My Last Duchess Essay

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

Known as The Golden Age in English history, the 45 year rule of Queen Elizabeth I turned the declining country of England, into one of the most powerful and prosperous countries in the world.

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 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.

indicates that the Duke is in a state of mind where he sees himself as

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

“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.

The Duke is going on and on and we only have one point of view. He is controlling what the audience perceive the characters as. Browning uses enjambment to make the rhyming couplets flow better in order to make the speech of the Duke more realistic. The easiness of the speech and the fact that it is flowing, shows that the Duke seems to have rehearsed everything that he is now saying to the agent. So he has had to think about what to say and wants to be able to manipulate the agent into taking his side and, indeed, wants to have control over the agent’s opinion of both him and his last Duchess. The duke's loss of control is also depicted through the rhythm of the poem. The enjambment in the poem reveals that the Duke is almost at ease with his wife's murder, because it is so flowing and he doesn’t get upset and almost doesn’t have to stop. Except for once; this is shown by the use of caesura, however as he only stutters once it seems as if he is just doing it for show. Near the end of the poem, the duke loses control. You can imagine the horrified agent rising to go and the duke's uneasiness as he loses control, and his desire to regain control of the situation as he says, ‘Nay we'll go down together, sir’ There is a caesura between ‘Nay’ and ‘we’ll’ which shows the Duke does not want to lose control but then has to pause as he thinks of a reasonable explanation for him saying ‘Nay’ to the agent leaving without him.

In Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess, is about a conversation surrounding a portrait. The focus swirls around the untimely death of the duchess, Alfonso II last wife, because of some impropriety. She looks alive, and the duke attributes this to the skill of the painter, Frà Pandolf. This serves to remind the reader that the duke does not approve of the way the duchess handled herself. Evidently, the duke does not approve of the zest for life that the duchess exhibited. He of course compliments her beauty,

“That’s my last Duchess, painted on the wall...Will’t please you sit and look at her? ...since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you.” Later in the poem, the reader realizes s/he is an emissary of a potential marriage. Being a dramatic monologue, the reader gets a front row seat to Alfonso’s shift in motive and attitude. The reader initially is led to believe Alfonso adored his late wife by the way he originally describes the fresco, “I call that piece a wonder...the depth and passion of its earnest glance...how such a [flattering] glance came there.” Later in the poem, however, the reader realizes Alfonso’s true feelings toward Medici by the way he tells the emissary of her personality. Listening from the emissary’s point of view makes the poem more interactive because it’s almost like Alfonso is having a personal conversation with the reader. It also makes the poem more mysterious because the reader doesn’t know if Alfonso is a “reliable” character—the reader only knows what Alfonso has told him or her (the emissary). By putting the reader in this position, Browning suggests that the emissary would have had the same opinions on objectification (arranged marriage, obsession with status) as Alfonso did; otherwise, why would he have said, “I gave

Thus the Duchess is bound to the Duke and has become imprisoned within his art collection as nothing more than a possession. The Duke exemplifies this view when he makes reference to another piece of his art collection, as if the current and previous subjects of his monologue were completely analogous, “Notice Neptune, though/ Taming a sea horse, thought a rarity/ Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! (Browning 54-56), he truly appreciates both pieces with similar enthusiasm. Although the Duchess is allocated no space to give her side of the story, through the Duke’s depiction the reader can infer that she was killed for having her own free will and as such there is zero doubt that she is a victim of imprisonment of the Duke’s egocentric ideals. While he puts an adulterous spin on her actions, by declaring:

Trust is a key factor to have a healthy relationship. The Duke is unhappy and gets jealous when the Duchess smiles at men and “thank[s] men—good!” (31) as he thinks she doesn’t smile nor enjoy his company the way she smiles at other men. This reveals that the duke’s relationship with her is that the Duchess does not give him enough attention. Browning also reveals that the Duke is hiding the painting behind a curtain, this suggests that he doesn’t want her to be smiling and looking at anyone but him. The hiding of the painting also represents how the Duke only wants the Duchess for himself. The blush that is called the “spot/ of joy into the Duchess’ cheek” (14-15) reveals that the Duke only wants his

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 Duke takes control of the situation entirely as he is the only speaker throughout the poem and his way of speaking leaves no scope for interruption, by the listener. The way he addresses his listener, “That’s my last duchess”, calls attention to the peculiarity of his designation which he indicates in a very proud manner. The apparent pauses throughout the poem, shown by dashes, indicate hesitation as the Duke considers what to say. This clearly suggests his manipulative attitude. As soon as he points towards the standing portrait of his last wife, he asks his listener to sit down –“Will’t please you sit and look at her?” His way of asking is not very polite and is more of a command which shows the psychology of a man with power.