My Last Duchess

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

Within My Last Duchess, the reader is introduced to the character of Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara. Throughout the poem, Alfonso is talking to an emissary about his late wife (Robert Browning, My Last Duchess). He then goes on to discuss in detail about how his wife would flirt with every man she saw, “She had a heart- how shall I say? - Too soon may glad, too easily impressed; she liked whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Robert Browning, My Last Duchess). From this statement, it is made apparent that Alfonso and his previous wife didn’t have the greatest of relationships, this is further segmented when he goes on to say that she held no respect for the influence he bore, “She thanked men- good! But thanked somehow- I know not how- as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift” (Robert Browning, My Last Duchess). Just from these two excerpts alone, it could be assumed that Alfonso and the Duchess’

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

“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.

After reading My Last Duchess and My Ex- Husband, there were more similarities than there were differences. My Last Duchess was about a jealous Duke that ended up killing his wife because he thought she was cheating with the man who painted the portrait of her that is hanging on his wall for only him to see. In My Ex- Husband, the poem is about a woman who writes about how much she hates her ex, though cannot seem to move on from his mistakes of cheating. Both of these poems demonstrate poetic devices that are very similar to each other- rhyme scheme, themes, and the structure of the poem.

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:

“Art is an expression of human creative skill and imagination” (google) Paintings are works of art created to express or let out a person’s creativity or feelings towards a certain subject. In Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue, “The Last Duchess”, he uses the painting as a symbolism of the Duke’s relationship with his former wife. Therefore, as the Duke tries to impress people with his wealth through the painting of Fra Pandolf, he instead unintentionally displays his true personality to others. Initially, the painting is used to reveal Duke’s jealous nature as he mistakes his wife’s friendless as flirting which later reveals his controlling nature. Ultimately, the Duke’s selfishness and greed for power is slowly revealed through abusing art to control his wife and others.

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.

Most of the time he will present a reaction that she has to him or something that he does, and then go into actions of other people that produce the same reaction. By saying she was “too soon made glad”, he changes every smile, kind word or “spot of joy” into something wrong. One generally thinks upon these things as good and desirable, but the Duke looks down upon them, and consequently looks down upon his wife for possessing them. When he repeats example and example of similar things, the Duke drives home his ill thoughts of his wife. His tone when describing her is mocking and condescending, when her only fault is being happy. The contrast with this light, carefree soul makes his own seem all the darker. Browning presents the Duke as an emotionless monster, and the Duke does not even seem to

The Duke thought the Duchess was wanting other men, “Would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush, at least. She thanked men,-good! but thanked somehow-I know not how-as if she ranked” (Lines 30-34). Most husbands would love that their wives are smiling and are happy. They would think nothing about their wives

In Browning’s “My Last Duchess”, The Duke of Ferrara speaks to an agent representing the count. The Duke begins by referring to “my last Duchess”, as he opens up a curtain to display a portrait of her hanging on the wall. Right away, this action shows the control the Duke has over The Duchess by being able to decide who can and cannot view the portrait of The Duchess. This idea is later proven in Lines 9-10, “Since none puts by - The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”. The Duke is letting the agent know that he is choosing to show him her painting. This makes it seem like a rare, and special event to allow The Duchess to be viewed by someone other than The Duke. By doing this, The Duke treats the portrait more of a sacred work of art.

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.