Analysis Of The Poem ' La Belle Dame Sans Merci '

The poem “My Last Duchess” is a historical event that involves the Duke of Ferrara and Alfonso who lived in the 16th century. Robert Browning "My Last Duchess" presents a narrative about a recently widowed Duke who talks with an emissary had come to an arranged marriage with another lady from a powerful and wealthy family. In the perspective of Duke, power and wealth were integral in marriage and was determined to be married to a wealthy lady from a famous family. As the Duke orients the emissary through the palace, he stops and shows a portrait of the late Duchess who was a lovely and young girl. The Duke then begins by stating information about the picture and then to the Duchess. Duke claims that the Duchess flirted with everyone and did not appreciate the history of the family: “gift of a nine hundred years old name.”(33) However, when an individual continues to read the poem, it is evident that the Duke played an important role in killing the lady. Duke states that “he gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together”(45-46) he used these words to define the death of his beloved Duchess. The aim of the essay is to analyze literary devices that emphasize the content of the poem, which includes rhetorical questions, exclamation mark, and em dash.

In "My Last Duchess", by Robert Browning, the character of Duke is portrayed as having controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits. These traits are not all mentioned verbally, but mainly through his actions. In the beginning of the poem the painting of the Dukes wife is introduced to us: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,/ looking as of she were still alive" (1-2). These lines leave us with the suspicion that the Duchess is no longer alive, but at this point were are not totally sure. In this essay I will discuss the Dukes controlling, jealous and arrogant traits he possesses through out the poem.

Written by Robert Browning, “My Last Duchess” is a poem about an egocentric Duke who has a painting of his last wife upon the wall and is trying to impress an ambassador who is negotiating his next marriage. Although it is obvious that the Duke is trying to persuade this ambassador, however, this is where the first mystery is created. It is almost as if he is trying to persuade no one more than himself.

The characterization of the Duke in “My Last Duchess” and the characterization of the speaker in “Porphyria’s Lover” further establish Browning’s messages about love. In “My Last Duchess,” the Duke is portrayed as arrogant and believes he is superior to others. Because of his status as Duke, his arrogance becomes prevalent, as he brags about his “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name.” He also believes he is superior to others, especially the Duchess, as

Robert Browning was a nineteenth century writer and poet whose works are famous worldwide.One of his poems that has been analyzed constantly is "My Last Duchess," a dramatic monologue of a Duke who is talking to the count's messenger about wedding arrangements through speaking about his last Duchess.He started off as simple,then his superiority complex took him over.

At the age of twelve Browning sent a collection of poems off to a magazine editor, which were rejected. Once rejected Browning decided to start a career as a poet, writing poetry that is still read today. One of Browning poems “My Last Duchess” starts off by introducing that the Duke is talking to an ambassador from another nobleman while staring at a picture of his deceased wife. The Duke goes on to say how he wants to arrange another marriage. While reading this poem, the reader may start to understand that this marriage was not a happy one. Browning goes on to say some of the things that made the Duchess happy in her life, “The dropping of daylight in the West,/The bough of cherries some officious fool/Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule.” A metaphor the narrator uses to describe the Dukes problem on wanting to control everyone is a sculpture of Neptune taming a sea horse. In the end, the reader starts to understand that the Duke killed his wife because he could not contain

“My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” are two mind boggling tales that relate in many ways. Two of which, they are both written by Robert Browning and from a male’s point of view. The Duke in “My Last Duchess” gives off a controlling, jealous, and arrogant vibe towards the Duchess which results in her death. The man in “Porphyria’s Lover” is angry and irritated because the woman he loves will not divorce her husband which also ends with her death. The poems “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” demonstrate two different relationships with women while both men view women as objects.

“My Last Duchess” can be seen as diverse when compared to the poem “Porphyria’s Lover”. In this poem, Robert Browning tells of a story of a man who is searching for a new wife after the death of his old one. The only dilemma is the minutiae of how this prosperous Duke felt of his last lady. “It’s precisely her heart (effusive) and her gaze (delighted) that infuriates the Duke” (Guthrie). The Duke who speaks in this poem, implies the idea that because his last wife was so happy, he had no other option other than to kill her. In the poem, it says “A heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad, too easily impressed; she liked whate’er Sir” (line 21). The Duke feels that because this woman was ecstatic from all things, it took her attention away from him. Because this idea overwhelmed him, he was filled with fury and told her to be cautious in what she expressed. She must not have complied, as she did not live to continue out the life they planned to spend together.

Explore the ways in which Browning portrays male characters to powerful effect in ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’? Throughout ‘My Last Duchess’ Browning illustrates the Duke's obsession with controlling the people around him; both past and present. One way the Duke exerts his dominance is by not allowing the emissary to talk.

“Porphyria's Lover” and “My Last Duchess” were just two of Robert Browning’s short dramatic monologues. In this poem, “My Last Duchess”, a husband talks about a portrait of his deceased wife. He tells how she was far too happy with everybody, and nothing could change that. “Porphyria’s Lover” is a short poem involving a man and his wife, they seem to be getting along until the husband strangles her with her own hair. These two Browning poems will be compared and contrasted in these next few paragraphs.

Browning is one whom many remember because of his brilliance in portraying the dramatic monologue. He arguably knows how to use the dramatic monologue better than anyone. Browning wrote two great poems, My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover that are similar in plot but have subtle differences as their stories unfold. These two poems of Browning are most similar in the way that the speaker in both

The poem, “My Last Duchess”, tells us the story of the Duke’s marriage in a way in which we can conclude that he was very unhappy with the way his marriage was turning out. Based on the sole fact that he had to kill his wife, we, as readers, are altered that something was wrong. The reason the couple’s marriage was not working out, according to the Duke, is that his wife was unfaithful to him. The Duke states: “Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Browning lines 24-23).

The dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” was penned down by Robert Browning. In this poem, the narrator is the Duke of Ferrara, and the listener is the count’s agent, through whom the Duke is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess. The poem is ironical and reveals its rhetorical sense, gradually. In the later part of the poem, the Duke claims that he does not have a skill in speech, but his monologue is a masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedly entertaining the listener by showing his wife’s portrait, he clearly reveals his character. Through his formalized tone of rhyme, he reveals his egoistic and jealous attitude.

Dramatic Monologue in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess and The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church

In his poems, “The Bishop Orders His Tomb”, “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister”, and “My Last Duchess”, Browning explores a few sins that link to Victorian ideas yet continue to be compelling commentary on some of the modernity’s biggest contradictions. These characters process the world according to their own selfish ideologies, filtering into dramatic monologues that challenge and comment on the time’s social norms and growing institutions. The narrator of “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister” is resentful and irrationally petty contrary to the monolithic idea of a monk. In “My Last Duchess” charm thinly veils the tyrannical nature of a respected Duke. Lastly, the bishop of “The Bishop Orders His Tomb” is sour with greed, jealousy, vanity, and resentment. These characters act out of their socially-prescribed nature and this, I think, is ultimately a critique of Victorian ideals of order, structure, poise, domesticity and perfection. These ideas of people and institutions rarely reflect the reality.