The Last Duchess By Robert Browning

A vampire is defined as “a prenatural being of a malignant nature, supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons;” (1). Whereas a parasite is defined as “a person who lives at the expense of another, or society in general;” (2). A sleeping persons can be interpreted as an innocent person, this is due to countless stories and lore depicting vampires stealing the blood of conscious innocent persons. Therefore, by doing harm to the innocent, a vampire is living at the expense of the humans whose blood it steals, making vampires a form of parasite. In The Good Lady Ducayne, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Ducayne is genetically a human, but her mind has become fixated on life. By exploiting technology, her moral and ethical standards change, allowing for her personal relationships to become meaningless in her search for an elongated life. She goes so far as to steal the blood of young girls; this act of stealing innocent girls blood at their own expense, makes her a special parasite, human vampire.

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 short story, "My Last Duchess," by critically acclaimed, Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, is an intriguing and thought-provoking work of prose. Though it ties considerably to the famous work by the same name, written by Robert Browning, it also brings its own ideas, and symbols to the table. The most prominent symbolic link within this story is the representation between the characterization of Miss Bessie--the high school english teacher--and the narrator 's ideas, thoughts, and fears about life. The term life -- for the purposes of this essay -- is defined as the existence of an individual person and their course through the world. In “My Last Duchess,” the narrator 's life is symbolically represented through Miss Bessie by the character traits of a positive reputation, overcoming obstacles, and the solitary nature of people.

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.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s “The Cry of the Children” is a poignant look into the horrid practice of child labor that took place in the mines and factories of 1840’s industrial England. Browning paints such a vivid, disturbing picture that she aroused the conscience of the entire nation. A new historicist perspective into this poem will help understand why Browning decided to take a stand and speak up for these children through her work.

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.

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:

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 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 the book Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf, it is evident that the main character, Clarissa Dalloway, double persona is Septimus Smith. While Clarissa proves to be more rational, Septimus is irrational. Clarissa shows optimism with her life and finding her true identity while Septimus is someone who experiencing insanity and madness. Although she never meets him and their lives are vastly different, the two characters actually mirror each other. Clarissa and Septimus share many characteristics and think in similar manners. Septimus serves as a contrast between the veteran working class and upper class. Throughout the book, Septimus’ thoughts parallel Clarissa’s and can be seen as an echo in some ways. This illustrates how the line between sanity and insanity can become blurred. Both characters have similar experiences, but how they go about interpreting them and finding deeper meaning about it differ because of their different personalities and experiences.