Robert Browning and the Power of the Dramatic Monologue Form

Throughout the poem, many hints and clues are given that show dysfunction in the Duke’s and Duchess’ relationship. The Duke and Duchess have a failing relationship because of childlessness and lack of communication (Hawlin 146). Browning’s Duke is based off of the real Duke of Ferrara who never had any children (Gardner “Duke” 169). Not only as a man but as a duke with a age-old family name, not providing an heir would be shaming. If the Duchess is “fooling around”, Gardner claims that the Duke reveals his impotence

Robert Browning is a very interesting character with quite odd dramatic poems. Browning wrote in the era we call The Victorian. Robert wrote about poems in which to this day are very memorable and unforgettable. One poem is called My Last Duchess, in which a man has lost his wife and chooses to find a new one with different personal characteristics. No one knows what happened to his wife, after commands from the Duke she was gone. A rather more disturbing poem is titled, Porphyria's Lover in which the male character strangles the a girl because it was what she wanted. My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover are two dramatic monologues that have some similarities and differences that make one wonder.

The Victorian Age was a time of relative prosperity, improvement and stability. At the same time, there was also a strong emphasis on individuals becoming more educated and in two seemingly normal pieces of literature, “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover” written by Robert Browning, are in actuality so twisted that the lovers of each poem are characterized as deranged. Both monologues incorporate unique aspects of love that deviate from the norm because it is nowhere close to a happy ending. The lovers of each poem provide contrasting views on love that convey their haughty attitude towards love and their irrational reasoning that justifies their behavior. Disturbing images are prevalent in both poems creating a mysterious and elegiac tone. Browning also includes fervent diction to contrast the different behaviors of each speaker in the poems and convey that pursuing love comes along with inevitable consequences.

These two dramatic monologues by Robert Browning there is Porphyria’s Lover and the Dutch of My Last duchess. These dramatic monologues are similar in the ways that the two lovers of the women each kill their lover. They are also similar in the way that the lovers talking are both giving this story after it has happened. The contrast that this story has is that Porphyria’s lover killed Porphyria because he wants to spend forever with her, and My last duchess killed his wife because he gets jealous because she gives attention to other men. Theses two dramatic monologues have a very similar story yet have two very different men that act in such ways that cause there to be two different story lines at the same time.

Browning composes his work through the use of the form, dramatic monologues. This helps to portray the psychotic mindset of the character to notify the reader and expand their knowledge. In addition, this enables Browning to capture the deluded aspect of the character. Robert Browning unveils his work through one long stanza; this is signified in My Last Duchess, where it illustrates the Duke’s potency and sense of mightiness. Furthermore, this demonstrates how much of a self-absorbed, narcisstic imbecile the Duke is to give the reader the characters attributes.

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.

Because the audience is brought in the middle of the poem’s action, there exists yet another layer to the system of concealing and revealing in the dramatic monologue. The audience enters at a specific moment in time in which the guest has already begun communicating with the Duke and, presumably, discussing the reasons for his visit and the terms of the proposed marriage. This significance of this event is evident if one analyzes the Duke’s speech as a warning to the potential new Duchess as the Duke reveals his incessant need to possess things. As he pulls back the curtain on his late wife, he forces the Count’s agent to stare at the painting and ultimately redirects the attention to “Neptune / taming a sea horse” (54-55). Neptune’s statue serves a dual purpose: to show again the Duke’s ownership and power as well as to allude to his ability to control even the most unruly of creatures. This becomes the ultimate warning and declaration of his

Robert Browning is a well known English poet known for his success using dramatic monologue during the Victorian Era. He grows up in England with his parents and shows an interest in poetry at a young age. His first published poems help to jump start his early career. Robert Browning, master of dramatic monologue, shows his world beliefs through characters in the two poems, "Porphyria's lover" and "My Last Duchess”.

He tells how she was charming and that this portrait could not recount her love of everything, her blushing at the attention of men. He then leads into how she never quite appreciated him and how unimpressed she was with his “nine-hundred-years-old name.” From this, the reader begins to see the distant relationship between the Duke and his wife. This essay will talk about the theme of “My Last Duchess” and how Robert Browning uses rhyme and other metrical devices that supports the overall meaning of the poem.

“Porphyria's Lover” and “My Last Duchess” were just two of Robert Browning’s short dramatic monologues. In this poem, “My Last Duchess”, a husband talks about a portrait of his deceased wife. He tells how she was far too happy with everybody, and nothing could change that. “Porphyria’s Lover” is a short poem involving a man and his wife, they seem to be getting along until the husband strangles her with her own hair. These two Browning poems will be compared and contrasted in these next few paragraphs.

Browning is one whom many remember because of his brilliance in portraying the dramatic monologue. He arguably knows how to use the dramatic monologue better than anyone. Browning wrote two great poems, My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover that are similar in plot but have subtle differences as their stories unfold. These two poems of Browning are most similar in the way that the speaker in both

It was the spring of 1812 when Robert Browning was brought into the world. He was born in the small town of Camberwell, London, England. His father, a highly educated man, had a very distinguished library which Browning was influenced greatly by, especially by his father’s collection of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s works (Horneker). Browning is accredited with being the mastermind behind the sect of poetry known as dramatic monologue. Dramatic monologues can be defined as, “a poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character, it compresses into a single vivid scene a narrative sense of the speaker’s history and psychological insight into his character” (Dramatic Monologue). Browning’s two most famous of these poems are “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My last Duchess”.

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.

Dramatic Monologue in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess and The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church

A Comparison of the Dramatic Monologues of Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess by Robert Browning