Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

A dramatic monologue is a poem in which a single speaker who is not

the poet recites the entire poem at a critical moment. The speaker

has a listener within the poem, but the reader of the poem is also one

of the speakers listeners. In a dramatic monologue, the reader learns

about the speaker's character from what the speaker says. Robert

Browning is said to have perfected this form of writing. One of his

most famous dramatic monologues is "My Last Duchess."

The speaker in the poem is an Italian duke who ordered the murder of

his wife and is at the offset of the poem showing off the portrait to

his future son-in-law. Browning lets the reader know in a roundabout

way that the duke only shows the portrait of his late wife to select

strangers. In doing this, the speaker is able to show off his wealth to

the stranger and he seems to enjoy telling these people the story of

how he ordered her to death. The speaker tries to convey to the

people that he shows the portrait to that he is in control of

everything that takes place in his household. In lines 8-9, the speaker

interjects "since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you…" In

this line, the speaker is saying that he doesn't draw the curtain for

just anyone. He has drawn the curtain particularly for his future

son-in-law and he should feel privileged because the portrait can only

be seen under the speaker's complete control.

The Duke believes that he should be shown complete respect and be

the center of attention while in his home. The Duke thought his wife

should be for him and his pleasures only. He did not like it when Fra

Pandolf, the artist who painted the portrait said:

"Fra Pandolf chanced to say 'Her mantle laps

Over my lady's wrist too much,' or, 'Paint

Must never hope to reproduce the faint

Half-flush that dies along her throat."

to the duchess in lines 16-18. And then again in lines 27-28, the duke

tells about how some "officious fool" brought her cherries from the

orchard.

The duke also could not stand the fact that the duchess treated

everyone and every gift equally; "all and each / Would draw from her

alike the approving speech, / Or blush, at least" (lines 29-31). The

duke thought of his wife as one of his possessions and she could

never be treated as his equal; "E'en then would be some stooping;

and I choose / Never to stoop" (lines 42-43).