My Last Duchess Essay

My Last Duchess Essay Within Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess, a situation was created to very clearly show us the true character of the Duke, while at the same time showing us how the Duke himself does not realize that he is giving way to his true self. His attempts to cover up his true self are misguided and easily seen through, especially with the very prideful manner in which he speaks and what he speaks of. The envoy, who is the in-text listener and audience to the Duke, is put in an interesting situation in which he absorbs not only what the Duke says, but how he says it.

Murder, mystery and intrigue all describe Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers' indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader is easily lead to think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His elaborate speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, and the mystery is left unsolved. Even if he did not kill his wife, he certainly has something to hide. Based on the poem's historical references, style and structure, the Duke's controlling and jealous nature becomes evident.

The poem “My Last Duchess” is a historical event that involves the Duke of Ferrara and Alfonso who lived in the 16th century. Robert Browning "My Last Duchess" presents a narrative about a recently widowed Duke who talks with an emissary had come to an arranged marriage with another lady from a powerful and wealthy family. In the perspective of Duke, power and wealth were integral in marriage and was determined to be married to a wealthy lady from a famous family. As the Duke orients the emissary through the palace, he stops and shows a portrait of the late Duchess who was a lovely and young girl. The Duke then begins by stating information about the picture and then to the Duchess. Duke claims that the Duchess flirted with everyone and did not appreciate the history of the family: “gift of a nine hundred years old name.”(33) However, when an individual continues to read the poem, it is evident that the Duke played an important role in killing the lady. Duke states that “he gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together”(45-46) he used these words to define the death of his beloved Duchess. The aim of the essay is to analyze literary devices that emphasize the content of the poem, which includes rhetorical questions, exclamation mark, and em dash.

In the story “My last Duchess,” the Duke is speaking to the envoy of another nobleman of his second bride to be. The Duke describes the circumstances of his last duchess in which it was painted and boasted how Fra Pandolf the painter made her “look as if she was alive”. The Duke continues speaking about the unfortunate fate of his former wife. It is evident that a crime has been committed; He was jealous and annoyed of his easily impressed wife so he murdered her. His tone and demeanor is one of extreme arrogance and it is clear he is a dangerous man who poses a threat to any and all women he claims to love.

In Robert Browning’s poem, My Last Duchess, is about a conversation surrounding a portrait. The focus swirls around the untimely death of the duchess, Alfonso II last wife, because of some impropriety. She looks alive, and the duke attributes this to the skill of the painter, Frà Pandolf. This serves to remind the reader that the duke does not approve of the way the duchess handled herself. Evidently, the duke does not approve of the zest for life that the duchess exhibited. He of course compliments her beauty,

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.

Indeed, it quickly becomes clear that the Duke disliked many things about his dead wife. The Duke dislikes how the Duchess liked everything that she saw, believing that she was “too easily impressed; she liked whate’er she looked on”. It disappoints him because he wanted to impress her with his marriage to her and also with his money and lifestyle. What annoyed the Duke most was that:

In My Last Duchess, the Duke was heavily jealous of his past wife, which is one reason why he wanted to keep the mystery of his painting a secret. He had mixed feelings about this woman, “She had/ A heart... how shall I say?...too soon made glad./ Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Browning 21.24).

The characterization of the Duke in “My Last Duchess” and the characterization of the speaker in “Porphyria’s Lover” further establish Browning’s messages about love. In “My Last Duchess,” the Duke is portrayed as arrogant and believes he is superior to others. Because of his status as Duke, his arrogance becomes prevalent, as he brags about his “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name.” He also believes he is superior to others, especially the Duchess, as

Upon further speculation,a little more of the Duke's personality reveals itself.Much selfishness can be found in the manner in which the Duke conceals the picture.He claims "none puts by/The curtain I have pulled for you but I"(Browning,9-10).If he's the only one who controls who sees the picture,it can be said that he might have been selfish and controlling towards her when she was alive,or in her death he finally found a way to control her.This seemed both funny and ironic, since he has another young woman waiting to be put to the

This point symbolizes the idea that women were nothing more than an object created for male pleasure. The Duke continues on to speak about his previous marriage. He speaks of his wife’s identity in terms of what being married to him has given her. This implies that her identity was meaningless and held no substance before marrying him. He tells the servant that his wife had a "heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad, /Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er \She looked on, and her looks went everywhere..."

Browning wrote, “And you to turn and ask me, if they durst, how such a glace came there; so, not the first are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, t’was not her husband’s presence only, called that spot of joy into the Duchess’ cheek” (Lines 11-15). The Duchess was made happy to easy, “Was courtesy, she thought, and caused enough for calling up that spot of joy. She had a heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad, too easily impressed; she liked whate’ver she looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Lines 20-24).

The irony in his tone is used primarily when the Duke postulates how his wife behaved around other men. His sarcastic, demeaning speech shines through when he states “she had a heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad” (21-22). Not only does this line deliver verbal irony, it also gives insight on the Duke’s perception of his wife. Though he has no concrete evidence for her “suspicious” behavior, he does not hesitate to passively critique her. Browning additionally develops this critical personality when the Duke fantasizes about the gifts his wife received from other men.

The poem begins as the Duke draws the attention of his fellow conversationalist, who is, we discover, a messenger representing the Count’s family whose daughter’s hand the duke seeks in marriage, to the image of his deceased bride on the wall. The Duke lionizes the work of the artist, Fra Pandolf, who exhausted a day’s worth of effort on the portrait to make it so lifelike. He invites the messenger to take a seat, and proceeds to discuss how all who have ever

The dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” was penned down by Robert Browning. In this poem, the narrator is the Duke of Ferrara, and the listener is the count’s agent, through whom the Duke is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess. The poem is ironical and reveals its rhetorical sense, gradually. In the later part of the poem, the Duke claims that he does not have a skill in speech, but his monologue is a masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedly entertaining the listener by showing his wife’s portrait, he clearly reveals his character. Through his formalized tone of rhyme, he reveals his egoistic and jealous attitude.