How Does Browning Use Imagery In My Last Duchess

The poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning, shows that power has the ability to blind a person and cause them to wreak havoc when they feel threatened. The ultimate demise of his wife stemmed from perceived lack of control that he had over his wife, that caused him to kill her. Throughout Browning's poem he uses vivid imagery to connect with the reader, diction to help create a purpose for the poem, and dramatic irony.

Browning use of imagery in the poem helped us get a better understanding of what the duke was actually like. His need for control is shown when he tells his guest that no one may draw "the curtain...but I." Over her portrait there is curtain covering it and only he has the ability to remove it. The duke is also very deceiving from the start of the poem, from which he describes her as a "piece of wonder" to show his affection for her. Towards the end of the poem the Duke's attitude in relation to The Duchess has changed dramatically explaining how her actions "disgusts" him. All of these examples are to show how the king has an underlying personality that at first the reader doesn't suspect.

He scoffed at the idea of his Duchess "ranking" his name, this helped us understand his arrogance he had. He felt that he was giving her the most wonderful gift of his last name, but he would've never imagined that she couldn't recognize what a wonderful gift he gave her. Later he asserts his authority by saying he would never "stoop" on his wife. This shows that he is too important to be bothered by these things, and will not ask his wife to stop behaving like this. Instead he "gives commands" to have someone else kill her, because even the act of killing his wife is beneath