In contrast to Macbeth’s love for his wife, in Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ there is an absence of the romanticised emotion of love. The Duke refers to his wife as ‘My Last Duchess. Here the use of the possessive pronoun ‘my’ gives us the idea from the outset that the Duke saw his wife as merely a possession. The iambic pentameter of ten syllables per line used in the poem also emphasises possession by stressing ‘my’ further in the pattern. Browning’s portrayal of love is one that is absent of emotional attachment, but instead something by which he could possess and have power over her. It could be argued that there are similarities in the way that Lady Macbeth also uses the emotion of love. Being in the form of a dramatic monologue, use
of enjambment and the lack of separate stanzas are also techniques the writer uses to emphasise the control the Duke exerts. Similar to the objectification of women seen in ‘My Last Duchess’ the narrator in ‘Cousin Kate’ refers to herself as the Lords ‘plaything and his love'. The similes ‘He wore me like a silken knot’ and ‘He changed me like a glove’ are used to describe how quickly she was cast aside. In contrast, heartfelt love for the Lord is presented on the part of the narrator ‘my love was true’. The later use of more aggressive language, ‘I would have spit into his face’ adds emphasis to the changing emotions felt. This change in emotion is similarly evident in Duffy’s presentation of love in ‘Havisham’. The immediate use of the oxymoron ‘Beloved sweetheart Bastard’ presents someone that is loved dearly but also hated. She uses alliteration “beloved” and “bastard” to highlight her conflicting love. The further oxymoron ‘loves hate’ shows Havisham’s contrasting feelings. Powerful metaphors such as ‘ropes on the back of my hands I could strangle with’ are used to show how Havisham’s love has turned to hate and thoughts of violence. It is also evident through her tone how bitter and twisted she has become, ‘Spinster. I stink’ uses sibilance to make it sound as though she is spitting out the words. The full stop and pause after ‘spinster’ could also indicate how Havisham is reminiscing how she is now labelled and judged by society.
The death of the female beloved is the only way deemed possible by the insecure, possessive male to seize her undivided attention. This beloved woman represents the "reflector and guarantor of male identity. Hence, the male anxiety about the woman's independence for her liberty puts his masculine self-estimation at risk" (Maxwell 29). The jealous and controlling males in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" possess a fervent desire to fix and monopolize their unconstrained female beloveds. Due to a fear of death, both speakers attempt to achieve control and deny object loss; by turning their lovers (once subjects) into objects, they ultimately attain the role of masterful subject.
Love and Hate are powerful emotions that influence and control how we interact with people. To express this influence and control and the emotions associated with love and hate, for instance, joy, admiration, anger, despair, jealousy, and disgust, author's craft their writing with literary elements such as as structure, figurative language, imagery, diction, symbolism, and tone. Poems in which these can be seen present are “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, and “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare. Within “My Papa’s Waltz” a mighty love is seen between the father and son. To express this Roethke uses figurative language, symbolism and diction. Within “My Last Duchess” there is little love, but an ample hate towards the duchess from the Duch. To express this the
There was a common saying, “Behind every great man there's a great woman”. The men, Macbeth and Winston Smith in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and George Orwell’s 1984 may not be considered as the “great man” however, both Lady Macbeth and Julia are good examples that can be presented as the “great woman” behind the men. Both Lady Macbeth and Julia do an excellent job of pretending to be someone who they are not, they are not only affecting the men in their lives to rethink their previous position but also have a bad ending accompanied with physical and psychological issues.
The Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Throughout the play of "Macbeth" written by William Shakespeare there is an on-going relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This relationship is one of the functions of the play that creates most of the actions, reactions, moods, feelings and attitudes. Macbeth's relationship with his wife was not always great. This is shown in one of there conversations; MACBETH: "We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon. "(Macbeth,I,vii, )
Shakespeare and Holinshed both wrote similar plays about a tyrant king who gained control of the throne through destructive means. There are several big similarities between the two plays and it is commonly believed that Shakespeare copied Holinshed’s Chronicles and changed a couple factors of the play in order to cater to King James’ interests. Some of the aspects which Shakespeare revised were the witches and the characters: Banquo, Duncan, and Macbeth himself.
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 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
Lady Macbeth As a Fiend-Like Queen Lady Macbeth has weaknesses which are hidden by a strong exterior. Her ambitions overpower her worries and doubts about behaving and acting in a diabolical way. This makes her initially seem evil or “fiend-like”. Yet she has different strands to her character. By the end of the play, however, the better side of Lady Macbeth’s character surfaces.
Several times, whether in history or literature, there have been substantial demonstrations of the achievement of power, but very few from women. The yearning for power has also been displayed in a negative light due to its constant association with corruption. But is it really the power that leads to corruption or is there another factor? As John Steinbeck has said, “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts. Perhaps the fear of a loss of power.” In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are demonstrations of ambition driving the protagonists to acquire power which they in return, fear to lose. This fear, inevitably leads to each character’s destruction. However, all of which has been said, it is left to the interpretation of the reader or audience to really understand what Shakespeare meant. It is obvious that Shakespeare sees the destruction ambition and power can cause, but very often we assume that this occurs through Macbeth, when in reality it is Lady Macbeth. Most of the audience focuses solely on Macbeth after the first act, but fail to realize that the play would be nothing without Lady Macbeth’s obsession with power. The evil residing in Lady Macbeth knows that in her beloved husband is “too full of the milk of human kindness.”
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...
‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ are both poems by the Victorian poet Robert Browning. In this essay I will compare these two poems to find similarities and differences.
Analyzing How Robert Browning Uses Dramatic Monologue to Portray Madness in His Poems My Last Duchess and Porphyria's Lover
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.
Throughout "My Last Duchess," Browning uses diction to further increase the haunting effect of his dramatic monologue. His precise and scattered word choice is meant to make the reader recognize the underlying haughtiness in his speech to the Count's emissary. The Duke refers to his former wife's portraits "depth" and "passion" in order to place a cloudiness over the realism of the painting. This, along with the "faint" and "half-flush" appearance that "dies along her throat," brings about an overcast appearance to the poem. The Duke's "trifling" lack of "countenance" is evident in his jealousy of
My Last Duchess (1842), by Robert Browning uses a renaissance context to comment on the Victorian period and convey societal issues of the time. Through the use of a temporal setting and by writing in a different context, Browning criticises society in the time of the Victorian era and addresses crucial ideas, surrounding men, women, pride and jealousy and challenges these conventions of society.