Within the first couplet of her poem, “If ever two were one, then surely we. If ever man was loved by wife, then thee;” (lines 1-2), Bradstreet immediately sets a tone of true love for her readers. Her persona exemplifies the extreme, “If ever wife was happy in a man, compare with me, ye women, if you can.” (line 3- 4) boasting that no other women can compare with her happiness. A physical comparison to love for a price is introduced, “I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold Or all the riches the East doth hold.”(line 5-6) The two lines tell the reader that Bradstreet is aware of the wealth of the objects; however her love surpasses even the greatest of that wealth. By bringing in a comparison with nature, “Thy love is such that rivers cannot quench,” Bradstreet again goes to the extreme beli

Browning’s Duke displays the opposite end of the spectrum of marriage, one that is defined by possession, control and jealousy. The beginning of the poem suggests to the reader that he is imparting a warning of kind to his listener by placing the accent on the word last. The initial impression of the Duke’s invitation to his listener, “Will’t you please sit and look at her?”(line 5) suggests he wants to share his memories of his last Duchess but in fact the invitation becomes a continuation of the warning. “…since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I” (line 8-9) displays the Duke’s command of drawing the curtain on the duchess limiting her scope to himself and a few privileged others. Ironically, by putting her on a pedestal in the portrait, he has given her more power than she had in life although his intention was to control her. His control extends to the listener by putting him in a subservient position of sitting to gaze upon the Duchess. The warning continues as the Duke’s jealous streak seeps into the conversation. His inability to control the perceived wandering eye of his Duchess in life “She had a heart-how shall I say?-too soon made glad, too easily impressed; she like whate’er she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.”(line 20-23) was a source of great humiliation for him. He considered each look to be an act of infidelity. His low opinion of her is emphasized when he equates “My favour at her breast…”(line 24) with “the white mule…”(line 27) as drawing the same “…spot of joy into the Duchess’ cheek;”(line 13-14) His posturing to the envoy persists with the Duke’s anger at the Duchess’ failure to recognize the worth of his “gift of a nine-hundred-years old name…”(line 33) The warning takes on a sinister note “I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together.”(line 45-46) as the Duke openly admits to ordering the execution of the Duchess. (Wilson Quarterly: Winter 99, Vol.23 Issue 1, p108, 79) In a business-like manner, the Duke, having made c

Some topics in this essay:
Browning’s Duke, Browning Robert, Duchess Ferrara, Vol23 Issue, Count Austria, Conversely Browning, Neptune Taming, Bradstreet’s Puritan, Duke Duke’s, Researching Alfonso, true love, poems written, marriage based, opposite spectrum, spectrum marriage, opposite spectrum marriage, poem bradstreet’s, believing love, evidence support, imparting warning, 99 vol23, quarterly winter 99, 99 vol23 issue, vol23 issue 1, winter 99 vol23,