Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is an extraordinary example of a dramatic monologue; the types of poems that Browning is known for. The key elements for a dramatic monologue are: a character that addresses a specific person in a dramatic speech, setting of a drama, the speech of a single character, actions that are implied by the speech, and a plot. A close analyzation of this poem will explain the overall theme, or purpose, that Browning was trying to express.
This dramatic poem is set in Ferrara; it is the capital of a province in Italy that was well known for its flourishing culture during the Renaissance. With this setting, it gives a historical feel to the poem. A duke murdered his seventeen-year-old wife in order to marry another
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It is common knowledge that teenage girls’ cheeks turn red in the sun, from feeling shy, from being angry, or for no reason at all when they smile or laugh. The duke is a pessimist, a person who cannot think or find the positivity in anything; most likely because he has evil in his mind, heart, and soul. He felt ashamed by the duchess because “her looks went everywhere”; she thanked anything and everyone, she was easily impressed, and she smiled too much at everyone she passed. There was never any evidence, or proof, that the duchess was guilty of the accusations by the duke. If these were true accusations, with his arrogance, he would have spoken up at the first sign of dishonor. No one would truly believe that smiling, being thankful, to be interested, to be shy, or talking to people would be such a crime, or dishonor. No one would believe that a wife could only look at her husband; unless they lived in a society that thought all women were evil. Although societies that are not fair to women, are full of men who are corrupted, evil, and unjust. The duke symbolizes tyranny and the dominant male, not only during the Renaissance, but in all
Have you ever fallen in love? Have you ever developed strong feelings for another? If problems arose between the two of you, were you able to overcome them? Well certain men in Robert Browning’s works couldn’t seem to. . . “overcome” these differences with their women. Browning grew up learning from his father’s huge library. His wife was much more successful at writing than him. Eight years after her death, his career turned around for the last 20 years of his life. During this time, he wrote many short dramatic monologues such as My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover. These two very intriguing and disturbing Monologues, My Last Duchess and Prophyria’s Lover, by Robert Browning, involve two very messed up men whose actions are both alike in their idea of immortalizing their woman, but different in why they chose to commit the act between the two stories, and a conclusion may be drawn from this observation.
The doomed Duchess of Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue, “My Last Duchess” is the embodiment of the incarcerated woman taken to the eternal extreme. The setting for this poem is the Italy of the Middle Ages, a time when women had still less freedom than in the Victorian era. Women were regarded as possessions, a form of imprisonment within itself. As Johnson states the theme of “marriage as bondage” is consistently explored throughout Browning’s early wor...
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is story of a duke recanting his story about his late wife. In this poem the author uses diction similar to conversational words as if he was speaking to someone or something, varied syntax, where he questions to engage the reader, and a vain and superficial tone where he places the value of his late wife to some simple bronze.
Robert Browning was one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century. In 1842, he published ‘Dramatic Lyrics’ which included the two poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ Browning gives the reader a dramatic insight into the twisted mind of an abnormally possessive lover, who wishes the moment of love to last forever. In this essay, ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ will be compared to Robert Browning’s other dramatic monologue, ‘My Last Duchess’, where an Italian aristocrat reveals his cruelty to his late wife whilst showing off a portrait of her to one of his guests.
Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue narrated by the Duke of Ferrara Even a passing gaze to this poem would paint a picture of a selfish prick of a husband and a wife whose mere fault was naivete, someone who was merely appreciative of the beauty around her, a quality that bugged her husband to the point where he accuses her of being unfaithful and gets her killed. The narrator of the poem indicates an arrogance embedded so deep in a bold sense of male superiority.
It goes on to speak about sympathy in general and how Browning “delighted in making a case for the apparently immoral position”, how he found dramatic monologues the best form to do so, and how he went about it. It keeps going for a couple more pages on things which I will not go into because they have little relevance to any interpretation of “My Last Duchess”.
In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," a portrait of the egocentric and power loving Duke of Ferrara is painted for us. Although the duke's monologue appears on the surface to be about his late wife, a close reading will show that the mention of his last duchess is merely a side note in his self-important speech. Browning uses the dramatic monologue form very skillfully to show us the controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits the duke possessed without ever mentioning them explicitly.
One speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, tells the story of "My Last Duchess." The story occurs prior to a meeting between the Count, his emissary, and other dignitaries. Duke Ferrara is speaking privately with the Count's emissary in a room located upstairs within the residence. The Duke is describing a painting of his last wife. The room is stately, well furnished, and decorated with several artistic items. Similarly, a speaker whose identity is unknown tells the poem "Porphyria's Lover." In a dramatic monologue, each speaker relates the details of his poem. Unlike "My Last Duchess," the poem, "Porphyria's Lover," has a very different setting. The events that transpire in "Porphyria's Lover" happen in a secluded cottage on a stormy night. The speaker is alone in the cottage. The strong wind and the unceasing rain are heard and felt inside the dwelling. The cottage is located near a lake and is surrounded by a dense forest. The storyteller has a speci...
In conclusion, Mr. Robert Browning depicts in ‘My Last Duchess” that the Duke is not an ideal husband by referencing how controlling he is over women and other people in his vicinity. Mr. Browning also references the Duke’s jealous and petty actions that make him seem desperate for a way to seek attention. That is why the Duke disposes of her since she was not giving him the proper care he wanted he decided that she was not worthy. The Duke is also not an ideal husband based on his views of how disposal women are to him. His jealousy and insecurity lead him to be an unhappy self-centered
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue about a duke who is showing the portrait of his first wife, the duchess, to a servant of his future father-in-law, the Count. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker addresses a distinct but silent audience. Through his speech, the speaker unintentionally reveals his own personality. As such, in reading this poem, the reader finds the duke to be self-centered, arrogant, controlling, chauvinistic and a very jealous man. The more he attempted to conceal these traits, however, the more they became evident. There is situational irony (a discrepancy between what the character believes and what the reader knows to be true) in this because the duke does not realize this is what is happening. Instead, he thinks he appears as a powerful and noble aristocrat.
Browning’s works were the primary model for the basic form of the standard Victorian dramatic monologue which was based around a speaker, listener, and a reader. Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” became a model for the dramatic monologue form primarily because of the strict approach he took while developing the poem. One of the aspects characteristic of this work is the authors level of consciousness. Each element in “My Last Duchess” is thoughtfully constructed with form and structure in mind. This poem is filled with dramatic principle that satisfied the Victorian period’s demand for an action and drama that were not overtly apparent in the work. In the case of “My Last Duchess” the drama of the poem is how his character, the Duke, is introduced. In dramatic monologues the character’s self is revealed through thoug...
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.
Additionally, the Duke has also a sense of dominance over the Duchess. “I gave commands then all smiles stopped together. There she stands as if alive.” The use of the forceful word ‘commands’ shows that the Duke has power over the Duchess. Together with the view of the Duchess as a possession, suggests the patriarchal society of the past. Furthermore, ‘then all smiles stopped together’ underlines a subtle but sinister tone change within the poem. The use of a . Possessive pronoun, patriarchy.
Robert Browning was considered one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century and is one of the major poets of the Victorian era. His major poems showed his mastery of the dramatic monologue, a poem written in the form of a speech by an individual character that reveals the character’s inner feelings and thoughts. According to John Algeo, Professor of English at the University of Georgia, “When discussing the poetic form of dramatic monologue, it is rare that it is not associated with its usage attributed to the poet Robert Browning.” This clearly suggests that most of Browning’s poems will be in the form of dramatic monologues. The poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover by Robert Browning have many similarities as well as differences.
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.