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Robert Browning who was a Victorian era poet majorly influenced the dramatic monologue during the 1800s. While he wrote various literary works, the dramatic monologue was the one he was most famous for. One of the most captivating factors about dramatic monologues is how there is presumably a listener although her or she may never speak. Perhaps Browning’s most intriguing and well written dramatic monologue is “My Last Duchess” in which he illustrates the real events of Alfonso the second : “In My Last Duchess, the vanity of the speaker is so overwhelming that the auditor never speaks” (Gardner 36). The Duke discusses his previous wife with a courtier In the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning the personality of the Duke is revealed through the historical connection to Alfonso II, the way he partly conceals the truth, and the unconscious hints at the Duchess’ side of the story.
Browning took an interest with the Este family and the duke in his poem is based on “the figure of Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, the real life model for the Duke in My Last Duchess” (Negrut 149). In other words, this poem was actually inspired by real people and their actual circumstances. Fascinatingly enough, the Duke’s “first wife, the teenaged Lucrezia de Medici” (Gardner 169), faced a mysterious and untimely death. Consequently, the mystery behind Lucrezia de Medici’s death influenced the course of “My Last Duchess”. Rumours about Lucrezia’s death being caused by the Duke himself intrigued Browning and resulted in the basis for this poem (Negrut 149). Therefore, the Este family was the backbone of this poem.
Furthermore, the Duke is an unreliable individual considering we only learn his side of the story. However, “[u]nconsciously and involunt...

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...d insecure about himself. In fact by the end of the poem we actually sympathize the Duchess after hearing the Duke’s words because she had to put up with his arrogance and possessiveness until he got rid of her.

Works Cited

Bright, Michael H. “The Influence Of Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ On Rosetti’s ‘The Portrait.’” American Notes and Queries 13.7 (1975): 99. Academic Search Premier Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Browning, Robert.
Gardner, Kevin J. “John Betjeman’s ‘Bristol and Clifton’: Echoes of Robert Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’” Anq 19.3 (2006): 35-38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
Gardner, Kevin J. Was the Duke of Ferrara Impotent? Anq 23.3 (2010): 166. Master FILE Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
Negrut, Dan. “Robert Browning and the Dramatic Monologue”. Scientific Journal of Humanistic Studies 3.4 (2011): 149-153. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.

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