My Last Duchess Essay

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In his poem “My Last Duchess,” Robert Browning uses character to show the reader how the duke’s twisted views cause him to lose the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. In the poem, the duke is speaking to one of the servants of the count. He unveils to the servant a portrait of his late wife, the former duchess. The duke begins to tell the tale of his wife’s life, and he recounts the events that lead up to her eventual demise. He explains that he didn’t feel that she valued him as much as she should’ve, and that he felt like that was very wrong. He revealed to the servant that his late wife valued his “...gift of nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody’s gift.” (Lines 33-34, Browning) He goes on to rhetorically ask the servant, …show more content…

He continues to explain how much her behavior angered him, but he makes it clear that he had no intention of speaking to her on the issue; instead he was going to let her be until he could arrange a plan to change her using other means. The duke continues to speak to the servant about how he was never going to “stoop to the level” of his wife, as he felt that it wasn’t worth it; that he was greatly superior to her. He tells the servant that he chooses “...never to stoop.” (Lines 42-43, Browning) This piece of the duke’s monologue brings out his character, as it shows that he felt superior to his wife, and didn’t think she deserved any attention on his part if she would not completely devote herself to him. He is disillusioned into believing that his wife is a bad person, and more than that, a lesser person than himself. He is unable to see how wrong it is that he values himself and his life above others. This disillusionment causes him to be unable to see the difference between right and wrong. He thinks it is alright to demote and essentially dismiss his wife. In the poem, character is used in conveying the duke’s disillusioned manner, and how it causes him to lose the ability to see a difference

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