Exploring Themes in Sonnets

In "My Last Duchess," the speaker describes a specific painting to the reader. It is a portrait of the Duke's late wife. The speaker directs the reader's attention to the Duchess's passionate responses given not only to the Duke, but also to many other men who admire her beauty. The artist conveys this lady's charming and flirtatious personality. The Duchess had many admirers that competed for her attention. Her rare beauty and flirtatious manner attracted many admirers. Her facial features express her passion and gratitude towards the men that competed for her attention. She had a teasing and playful quality, which she used to make the Duke jealous of the men attracted to her beauty. The Duke spoke communicated his displeasure about her improper behavior. She continued to smile and attract the attention of

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.

The poem is formed of eight stanzas, each one is six lines long except for the fifth stanza which is an octet. The stanzas are formed of sets of three rhyming couplets in the

This poem has a both rhythm and rhyme as it is told in rhyming couplets and littered with alliteration. An example of alliteration is in the second line of the poem which reads "her hardest hue to hold"

Browning closes My Last Duchess by establishing that envy can lead a person to commit extreme acts and hinder their- or someone else’s sanity. Browning uses characterization to exploit the character development of the duke and also enhance how envy can lead

The Duke however is a possessive and materialistic character. This is shown through the title ‘My Last Duchess’. ‘My’ displays how even

This poem was descriptive, yet simple. But every verse had meaning behind it. The poem has 16 lines that’s broken into 4 stanzas. (Poetry Foundation.) This poem also has a rhyme scheme and the rhythm is an iambic pentameter, meaning it has a five-beat rhythm of the pattern. Some verses in this poem are slightly negative yet also positive at the same time.

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.

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.

The story “My Last Duchess”, written by Robert Hayden, is about the Duke of Ferrara who is addressing a painted portrait of his last duchess to a visitor. As the Duke articulates how the portrait came to be, his mindset toward the late duchess reveals how he truly feels about their marriage. Throughout the monologue, the reader is made aware of how jealous and controlling the ego-driven Duke truly is. To begin, one can see the Duke, who claims to never stoop down to his last duchess’s unapproved behavior, is ruled by his ego.

My Last Duchess My Last Duchess is a thrilling poem authored by Robert Browning and is set as a psychopathology that is based on an Italian Renaissance Duke, who unfortunately lost his wife via a murder that involved efficient utilization of dramatic monolog. In this poem, Browning explores various styles such as the use of figurative language so as to manifest a real nature of the Duke. Browning also captures literary elements so as to boost woman representation. At the onset of the poem, the Duke admires a well-painted portrait of his wife as he says, “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall” (Browning & Imtiaz, 1).

In My Last Duchess, destructive Love is shown to be a forceful feeling in "My Last Duchess". The Duke's adoration for the Duchess was possessive as he demonstrated dissatisfaction when she grinned at other men or when her "looks went all over the place". Her excellence and consideration was implied for himself just, and when she turned out to be excessively of an irritation he "offered orders" to stop her forever. He enabled a representation of her to be painted in light of the fact that the craftsman was "Fra Pandolf", doubtlessly a chaste priest.

My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is about a pretentious man looking back on the fate on his past wife in great detail (while preparing to marry someone else 's daughter), apparently reveling in it because she looked at other men. The Duke (?) has a very twisted, sadistic way of looking at the incident, being angry at his wife rather than himself, despite him killing her. From "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together" we can be sure he ordered her death. Once he has finished reminiscing, he returns to his usual business as if he were only remembering something vaguely unimportant.

Dear Count, I have convened with the Duke and would like to report my verdict. The Duke pulled me aside to show the portrait of his last Duchess, and out of the many words he spoke, I do not recall a single positive thing. His words, full of jealousy and hatred, were certainly not words you would wish upon any woman, especially your own daughter. This man, although as refined and majestic as he may seem, is certainly not the sort you would want espousing your daughter. If she were to marry him, all that could be expected is a miserable life of most likely solitude and imprisonment. Rumors are rampant about the Duchess’ death that it was in a mysterious fashion. In speaking with the Duke, he led me to believe that he was the cause of her death.

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.