My Last Duchess Monolog

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At first glance the pome “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning seemed stuffy to me but after a little research and rereading I realized it is anything but. This monolog could be in any modern day Italian mob movie. The Duke does intend to reveal a little about himself to the listener but I don’t believe he intends to reveal as much as he does. The things he may have intended to reveal are that he is a very particular person that likes things to be a certain way and has the power to make people bend to his will. The Duke mentions a curtain he has placed in front of the picture clearly a sign of a controlling person more or less saying I couldn’t control who saw your beautiful smile when you were alive but now I have total control over that. I don’t believe he intended to appear as jealous and …show more content…

You can see in the lines “she had a heart how shall I say? To soon made glad, too easily impressed; she liked whatever she looked on, and her books went everywhere. Sir, twas all one! My favor at her breast, the dropping of the daylight in the West, the bough of cherries some officious fool broke in the orchard for her, the white mule she road with round the terrace all in each withdraw from her a alike the same approving speech, or blush, At least.” With the line “Fra Pandolf’s hands worked busily a day” the Duke is attempting to name drop and comes off rather snobby and pretentious. Which you can also see in the line “as if she ranked my gift of a nine hundred years old name with anybody’s gift”. It’s at the end of the pome you find out the whole picture. After explaining that he had the last Duchess killed for pretty much not solely worshiping the ground he walked on, you learn that the listener in the pome works for a Count that is going to give his daughter up to the Duke for marriage. This bringing a point to the whole monolog and the Duke showing this man the picture in the first

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