... the monologue is natural from the very situation of the solitary fanatic (Young, p.37)" of "St. Simeon Stylites". In comparison he says, ""My Last Duchess", it is very unnatural that the Duke should betray himself so entirely to the envoy who comes to negotiate a new marriage as to let him ... quaintness are lost. Young seems to love Browning's work, just not this particular poem. Lois A. Marchino takes a more forward approach on reviewing "My Last Duchess" in Masterplots II. He first states that this poem is an actual story of Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara whose young wife died mysterious...

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• Grade Level: High School

... a higher understanding of his intent. Robert Browning has a distinctive way of writing poetry; he uses many poetic devices to express what may be his own feelings. In "Porphyria's Lover" and "My last Duchess" he incorporates the use of a narrator in the first person. In each poem the narrator delivers a dramatic monologue to an implied audience. By using this form, he is able to ... society views this in a negative way. As Cathleen Ross put it, Porphyria lives in a society that discourages both sexual passion and the desire for agency (Ross 4). Also in "My Last Duchess", the Duke punish...

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In "My Last Duchess-, Robert Browning takes on the role of the Duke of Ferrara, embarking on a moving exploration of the Duke's conceited motives, using the voice of the Duke himself. Although ... carrying out his will with utter disregard toward others. He became so enraged by his wife's antics that he "gave commands;/Then all smiles stopped together- (45-46). The Duchess' smiles were stopped because she is now dead "" There she stands/As if alive- (46-47). The power-hungry dominator had his wife killed because he couldn't possess ... be stooping, and he chose "Never to stoop- (43). In his...

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• Grade Level: High School

... but they are themes generated from the shaping of personality and determined by the limits of perception which are dramatized in the poem."-Slinn IN "my last duchess" The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke's marriage (he ... nine-hundred-years- old name." As his monologue continues, the reader realizes with ever-more chilling certainty that the Duke in fact caused the Duchess's early demise: when her behavior escalated. We realize through the Dukes ravings that most of the supposed transgressions took place only in the d...

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... shock them in a different, more unique way. Because of this, violence and sex had become symbols of the time in most writing. Browning's two poems where this is shown are "My Last Duchess" and "Porphyria's Lover." In order for these poems to have a greater effect on the reader, Browning uses the dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a poem with a speaker, who is not the ... speaker is talking to an implied audience who, while having no speech, is clearly present at the scene. The speaker addresses no one specifically, instead the speaker just thinks aloud. "My Last Duchess" is loo...

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• Grade Level: High School

... internal conflict of Duke Ferrara in My Last Duchess is very much left up to the reader to decide. It is a very complicated situation indeed. The internal conflict is the Duke being jealous of the Duchess and also being guilty for not being able to give up this jealousy after the Duchess's death. The Duke loved his last wife. There is a painting ... of her behind a curtain on a wall in the Duke's castle. This painting is covered so that the Duchess can only look at the Duke. He sees her as if she is alive ... he could possess. The Duke was a cold person. He was insecure and unsure of him...

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• Grade Level: High School

An analysis of Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" "My Last Duchess" is a dramatic monologue, which takes place in the Italian renaissance and the persona in this poem is Alfonso II, duke of Ferrera. The incidents take place at the staircase where the duke is addressing an agent about his late wife, duchess Lucrezia while looking at her portrait. ... ". The set-up in this poem is about the duke's displeasure with his last wife and how he uses her as a counterpart to how the ideal wife should be. Through him we learn something about the last duchess while at the same time we learn about his cha...

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• Grade Level: High School

Poetry has the power to provide insight into the complexities of human interaction. Robert Browning's 1842 poem My Last Duchess influenced by the strict roles in relationships of the Victorian Era and patriarchal society, tells a story of a young man's ... held compared to the strength and ascendency males demonstrate. The objectification of women by society still continues to be an issue in modern day society. My Last Duchess demonstrates this issue as the persona of the poem objectifies the woman, "The depth passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they ... the emotional aspect of a wo...

• Word Count: 618
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Many characteristics about the Duke are revealed throughout Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess". The reader becomes aware of these characteristics by his dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a lengthy first person speech. There seems to be a motivation in speaking ... to sit and look at this painting. By doing this the duke is "buttering up" the representative because no stranger has ever looked at the duke's portrait of his duchess before " But to myself they turned (since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I). . ." (9) He explains how this portrait was painted in...

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Analysis of "My Last Duchess- In the story "My Last Duchess- the Duke talks about his deceased wife. The reader might assume that the Duke killed his wife out of a fit of jealousy. He talks to a man about how much ... , structure, and point of view to enforce the plot about a murder. Browning uses foreshadowing to help the reader understand the motive of the Duke. The Duke tells us that the Duchess had "A heart "how shall I say? "too soon made glad- (21). This is a clue to show that the Duke was a very jealous man. He was very furious that ... his wife was too nice of a woman. He thought she...

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• Grade Level: High School

... reader learns about the speaker's character from what the speaker says. Robert Browning is said to have perfected this form of writing. One of his most famous dramatic monologues is "My Last Duchess." The speaker in the poem is an Italian duke who ordered the murder of his wife and is at the offset of the poem showing off the portrait to his ... when Fra Pandolf, the artist who painted the portrait said: "Fra Pandolf chanced to say Her mantle laps Over my lady's wrist too much, •or, Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies along her throat." to the duchess in ...

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• Grade Level: High School

My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning and "The Colonel" by Carolyn Force are two poems written a century apart, but are alike and different in several ways. Both of these men are wealthy, proud, ... nine hundred year old name that he inherits through royalty in his family. This alone shows his wealth right away. He also receives money through his previous marriage to the Duchess. In this period, the woman's father would give a dowry to the husband to help them start their new lives. Similarly, the Colonel also appears to be wealthy. There is a gold ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

Robert Browning's poem "My last Duchess- is spoken from the perspective of the Duke and conveys the Dukes personality through the literary form of a dramatic monologue. It involves a fictional account ... pursuit of this marriage. The reader is directed to imagine the Duke walking with the envoy through his art gallery and the Duke stops to show him a painting of his last Duchess that is presently covered by a curtain. "Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I- (9-10). This curtain is the first reference to ... is the center of the universe. This man does not accept anythi...

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• Grade Level: High School

... fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with round the terrace. The figurative language in "My Last Duchess" describes the Duke's dissatisfaction with his late wife. Metaphors predominate the poem. Browning says, "A heart too soon made glad" to describe how the ... a sea-horse" suggests that the Duke wishes for his wife to act submissive or he will tame her in the same manner as the last. The figurative language in "My Last Duchess" also includes verbal irony. The Duke's monologue has a slight undertone of satire, which enables the reader to understand the depth of the...

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• Grade Level: High School

Different extremes of marriage are dramatized within the two poems "To My Dear and Loving Husband" (Bradstreet, Anne page 78) and "My Last Duchess" (Browning, Robert page 278). Each author writes in iambic pentameter, using rhyming couplets and presents opposite ends of the spectrum of marriage. While both have similar physical characteristics, it is ... reflect his status. The abrupt change of focus to yet another acquisition "Notice Neptune, though, Taming a seahorse, thought a rarity ," illustrates the Duke's lack of remorse at the passing of his last Duchess as he diverts the envoy's att...

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Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a dramatic monologue by the Duke of Ferrara. Through his monologue, the duke recalls the failings of his last wife to an agent of the Count of Tyrol in order to negotiate his second marriage. The duke's tale ultimately conveys to the ... murder. The story begins in a private gallery within the duke's estate. The initial focus was on a painting of the duke's last Duchess. The duke begins to describe the appearance of his last Duchess, and notes that only he controls her countenance behind the curtain that covers her portrait "since none puts by the curta...

• Word Count: 1037
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• Grade Level: High School

An analysis of Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" "My Last Duchess" is a dramatic monologue, which takes place in the Italian renaissance and the persona in this poem is Alfonso II, duke of Ferrera. The incidents take place at the staircase where the duke is addressing an agent about his late wife, duchess Lucrezia while looking at her portrait. ... ". The set-up in this poem is about the duke's displeasure with his last wife and how he uses her as a counterpart to how the ideal wife should be. Through him we learn something about the last duchess while at the same time we learn about his cha...

• Word Count: 810
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... one ever considered what sparked such a dramatic dialogue? What event influenced Browning and held his interest long enough for him to create the poetic conversation of My Last Duchess? My Last Duchess was based on an incident in the life of Alfonso d'Este, the duke of Ferrara in Italy. Alfonso and his wife, Lucrezia had a marriage filled with distrust. Because of unsubstantiated ... . Demonstrating his true feelings, Alfonso soon married his mistress, Lauri Diante, who gave him two sons. Browning's interest was sparked by this incident and brought about the creative dialogue of My Last...

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• Grade Level: High School

... beautiful and the ugly which so distinguishes his vision of life. Once again he makes no authorial comment and the reader has to decide the outcome for his or herself. My Last Duchess 1842 represents a definite advance towards the dramatic monologue. The setting is more precise and the Duke's motive for speaking more distinct (to lay down a set of rules for his new ... describing the flaws of the previous one). The language is more natural and the listener, (an envoy from the Count whose daughter will be the next Duchess) is more openly indicated. This device of including a listener see...

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... beautiful and the ugly which so distinguishes his vision of life. Once again he makes no authorial comment and the reader has to decide the outcome for his or herself. My Last Duchess 1842 represents a definite advance towards the dramatic monologue. The setting is more precise and the Duke's motive for speaking more distinct (to lay down a set of rules for his new ... describing the flaws of the previous one). The language is more natural and the listener, (an envoy from the Count whose daughter will be the next Duchess) is more openly indicated. This device of including a listener see...

• Word Count: 1263
• Approx Pages: 5