Comparing My Last Duchess, La Belle Dame Sans Merci and A Woman to Her Lover

Both ‘London’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ explore the ideas of power through social structures, hierarchy and synecdoche.

In the story “My last Duchess,” the Duke is speaking to the envoy of another nobleman of his second bride to be. The Duke describes the circumstances of his last duchess in which it was painted and boasted how Fra Pandolf the painter made her “look as if she was alive”. The Duke continues speaking about the unfortunate fate of his former wife. It is evident that a crime has been committed; He was jealous and annoyed of his easily impressed wife so he murdered her. His tone and demeanor is one of extreme arrogance and it is clear he is a dangerous man who poses a threat to any and all women he claims to love.

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

In My Last Duchess, Robert Browning uses voice to create a sinister tone by the use of words he chooses for the Duke of Ferrara to use in his dramatic monologue. The Duke is an arrogant, selfish man who loves the arts. He introduces his deceased wife as “That’s my last Duchess, painted on the wall,” he says as if he owned her. The Duke was not happy when she participated in things that that he did not provide her with, she didn’t bow down to his aristocratic ways and this displeased him to a great extent. Then nonchalantly, he tells the ambassador that “I gave commands, Then all smiles stopped together.’ This is the dukes sinister way of confessing he had her murdered.

the personality of his duchess, he is shown to be a heartless, arrogant man. His complete

When examining both Robert Browning’s, My Last Duchess, and Charlotte Mew’s, The Farmers Bride, the reader witnesses the poems positions of marriage in the natural world. Within both works, it is quite evident how each relationship is vastly different from the modern world, yet parallel it at the same time. Whether it be: the interactions between the two people or the conditions of the marriage, it is made more than apparent that both can be applied to modern conceptualizations of marriage.

none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)' He acts like

Comparing and Contrasting the Theme of power and control between Porphyrias Lover, La Belle Dame Sans Merci and My Last Duchess

In the basis of ancient medieval literature, there were at least three principle concepts that were guidelines for writers: the tradition of chivalry, use of power, and the art of courtly love. In her lais, or lyrical narrative, Marie de France uses all three of them, but not exactly in the traditional sense that men of her time favored. Through her writings, Marie de France has shown great focus on members of the aristocracy that were not as prominently acknowledged, which included both women and single knights, and portrayed characters that she observed in real life in ways that did or did not conform to their stereotypes. Additionally, she challenged the roles often found in 12th century writings by using ordinary heroines and heroes to work through both genuine and figurative conflicts. Through the lai of “Lanval”, Marie subtly works through the theme of courtly love in a separate ideal setting that both challenges and reverses the typical gender roles without completely letting go of the accepted cultural standards of that time.

As famed author and motivational speaker Eric Thomas once said, “Don't make a habit out of choosing what feels good over what's actually good for you.” (Thomas, Eric D. “Chapter 4: Change Starts With You.” The Secrets to Success.) This quote depicts the idea that doing things for enjoyment may not always be the best choice. Sometimes, the best, or “right” decision is the one that’s really beneficial. Disillusionment can be a cause of people not being able to make reasonable decisions, and the characters in short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” and the poem “My Last Duchess,” are examples of one disillusionment can get in the way of reason. Although it is perceived that mankind can distinguish between right and wrong, through their use of character and conflict, Richard Connell and Robert Browning convey the idea that disillusionment can cause people to lose the ability to differentiate between the two. In “The Most Dangerous Game,” the character of General Zaroff is utilized to display this theme of disillusionment, and the conflict between Zaroff and Rainsford serves the same purpose. The character of the duke and the conflict between him and his late wife in “My Last Duchess” also present a theme of disillusionment, and how it can cause one to lose the ability to have a clear sense of judgement.

William Shakespeare’s Othello presents the dangers of evil when it’s in the form of jealousy. In the play Othello, Shakespeare uses the characters of Iago, Othello and Roderigo to prove that jealousy is at the root of all evil. Within the play, Shakespeare uses the emotion of jealousy to motivate the destruction of Othello. Iago’s jealousy towards Cassio being Othello’s lieutenant is proof of how jealousy can take the form of evil by causing competition, sexual suspicion and death for the other characters in the play.

Love, death, and infidelity were weaved through the readings this week. In “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the speaker is a Duke who is looking at a painting of his last (now deceased) Duchess and remembering her. His memories are not fond; he was jealous and possessive, and frankly, a bit of a drama queen. His suspicion is evident repeatedly, starting in line 13 where he states, “Sir, ‘twas not/ Her husband’s presence only, called that spot/ Of joy into the duchess’ cheek”. Lines 21-24 boldly say what he was alluding to earlier on, “She had/ A heart—how shall I say? —too soon made glad,/ Too easily impressed: she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” She blushed easily and enjoyed looking at things, so in his mind she was a bit promiscuous. He thought his wife unfaithful basically because she was polite. This, as well as his uppity attitude, are both made clear in lines 31-34, “She thanked men, —good! but thanked/ Somehow—I know not how— as if she ranked/ My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/ With anybody’s gift.” He thinks that his name alone is a better gift than anything else; he’s conceited and entitled.

Wake Up or Dream On Megan Goncalves Sr. Marlene Mucha, S.S.J British Literature Honors February 10, 2016 Wake Up or Dream On Thesis: In John Keats's poetry, he uses dreams to illustrate the relationship between love and pain and to explore the suffering present in his own life to further human experience. I. Early life and involvement in Romanticism II.

“In order to gain his power back, he feels he must kill this seductress. In order to gain control over Porphyria, the speaker must take advantage of her at her weakest moment” (Marcus). During the Victorian era, the Patriarchy still lead a majority of the moral laws for individuals to follow. The rules, so to speak, are simply that the women are placed in a lower class than men and are to remain there and accept their place. Robert Browning is the author of two poems that are highly controversial to the modern reader for the sheer fact that the works of literature emphasis men overpowering women. While there are many types of ways for men to ruin female lives, and the ways keep expanding by the day, the poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s

Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and scriptwriter whose mastery of the dramatic monologue made him one of the most prominent Victorian poets. Within his collection were two of his most renowned works,