Q 01/05

What does the speaker of 'Porphyria's Lover' wind three times around Porphyria's throat to kill her?

A) Her own hair

B) A silk scarf

C) His leather belt

D) A length of rope

Answer · why

A) Her own hair

Her own hair becomes the weapon: he gathers it into one long yellow string and strangles her just when he feels surest of her love.

Q 02/05

In the final line of 'Porphyria's Lover', who does the speaker note has stayed silent all night?

A) Satan

B) Death

C) Fate

D) God

Answer · why

D) God

God has not said a word, the killer remarks, and readers still argue whether he takes that silence as approval or is uneasily waiting to be punished.

Q 03/05

What weather sets in early on the night of 'Porphyria's Lover', before Porphyria arrives?

A) Snow

B) Rain

C) Hail

D) Fog

Answer · why

B) Rain

Rain sets in early that evening, yet she comes anyway; the speaker treats her soaked arrival as proof of how badly she wants to be with him.

Q 04/05

Which famous children's poem first appeared in the same 1842 collection as 'Porphyria's Lover'?

A) The Pied Piper of Hamelin

B) The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

C) The Walrus and the Carpenter

D) A Visit from St. Nicholas

Answer · why

A) The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Pied Piper of Hamelin shared the 1842 volume with the murder poem, so Browning's rat-catcher and his killer came out side by side.

Q 05/05

According to most readings of 'Porphyria's Lover', what is the speaker trying to do by killing Porphyria?

A) Punish her unfaithfulness

B) Escape a forced marriage

C) Preserve a perfect moment

D) Silence a blackmailer

Answer · why

C) Preserve a perfect moment

Preserve a perfect moment: he wants to stop time at one flawless instant of the evening, so he kills her and arranges her body as though she were stil...