The Duke's Destructive Love In 'My Last Duchess'

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.

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

In “My Last Duchess”, The Duke is concerned with all his possessions as he talks to the servant who is in his gallery. He was so self-serving that he would become jealous if the Duchess was shown any attention whatsoever. The Duke thought that she caused all the attention because of the “spot of joy” and smiles that she gave others. He eventually could not take it any longer and murdered her. In “To His Coy Mistress”, the man who is the speaker asks the woman to “show your heart” because he is only concerned about having sex with her. The fact that he spends so much time talking to her about having sex indicates that he is only after

In My Last Duchess, the Duke was heavily jealous of his past wife, which is one reason why he wanted to keep the mystery of his painting a secret. He had mixed feelings about this woman, “She had/ A heart... how shall I say?...too soon made glad./ Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Browning 21.24).

In the opening lines (1-8) of the poem, the duke is speaking to an unidentified audience. While speaking with this unidentified audience, he uses the pronoun "you" until the completion of the intended audience is identified. He starts by directing out the picture of his "last Duchess" and notices, that the Duchess is "Looking as though she were alive." This immediately tells the audience that the Duchess isn’t alive anymore and the Duke doesn't stop and think for a minute. After making his statement, he proceeds to boast about who the painter was by saying his name more than once. This demonstrates his detachment as well as his selfishness. The Duke goes ahead to state that "since none puts by The drapery I have drawn for you, yet I," (9-10)

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

Margaret Atwood’s short story My Last Duchess aptly employs ideas from Robert Brownings poem My Last Duchess to highlight themes of importance in communication, The relationship between judgement and inadequacy. The author narrates a story of the trials of being a high school student from the point of view of a young woman who not only has to cope with the stress of an upcoming examination and the pressure her teacher puts on her to excel, but also the added trepidation of what the future holds for her relationship. Many aspects of her relationship with her boyfriend, Billy, and her teacher, Miss Bessie, parallel to the relationship illustrated by the Duke about his relationship with the Duchess in Robert Brownings poem. Similarly, many of the themes found in Robert Brownings poems also apply to Margaret Atwood’s work.

There is seldom a more deeply rooted bond than that between an artist and his masterpiece. However, in the poem "My Last Duchess", written by Robert Browning, it is not, in fact, the artist that possesses this bond, but the owner of the artwork. This dramatic monologue seems to be a tragic love story at first; however, as the story progresses, is it revealed to the audience that the grief-stricken Duke may have had some issues with his blushing bride. While addressing a representative of his future fiancé’s father, the Duke relays his thoughts and feelings on the untimely demise of his former Duchess. The Duke is not remorseful over the death of his bride but is instead bitter that she did not fit his expectations of a perfect wife. This

In My Last Duchess the speaker is Duke of Ferrara because of this the only opinion and view the reader gets is the Duke’s. Because the Duke is incredibly self centered the reader almost forgets he is talking to someone, the count of Tyrol's servant or messenger. More than 150 years later Howard writes a poem from the point of view of Nikolaus, the servant, and making some significant changes other than just the point of view. The changes that have the most significant change in my view was the structure of the poem. The structure of My Last Duchess is straightforward and blunt, while Howard’s poem looks like it is a snaking running down the page.

The Duke is perceived to be the jealous, dominating type when it came to his wife who is now dead; starting with the monk Fra Pandolf, whom he chose to paint the portrait of his wife. He chose him over other painters because Frá Pandolf would not flirt

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.

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.

“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.

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.