Ryan Jean-Pharuns
English II
2/6/22
In the poem Porphyria’s Lover the narrator had a consistent ominous tone. The
language used by the narrator intensified the suspense throughout the poem. While waiting for
his lover Porphyria the narrator states,”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 (Browning lines
2-5). Right off the bat, the narrator is disclosing to the reader that he is upset. The narrator uses
the adjectives sullen and vex to establish a gloomy mood. The narrator describes that the sullen
wind did its best to vex the lake. This corresponds to how annoyed he feels about Porphyria
making him wait. When Porphyria arrives the speaker examines her and proclaims,””Murmuring
how she loved me — she Too weak, for all her heart's endeavour, To set its struggling passion
free” (lines 21 - 23). Following Porphyria’s arrival the narrator’s emotions begin to escalate. The
narrator is clearly head over heels over Porphyria and is irritated that she doesn’t feel the same
way for him. Finally as he takes his supposed lover’s life he declares,”While I debated what to
do. That moment she was mine, mine, fair, Perfectly pure and good” (lines 35-37). When the
narrator takes the life of Porphyria he displays his possessive nature. He talks about Porphyria
as if she were his object. Based on his attitude toward Porphyria, he probably felt that if he
couldn’t have then no one ever will.
Unlike the straightforward tone of Porphyria's Lover, the River God is a roller coaster of
different moods. In the poem the River God by Stevie Smith the river itself is the narrator and
his name is Mimram. He introduces himself by announcing,”I may be smelly and I may be old,
Rough in my pebbles, reedy in my pools” (Smith lines 1-2). The beginning of the poem starts
with a sad tone. Unlike the personality of other fictional gods this character seems to be self
conscious and insecure about himself. Mimram continues to express himself and claims,”And I
like the people to bathe in me, especially women, But I can drown the fools, Who bathe too
close to the weir, contrary to rules, And they take a long time drowning, As I throw them up now
and then in the spirit of clowning” (lines 4-8). The tone of Mimram changes when he mentions
his power over human beings. He jokes about being able to drown those who don’t follow the
rules. This show of power could stem from his own personal lack of confidence. Finally Mimram
states,”Once there was a lady who was too bold, She bathed in me by the tall black cliff where
the water runs cold, So I brought her down here, To be my beautiful dear, Oh will she stay with
me will she stay” (lines 11-15). After encountering a beautiful woman, Mimram drowns her. This
can be interpreted as him being lonely and trying to find company. Again he uses his power
over humans to make himself feel better. It is ironic when the River god says “Oh will she stay
with me will she stay”, when he was the one that forced her in the first place. The overall tone of
this poem was extremely sad. Even though Mimram was a funny character it was just a facade
to mask his insecurities and loneliness.
In both Porphyria’s Lover and The River God the narrator's use of tone helps the reader
understand them. They don’t outright tell you how they feel, but the words being used can be
interpreted to find the underlying meaning.