Compare the Central Characters in ‘Medusa’ and ‘My Last Duchess’

Margaret Atwood’s short story My Last Duchess aptly employs ideas from Robert Brownings poem My Last Duchess to highlight themes of importance in communication, The relationship between judgement and inadequacy. The author narrates a story of the trials of being a high school student from the point of view of a young woman who not only has to cope with the stress of an upcoming examination and the pressure her teacher puts on her to excel, but also the added trepidation of what the future holds for her relationship. Many aspects of her relationship with her boyfriend, Billy, and her teacher, Miss Bessie, parallel to the relationship illustrated by the Duke about his relationship with the Duchess in Robert Brownings poem. Similarly, many of the themes found in Robert Brownings poems also apply to Margaret Atwood’s work.

Murder, mystery and intrigue all describe Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers' indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader is easily lead to think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His elaborate speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, and the mystery is left unsolved. Even if he did not kill his wife, he certainly has something to hide. Based on the poem's historical references, style and structure, the Duke's controlling and jealous nature becomes evident.

Both poems have similar themes and both speakers describe a particular character found in both stories. Both poems have a beautiful woman as its main character and their themes describe the relationship between two lovers. In "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover," Robert Browning conveys two distinct portraits depicting the love shared between two people. The qualities of beauty, selfishness, and jealousy appear in both poems. In both works, the author explores the hidden influence death has upon the relationship shared by two lovers.

Carol Ann Duffy and Robert Browning presents jealousy at the core of their poems, ‘Medusa’ and ‘The Laboratory’. Duffy explores the jealousy felt by Medusa as she uses it to foster her growing power while Browning develops the notion of jealousy as one that is used to exact revenge over those who who have wronged the speaker. Both poems are presented in the form of dramatic monologues that describe how the women use their jealousy to ensure that their partners stay with them. Medusa uses her own power and strength to instill fear into her partner whereas the woman in ‘The Laboratory’ uses meticulous planning in preparing the poison that will kill the person who took her partner away from her.

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.

Different Forms of Power Presented in My Last Duchess, A Woman to Her Lover and La Belle Dame Sans Merci

Thomas Blackburn describes the two Victorian poets, Robert Browning and Alfred, Lord Tennyson as being great contemporaries (47). As such it is apt that their works should muse upon and explore similar topics and themes. Their connection is especially evident in Browning’s “My Last Duchess” and Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott”. The themes of entrapment and incarceration feature heavily in both of these works. Specifically, it is the entrapment and incarceration of women which pervade their respective compositions. When taking into consideration the way in which women were viewed at this juncture in history- being nothing more than “beautiful objects” (Gilbert and Gubar 54), it is quite easy to see how the literary representations of the

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.

American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay can be seen to fit into this category. She is particularly well known for her sonnets. This essay will analyse one of Millay’s sonnets in to context of the evolution of courtly love poetry. The history of the sonnet will also be examined to demonstrate how Millay has faithfully refashioned her poems. However, whist Millay has kept the construction of sonnet pure she has differed in the message it portrays. Hence this essay will also deconstruct Millay’s poem and discuss how its tone differs from traditional courtly love poetry.

Robert Browning’s two poems, Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess have similarities and differences. The the narrators of Robert Browning’s Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess are very similar as they are both jealous, unstable men. In the former, Porphyria, a beautiful young woman, meets with her lover. He is envious of Porphyria as she just came from a party without him.

“My Last Duchess”, by Robert browning, is a dramatic speech delivered by the Duke of Ferrari which highlights the covetous and cruel nature of his personality and the questions which surround his bride’s death.

Within the two poems, one of the first similarities is the theme of death. In both of the poems, the man of the relationship killed the woman. In My Last Duchess,

The two Browning poems, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ were written to convey to the reader how women were treated in that era; as possession, as assets. Both of these poems can be read from different points of view and they also both are what is

Poetry of any era furthers our understanding of the current world. This is because many of the issues we once faced, we still face today. In this short essay I will compare and contrast figurative language in two poems. The first of which will be “Ozymandias” by Percy Shelley written in 1818; and the second of which, will be “Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats written a year later in 1819. “Ode to a Nightingale” explores the themes of mortality and impermanence. In Shelley’s work, “Ozymandias” examines the themes of power and mortality. The first thing I have noticed is that both have a strong focus ancient civilizations and a distinct focal point on the ancient Greeks and Romans.

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.