Robert Browning is again challenging the Victorians boundaries, this time via one of his earliest poems; 'Porphyria's Lover'. Browning is tackling highly frowned upon topics and the result is a very intense poem, he presents these topics through the characters. The madness of Porphyria's lover is shown through the simple ABABB rhyming pattern and Porphyria herself is presented as a beautiful but simple woman, this is reflected in the simple layout of the poem (one stanza) and the simple language used. The Victorians are renowned for their 'prudery' so sex out of wedlock would have been severely frowned upon. However, Browning managed to mask the immorality of the poem behind Porphyria's affection for her lover. According to spark notes, after Porphyria proclaimed that she had 'overcome societal strictures' to see her lover, he realised that eventually she would give in to society's pressures and leave him, this is what causes him to strangle her to preserve the moment.
