Analysis Of The Poem ' My Last Duchess ' By Robert Browning

Robert Browning wrote the two poems, "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." Both poems convey an thoughtful, examination profound commentary about the concept of love.

Among the women poets in the nineteenth century, nobody was acknowledged and admired more for their independence, courage, and accomplishments than Elizabeth Barrett Browning. She passionately wrote about the issues of social injustice and later on in her life she expressed her political opinions on the struggle with Italy and Austria.

The Enlightenment is known as the revolution that brought to question the traditional political and social structures. This included the question of the woman’s traditional roles in society. As the public sphere relied more and more ?? and the advances in scientific and educated thinking, women sought to join in with the ranks of their male counterparts. Women held gatherings known as salons where they organized intellectual conversations with their distinguished male guests. Seeking to further their status, enlightened women published pamphlets and other works advocating for educational rights and political recognition. Even with this evolution of woman in society, many still clung to the belief that the role of the woman was solely

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.

Throughout the history of American Literature there has been a common theme of male oppression. Especially towards the end of the 19th century, before the first wave of feminism, women were faced with an unshakeable social prison. Husband, home and children were the only life they knew, many encouraged not to work. That being said, many female writers at the time, including Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Perkins Gilman, were determined to examine the mind behind the American woman, through the lens of mental illness and personal experience.

Many new ideas sprouted following the enlightenment period, but one of the dominant new ideals was women 's rights. Women do just as much if not more work than men, but are continued to be treated poorly. In order for a society to be in peace, everyone, including women should have the power to express their wants and needs. With women having equal rights it creates a better their society. Mary Wollstonecraft was a philosopher supporting the cause for women 's rights. During this time she made a huge impact on many women giving them hope

The literary world during this time period was dominated by men, but the world was changing, and women began to make a name for themselves as creative and legitimate writers. During the time in history women were also fighting for their rights to be heard and treated equally among men. Also, the issue of slavery was at its peak as the country became divided behind the issue, and the prospect of a civil war was becoming more of a reality.

Feminism today remains prominent because even while women’s rights are very strong, women are still fighting for equality every day. In the time of Anne Bradstreet, women had few rights and they were seen as inferior to men. Anne lived among the puritans whom ruled her everyday life. Although it was against the puritan code for women to receive an education, Bradstreet’s father, Thomas Dudley, loved his daughter dearly and made sure that she was well educated which shows in her works. Anne Bradstreet’s literature became well known only because her family published her works under a male name. This was done because writing poetry was a serious offense to the puritans since poetry was

Although women in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries faced oppression and unequal treatment, some people strove to change common perspectives on the feminine sex. John Stuart Mill, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and Virginia Woolf were able to reach out to the world, through their literature, and help change the views that society held towards women and their roles within its structure. During the Victorian era, women were bound to domestic roles and were very seldom allowed to seek other positions. Most men and many women felt that if women were allowed to pursue interests, outside traditional areas of placement that they would be unable to be an attentive

The Romantic Period built an environment where women were painted with flowery diction (Wollstonecraft, 216) and were incapable of independence. The Rights of Woman became a crucial topic, particularly in poetry which allowed women the freedom of expression. Accordingly, during the early eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, women writers did not need the prop of their male contemporaries like suggested. Evidently, women were able, successful, and professional writers in their own right. In fact, women often influenced male writers (Dustin, 42). Both Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Letitia Barbauld are evidence that women did not need to rely on their male peers to become successful poets. Consequently, many poets took inspiration from them (Dustin, 32). In The Rights of Woman and Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Anna Letitia Barbauld and Mary Wollstonecraft had contrasting ideas. Barbauld’s The Rights of Woman was a documented reaction towards Wollstonecraft’s extremely controversial Vindication. Henceforth, both indicate a separate message for the Rights of the Woman. Assumedly, Barbauld misinterpreted Wollstonecraft and readings of The Rights of Woman in the twenty-first century appear antifeminist as a result.

The 1780?s saw lots of inspired political and social movements with people hoping to rid the world of slavery, promote women?s rights, protect workers, increase suffrage, promote tolerance and greater sexual freedom. Many of these issues are present in Lyrical Ballads. ?Mad Mother?, ?The Thorn?, ?The Female Vagrant? and ?The Forsaken Indian Woman? all call for better rights for women as it was society that really caused their suffering in these poems. In ?The Thorn? the woman may never had killed her child with more

One of the greatest concerns in the theory about feminism is the role that women play in relationships and also the identity that is placed upon them as a lover and as an artist. Many females during the time that Elizabeth Browning wrote "Aurora Leigh" felt discomfort by becoming an artist or anything besides a housewife. As mentioned before this was a stepping-stone for women in this time period. Society put women into separate social classes. And on top of the classes they were categorized in they had the class of being a woman also. With this passage from "Aurora Leigh" Browning describes and criticizes the works of the woman during this time period. The works

For centuries man has created this patriarchal society in which women have been treated as the lesser entity, having no sense of self-being or worth. These feelings led women to feel repressed in their everyday life. It was in the late nineteenth century when literary writers started to expose this female repression. Guy de Maupassant and Kate Chopin clearly express definitive examples of female repression in their stories, The Necklace and The Story of an Hour.

According to history and her biography, Emily Dickinson had modernist ideas that women should have as equal rights as men which they did not have at that time. In fact, women, especially wives, were treated as the slaves of men in the eyes of the law even though women can do several duties that men cannot. Therefore, women started to work and to express their voice. (Leiter, 2007).

In the poem “the Angel in the house”, Coventry Patmore state “Man must be pleased; but him to please. Is woman's pleasure;” Here, Patmore claims women should follow the rule of the society which is that women should not express their opinion and always serve men. As is known, in the early 20th century, men were the main protagonist in society. Women did not have rights to express themselves. However, one of the second wave feminists, Helene Cixous appeared, she came out and tried to break down the restrictions of women. She showed that women’s writing was restricted. Women was afraid to write about women. In the collection of writing “Laugh of the Medusa”, Cixous uses imagery to compare men and women, and point out that women should not be afraid to write on express themselves. She is creating a new definition for women’s writing, and she believes that women overcome her gender inequality by writing themselves.