The Victorian Era was a period of overseas expansion and domestic reform. During this period of growth and change, there was a surge of literary movements and technological advancements that shaped its culture and gave birth to a new direction of prosperity. We meet a number of authors, each offering different and unique insights through their writings. As we read this unit, we begin to realize that personal relationships such as love, marriage, and friendship become very important to the Victorians. However, writers of this period suggest different ideals. Some of these authors express a darker approach, including Robert Browning. He is best known as one of the greatest Victorian poets, and the techniques he learned as a playwright led him to master the dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologues are a way to express a character's opinions and provide the audience with greater insight into their feelings. “My Last Duchess” and Porphyria’s Lover” are among Browning’s best dramatic monologues. “My Last Duchess” is written in rhyming iambic pentametric lines. It involves the inner thoughts of an individual speaker (the Duke) who reveals a portrait of his estranged wife to the Count's agent and explains what happened as well as what led to her unfortunate fate. There are several allusions to symbolism and imagery that play a key role throughout the poem, such as the portrait of the Duchess, smiling and bending over. Not much is said about the portrait except that it is realistic and captures the emotional state of the Duchess. The smile and joyful state of the Duchess are the greatest signs of imagery in the portrait itself and in the poem. According to the Duke he considers them worthless because ...... middle of paper ...... it's all about power and jealousy, the Duke becomes jealous of the attention his wife pays to the others. He takes command and decides that murder is his only solution. The Duke wants people to understand his authority, any feeling of emotion expressed by his wife was seen as a threat to his power. He is proud of his position in society and he is not ready to take risks. In "Porphyria's Lover", Porphyria seems to belong to a higher social class, the lover knows this and kills her in an attempt to balance their relationship. Their love for each other quickly turns into a power play; his desire to possess Porphyria reduces her to an object he can manipulate. The fact that the two poems both involve some sort of murder calls into question the author's behavior. Robert Browning's works are dark and obscure; They fit perfectly with the Victorian era.