Comparing My Last Duchess,Porphyrias Lover and le Dame Sans Merci

The narrator (Duke) who is of an upper-class is having a conversation with an envoy when he mentions ‘Will’t please you sit and look at her?’. This shows the Duke’s commanding nature as he almost forces the envoy to look at his painting although he uses a question it is rhetorical (envoys do not reply) and it shows how the Duke has power. Also, the Duke’s power is emphasized as he chooses who can see the painting ‘since none puts by the curtain I have drawn’. This gives him a sense of importance. Browning also writes ‘she ranked my gift…with anybody’s gift’. This shows that the Duke believes that names and status hold importance, power even and he expects the ‘name’ of Duchess will be enough for her but she treats everyone the same, this angers him. Throughout the poem the Duke says that he does not have ‘skill in speech’ which from the poem we can see is false. When discussing his lack of skill he says ‘which I have not’, This shows the power in words and ultimately how he couldn’t stop her with his words because he would have ‘to stoop’ he used a different way to fix his problem. Also, he says ‘I choose never to stoop’. The ‘I choose’ shows hierarchy as he has the choice. The use of the verb ‘stoop’ is interesting as it means to directly to bend one’s head, associating with the lower class or submitting yourself. This also shows the Duke’s commanding nature as he refuses to ‘stoop’ he

(A discussion of the treatment of women in the Victorian era as critiqued by Robert Browning in his poems, My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover)

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 both stories, the lover's perceive the women as objects, instead of actual people. In My Last Mistress, he believes that he has given her a gift by marrying her, and thus thinks that he owns her. He feels that she is taking this gift granted and gets angry when she does not "worship" him. This is further pointed out by Susan Brownmiller, “...that ‘masculine esteem’ which gets its kick and sense of power from viewing females as anonymous, panting playthings, adult toys, dehumanized objects to be used, abused, broken and discarded.” (Brownmiller). This mode of thinking is more akin to the man in My Last Duchess. On the same token, in Porphyria's Lover, the lover still sees her as an object because he wants to make her his forever. He does not want her to go out by herself to

He probably thinks it’s the Duchess own fault for her death because he was very annoyed with her attitude towards everything and couldn’t tell her. “Who’d stoop to blame this sort of trifling?” (Browning30) Even thought he is so bothered by her behavior he thinks he shouldn’t have to lower himself to talk to her about it. There was lack of communication in their marriage and he never expressed his feelings about his wives demeanor to her, due to his poor communication skills. As he stated: “Even had you skill In speech – (which I have not) – to make your will Quite clear to such an one, and say, "Just this Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, Or there exceed the mark" – and if she let Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse, E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose Never to stoop.” (Browning 40) In this the murderer arrogantly states what he wanted from her and how he had no “Skills in speech” in which to tell the Duchess but he clearly tells the envoy how he feels, so he is clearly lying to the

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

In this essay I will be commenting on the presentation of relationships in two poems. The first poem is ‘Les Grands Seigneurs’, in which the speaker remarks on her life before marriage, where she was adored and worshiped by men, and how it has changed after marriage. ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue in which the speaker comments on his late wife and her character, suggesting that she was unfaithful to him and hinting that he may have murdered her because of this.

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

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.

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.

Browning presents the duke as an arrogant, jealous character with an ostentatious disposition .In the dramatic monologue of the Duke it would seem he over analyses his duchesses interactions in the poem, particularly that of the male gender. This institutes that the Duke is a jealous man and also that he regards the duchess as more of a possession than a person. This is also portrayed through the possessive pronouns used throughout the poem such us “my” and “mine.” Another fact that expresses his officious nature would be that as his wife didn’t act like ‘his’ possession he had her killed and turned into something he could control. This is shown in the fact he had her portrait put behind a curtain which only he was allowed to open this is symbolism for being able to hide and control her unlike when she was alive. The curtain also draws attention the painting behind it which shows his theatrical side as he just shows it off to strangers “strangers like you that pictured countenance.” His theatrical side is also shown when he drops

TITLE Robert Browning’s poems, My Last Duchess (‘MLD’) and Porphyria’s Lover (‘PL’) take the form of dramatic monologues and are striking examples of literature written in the Victorian era. Due to their form, a great interaction is developed between the reader and narrator, with an additional oratory effect; this allows the audience to understand a situation less ambiguously through features such as tone. Therefore, Browning is able to present male and female characters more completely. Furthermore, the poems accurately convey gender inequality present in Victorian society, hinting at the lack of liberties given to women.

obert Browning, on the surface is a celebrated poet. But what was on the inside? We may have a glimpse into his mind through his poems. Specifically, his two poems My Last Duchess, and Porphyria’s Lover. These two texts share some startling similarities, and some thoughtful differences. “Social comparison is important.” (Festinger) Browning’s two poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover follow a similar idea, and in the following text, will be compared in three main areas.

The Duke in Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess begins to talk about his last wife and inadvertently exposes his domineering and obsessive nature towards his deceased spouse. The Duke reveals to the negotiator the Duke’s traits of possessiveness in his account of his late wife. For example, the Duke recounts how the Duchess reacted to his “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name” (33).

The poem “My Last Duchess” is a masterful example of a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning. In this poem the narrator is a duke who is discussing his murder of his last duchess with a man with whom he is arranging his marriage to a count’s daughter. As it is a monologue, the man being spoken to does not say a word. It is believed by many that this character is based on the Italian Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso II, who sought out the marriage of a count’s daughter following the poisoning of his wife (Bender 5). The theme of this poem is the blatant and unapologetic corruption of power (Marchino 3). The duke uses the resources available to him to force others to conform to his wishes. Three prevalent aspects of the Dukes personality that are instrumental in the meaning behind this poem are his need of control, his arrogance, and his jealousy.