Porphyria

Porphyria is named from the ancient Greek word porphura, meaning purple. The Greeks borrowed the term from the Phoenicians, who extracted a purple pigment from purpura mollusks to dye the garments of their royal family. (Lane 2002). Porphyrias are so diverse due to the fact that they have symptoms that can be considered somewhat slight to extreme and some are considered a common Porphyria to a rare disorder and are classified into 8 different types and are put in 2 main headings, Acute Porphyria which effects the nervous system and Cutaneous Porphyria which effects the skin. These diseases effect numbers such as 1 in 10,000 for Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT) which is considered the most common form to Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria (CEP)…

Diseases defined by the abnormal metabolism of hemoglobin are classified as porphyrias. Porphyrias cause an abnormal buildup of porphyrin ring compounds that are essential for proper function on hemoglobin. There are multiple different classifications of porphyria, with acute intermittent porphyria being the most common. Porphyrins, the building blocks of hemoglobin, are excreted in the urine of affected people, causing extreme symptoms that range from pain to neurologic disturbances. While…

figures such as King George III of England and Vincent van Goh were thought to have been affected by porphyria. The term porphyria is derived from the ancient Greek word ‘porphyra’ which means purple, which is the colour of porphyrins that are known to cause the disease. B.J. Stokvis is the first known to have clinically described acute porphyria in 1889. The first type of porphyria to be described is acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), and will also be the focus of this abstract. King George…

While the speaker in “Porphyria’s lover” is certainly not devoid of passion or emotion, he views the relationship to be empty of life, or dead. The evidence to support this claim comes from two occurrences. Firstly, the detail that he felt so strongly, and had such a fiery passion towards Porphyria. The poem is riddled with quotes that show his passion, but “Blushed bright beneath my burning kiss” (48) fully encompasses his extreme passion. At this point in the poem Porphyria is dead, and even…

This disease is a “hereditary error of metabolism, is linked to the body’s production of the pigment hemoglobin, which gives color to our red blood cells and grabs oxygen molecules as blood courses through the lungs.” This disease “is said to originate from the intermarriages of the European nobility. The good news is, it is not contagious. Unfortunately, it is not curable. While the term “porphyria” is relatively new, the disease itself has been in existence since the beginning of time. It is…

Browning creates the impression that love is a destructive force. The narrator kills Porphyria because of his love for her, commenting how her devotion ‘made my heart swell’ so he ‘wound’ her hair around her throat and ‘strangled her’. Literally, the narrator means he was overcome by his adoration for Porphyria and decided to show that by ending her life, as well as how Porphyria’s sincere confession has gotten her killed. These acts of love both clearly show how disastrous love can be.…

Summary: Porphyria is an uncommon, genetically caused disease, which makes the blood pigment in hemoglobin to not properly be changed into material for your body to use. The title porphyria originates from the modern latin term porphyrin which are pigments containing heme or chlorophyll with molecules that have a flat ring of four connected heterocyclic groups and occasionally a metal atom. There are two different forms of porphyria; acute porphyria and cutaneous porphyria. Acute porphyria…

Since its inception in the late eighteenth century, the Gothic movement has been fascinated with female bodies. This is especially true of Gothic poems of the Victorian Era, such as Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue Porphyria’s Lover (first published as Porphyria, 1836) and Christina Rossetti’s disturbing children’s fable Goblin Market (composed 1859, published 1862). Each poem demonstrates that, due to societal attitudes, a woman’s body has the potential to be dangerous to her, while also…

Browning, I believe that the central theme is obsession. Throughout the poem, the narrator has what I believe to be an unhealthy obsession with a woman named Porphyria. The lover’s twisted and warped idea of love ultimately leads to Porphyria’s, and possibly his own, death. For starters, I could detect right off the bat that the love that the lover held for Porphyria was unhealthy. You can see this without reading the poem and by simply reading the title. I believe that the author, Robert…

Porphyria’s mind raced as she laid in bed. The day ahead held exciting experiences and she was ready for her husband to wake up. Vincent was dreaming of the countryside, unaware of what the day meant to his wife. The countryside waited for him. Slowly, he began to get restless as he awoke. Porphyria could not pretend to be asleep any longer, so she got up from the bed. She was ready to begin the day. As Vincent laid in bed, she went into the next room. A smile played at Porphyria’s lips when…