Porphyria's Lover Title?

Question: Porphyria's Lover Title!?

In Robert Browning's 'Porphyria's Lover', why is the name 'Porphyria' chosen!?!?Does it have any link to the illness, or does the actual word have another ancient meaning in Latin or anything!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Porphyry is an ornamental semi-precious stone, used in building!. It is hard, with white and red flecks, and looks as though it is closely related to quartz!. Greek porphyros = purple, from which the stone gets its name!.

I believe that the disease takes its name from colour-changes in the patient's skin, but would be grateful for more detail!.

When Browning chose the name, it was probably simply as a jewel name, by analogy with Emerald or Ruby!.

If the name does have overtones of sickness and madness (poets often pack more than one layer of meaning into a word or phrase) it would not surprise me: the poem is heavy with mental sickness and sado-masochism!. In fact, though not actually pornographic, it is one of the kinkiest works of literature I know, even including Shelley, Ford, Marlowe, De Sade and all the other specialists in unusual sexual sensations!.Www@QuestionHome@Com