"PORPHYRIA'S LOVER" AS AN IMPROVISATION OF "THE SICK ROSE"

Headnote

Abstract: "Stephen Greenblatt discusses the originality of the texts in literature in "Culture" (1982), and he concludes that literature which reflects the culture at the same time is an accumulation and improvisation of the works, which enables literary mobility and exchange. This paper will analyze Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" as an improvisation of William Blake's "The Sick Rose" from Greenblatt's perspective. Robert Browning is known as an influential poet in the Victorian Age while William Blake is one of the cornerstones of the Romantic Period. Proving what Greenblatt claims, by applying similar theme, subject, symbols and characters, it is clear that Browning successfully improvises Blake's poem. The purpose of this work is to compare and study these two poems written in different ages by different poets, and to find the similarities and improvised elements to support Greenblatt's theory."

Keywords: Greenblatt, Browning, Blake, Porphyria's Lover, The Sick Rose.

Introduction

Is every literary text wholly original? This is a controversial question today. In general, it is thought that to find an original text is almost impossible because most of the possible issues and topics have been said or discussed in literature till now. Speaking on English Literature, there are milestones such as Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, John Milton, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Johnson; indeed, these are only a few of the major writers, artists, poets and playwrights. Considering their works, it can be claimed that these writers exemplified most of the theories and movements with their masterpieces in English Literature. Today, to create or invent a new genre or movement requires a deep analysis and understanding of their works to find the raw themes; nevertheless, it is almost impossible to be free from the shadows of the originals. Stephen Greenblatt approves this idea and claims that literature is like an accumulation of themes and plots, that is why the contemporary works are the improved versions of the previous ones.1 When analyzed from Greenblatt's perspective, it is seen that by writing Porphyria's Lover, Robert Browning masterfully improvised William Blake's The Sick Rose after adding more details and using more symbols.

Stephen Greenblatt: Culture

In Culture (1982), Stephen Greenblatt claims that literary works usually reflect the culture of the society and time they...