VOICES OF DESIRE AND FAITH: THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE IN THE DRAMATIC MONOLOGUES OF ROBERT BROWNING

Abstract

This article examines the complex representation of love in the dramatic monologues of Robert Browning, focusing on the interplay between desire, faith, morality, and psychological self revelation. Browning speakers articulate love not as a simple romantic ideal but as a force shaped by obsession, spiritual longing, insecurity, and moral conflict. Through close readings of My Last Duchess, Porphyria’s Lover, and Andrea del Sarto, this study explores how Browning uses language, irony, and dramatic voice to expose the tensions between sacred and profane love. The paper argues that Browning dramatic monologues reveal love as both elevating and destructive, deeply intertwined with Victorian anxieties about religion, authority, gender, and individual conscience. By examining the linguistic and psychological dimensions of these monologues, the study highlights how Browning poetic technique allows readers to understand the inner conflicts of his speakers and the complexity of love in human experience.