Possession in “My Last Duchess” and “Andrea del Sarto”
The poems “My Last Duchess” and “Andrea del Sarto” by Robert Browning are both dramatic monologues, consisting of men talking about their wives. Both speakers are similar men of different background; both have their confidence depend on outside factors (wife, title), they both want to possess their wives, and they both mistakenly think that they have achieved this goal. Andrea del Sarto and the Duke of Ferrara are both men incomplete without their wives, and thus dependent on them. In the case of the Duke this dependence comes in an indirect way: his confidence comes from his title, and when his wife treats him and his “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name” as she would anyone else, she makes him insecure. This, and the fact that the Duchess seems confident without him, makes the Duke envious of her. To get rid of his insecurities, he gets rid of her. Nevertheless, the way the Duke talks about his last wife, proves that her memory can still make his old wounds bleed. At the same time Andrea is aware that there is a dependence in the relationship between him and Lucrezia, though he convinces himself that he is the one in control. While he admits
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While the Duke gets closest to actually owning his wife, by owning a picture of her where she is “looking as if she were alive”, his sullen tone betrays him. He is still annoyed that he was unsuccessful at making his wife completely his own. The fact that he is preparing to get married again, and the double entendre of the word “object” when he is talking about his fiancée, proves his need to own someone real. In Andrea’s situation the roles are completely reversed. He tries to show some signs of physical possession, as holding Lucrezia’s hand or framing her face, but they mean nothing as long as she owns his soul. His love made him similar to a drug addict, who chooses his own
love and sacrifice for his son and wife. Guido’s reassurance to his wife that they are safe is
In the next paragraph Alessandra mentions that she saw Mona Lucrezia di Piero had sent him a nice letter for thanking him for the flax that he sent to her. Alessandra then says she should reward him with kind words about Filippo to Piero. This is basically saying that Alessandra thinks Mona should put in a good word for Filippo. This shows us just how much power the Medici family had during this period. In the last paragraph, Alessandra mentions that two
Antonio, who has begun to discover the importance of independence, must use this to his mother, who has her own vision of his future. The fact that he holds this value signifies growth in Tony’s character, and his continuing development into a man.
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.
“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “ The Rape of the lock” by Alexander Pope are two poems that convey a theme of love and objectification towards women.For instance, both poems are similar in their use imagery and metaphors to grasp their audience attention. For example, in “My last duchess” the author shows the wife in the poem as an item controlled by her husband and uses his love for her as an excuse to abuse his power. Her life is ruled by him and she would have to deal with his insane jealousy because his obsessiveness is dominating his reality of his relationship . In this poem the male role has many characteristics one of them being paranoid and not helping him reflect on reality by him owning shrine of items that belonged to all his earlier wife’s. His late wife is shown as a piece of imagery where she is kept on a wall trapped not able to leave his sight or be allowed interact with others. (Browning,1-2) In “ The Rape of the Lock “ the poem starts off with Belinda,the main character, in a dream sent to her by her guardian Sylph. The dream sends a message to Belinda that she must be careful with all men in her life once she has received the message she awakens to a love letter at her sight and forgets the dream in its entirety. Throughout the course of the poem Belinda’s Sylphs are required to protect her chastity and help her contain her purity.. The man in her life is using her as an item and not as a human being.Pope encourages these characteristics
In addition, one can also argue about Paulina’s love-hate relationship with Gerardo, as she is clearly very emotionally attached to him, yet seems as though she treats him with a sort of disrespect or harsh manner. Paulina’s strange relationship also brings the audience to question this woman’s sense of judgment, and maybe even her past. Ironically, later she refers to him as ‘my little man’, contrasting with how he called her, and making sure that Gerardo knows that he is her husband, and she’s in charge.
Florence- Florence is one of Atonio’s friends. Although he does not believe in God, he attends catechism lessons with his friends. Florence’s mother died when he was three. Afterwards, his father slowly killed himself with alcohol. His sisters are now prostitutes at Rosie’s house. He asks Antonio insightful questions that point out the gaps in the Catholic Religion. When Antonio becomes
“My Last Duchess,” by Robert Browning, depicts powerful husbands attempting to control the actions of their wives as they are free to do as they please. In contrast, women are expected to be faithful and attentive only to their husbands. The power and control of the Duke is conveyed by a painting of the Duchess. It belongs to the Duke and is referred to as “my last Duchess” (1). The use of “my” demonstrates the possessive nature of the Duke and his claim of the Duchess as his own personal possession, much like the painting itself. As the Duke persists on forcing domination upon the Duchess, he is greatly displeased to find that she treats and considers him as the same value as nearly any other man.
Everyone has his own perceptions on wealth and happiness; material riches may bring joy to some people, but Giovanni finds happiness in her family. Moreover, Giovanni’s tone in this piece is critical toward her “biographers to be.”
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.
Madonna Lucrezia, in La Mandragola, is the epitome of every man’s dream for a wife. “And he named Madonna Lucrezia, wife of Messer Nicia Calfucci, and he heaped such praise on her beauty and her manners that he amazed every last one of us, and in me he aroused such desire to see her,” said Callimaco (Machiavelli). Although Lucrezia was loyal, holy, wise, and virtuous, she has yet to produce an heir for her husband. This inability to bear a child is not to any fault of her own because her husband is older and thus infertile, but this problem goes unacknowledged. Because of this problem, and the willingness to do anything for it to be fixed, she and her husband become susceptible to the cunningness of others. First, her husband, Nicia, is made a fool when another man, Callimaco, convinces him that he has a concoction to solve infertility. Similarly, infertility was the grounds on which Lucrezia Borgia’s first marriage was annulled; but in fact, the marriage was no longer beneficial to her father Pope Alexander VI (Drees).
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
Within Measure for Measure, the character of Angelo can be seen as a case study of will over moral nature. Angelo, a deputy, is given the Dukes authority to act in his behalf while the Duke is away. The story unfolds as Angelo uses the agency he's been given in ways that many men in authoritative positions have done. It is interesting to follow his line of thought and to realize that this is a man who is not unlike many others. The main conflict between Isabella and Angelo is a contemporary problem. Measure for Measure is a unique opportunity to investigate the personality types of the characters involved in the conflict, and the study of these complex characters can give meaningful insights into
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.
The potent emotion of jealous love permeates throughout both Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ and Carol Ann Duffy’s ‘Medusa.’ Jealous love forms a central concern of the poets, with each one focusing on different aspects, which the reader may come to identify the poems as exploring the intensity of human emotion.