: About her neck; her cheek once more
Contemporary: From around her neck; her cheek once again

Original: Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss:
Contemporary: Turned pink beneath my passionate kiss:

Original: I propped her head up as before,
Contemporary: I positioned her head up just like before,

Original: Only, this time my shoulder bore
Contemporary: Except this time my shoulder supported

Original: Her head, which droops upon it still:
Contemporary: Her head, which still droops against it:

---

Original: The smiling rosy little head,
Contemporary: That smiling, pink-cheeked little head,

Original: So glad it has its utmost will,
Contemporary: So happy that it has gotten its greatest wish,

Original: That all it scorned at once is fled,
Contemporary: That everything it rejected or looked down upon has now disappeared,

Original: And I, its love, am gained instead!
Contemporary: And I, her love, have been won instead!

---

Original: Porphyria’s love: she guessed not how
Contemporary: Porphyria’s love: she never imagined how

Original: Her darling one wish would be heard.
Contemporary: Her precious wish would actually be answered.

Original: And thus we sit together now,
Contemporary: And so we sit together right now,

Original: And all night long we have not stirred,
Contemporary: And throughout the entire night we haven’t moved at all,

Original: And yet God has not said a word!
Contemporary: And yet God hasn’t said anything or punished me!

---

Summary:

This is a dramatic monologue where a speaker tells us about the night his lover, Porphyria, came to visit him during a storm. She makes the cottage warm and comfortable, then sits close to him and tells him she loves him but can’t be with him because of social pressures (probably she’s from a higher class).

The speaker becomes obsessed with “capturing” this perfect moment when she loves him completely. In a disturbing twist, he strangles her with her own hair, believing he’s preserving her love forever. He then sits with her corpse all night, convinced she’s happy and that God approves (or at least doesn’t object) because God “has not said a word.”

Key themes: obsessive love, madness, control, the Victorian class system, violence against women, moral corruption.