Reverse Imperialism in My Last Duchess

1071 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: My last duchess by robert browning annotated

Professionals divide literature into many different categories, or genres, which seem not to relate to each other. Some crossover hybrids exist, but very few works of literature can actually be compared to others that are not in the same genre. One such comparison would be that of a poem and the detective genre in general. For example, Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess”, a dramatic monologue, would very rarely be compared to Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Purloined Letter.” The writers of Detective Fiction Crime and Compromise, however, have placed Browning’s poem in the manifestation section of their book. A manifestation of detective fiction is something, other than detective fiction, that outwardly or perceptibly indicates a materialization of the detective genre (Gale Cengage Learning). Browning manifests detective fiction by incorporating the theme of reverse imperialism into his poem. Reverse imperialism occurs when a country, which would usually try to control others, is being taken over and controlled by another. Browning understood society’s fear of reverse imperialism, and channeled this as Poe did in his short stories. In “My Last Duchess”, Robert Browning paints a picture with his words, which portrays Duke Ferrara as an imperialistic man that would produce anxiety in society due to their fear of reverse imperialism.

“My Last Duchess” is written in a dramatic monologue style, which allows the readers to see the true temperament of Browning’s character, Duke Ferrara, and how his personality was similar to that of an imposing, imperialistic country. One key point of reverse imperialism, which society would notice in the poem, would be the compulsive nature to collect things as the Duke does. Imperialistic countrie...

... middle of paper ...

...ests many different themes. One of these themes is reverse imperialism, which may seem to be an odd theme to find in a poem, but Robert Browning truly depicts it with his character Duke Ferrara. The poem, written during the same time period as most of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective stories, manifests many detective themes, and these themes allow it to be compared with multiple other genres of literature. Browning truly accomplished expressing the anxieties and concerns of his society in his monologue poem “My Last Duchess”.

Works Cited

"Glossary of Terms." Gale Cengage Learning. Cengage Learning, n.d. Web. 5 Apr 2011.

.

Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess”. Detective Fiction: Crime and Compromise. Eds. Dick Allen and David Chacko. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1974. 44-45. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Role of the City in Poe’s Murders in the Rue Morgue and Hoffmann’s Mademoiselle de Scudery

    4165 Words  | 9 Pages

    Professor’s comment: This student perceptively examines the role of the city as a setting and frame for detective fiction. Focusing on two early examples, Poe’s “Murders in the Rue Morgue” and Hoffmann’s “Mademoiselle de Scudery,” both set in Paris, his sophisticated essay illuminates the “cityness” or framed constraint that renders the city a backdrop conducive to murder—such as the city’s crowded, constricted nature, promoting vertical rather than outward movement and increasing hostility and the fact that so much urban life occurs at night, a reversal of the natural order and facilitating illicit activity. He compels us to look in new ways both at the city and at detective fiction.

    Read More

  • Revenge in The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most celebrated literary authors of all time, known for writing very suspenseful, dramatic short stories and a poet; is considered as being a part of the American Romantic Movement, and a lesser known opinion is he is regarded as the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. Most recognized for his mystery and macabre, a journey into the dark, ghastly stories of death, deception and revenge is what makes up his reputation. The short story under analysis is a part of his latter works; “The Cask of Amontillado”, a story of revenge takes readers into the mind of the murderer.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Lady Macbeth And My Last Duchess

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Cornell Woolrich Psychology Essay

    1774 Words  | 4 Pages

    Woolrich reinforced the detective fictions of yesterday, introducing to the American audience new detectives, who not only wheels a gun but also uses their knowledge of psychoanalysis to catch the perpetrator and solve the crime. Though Woolrich extends his knowledge of the human mind, he, just like MacDonald, Chandler and Hammett gives reference to 18th-century authors which include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe.

    Read More

  • The Detective Genre: A Narrative Analysis

    380 Words  | 1 Pages

    The idea of a detective catching an elusive convict or solving an improbable crime has been prevalent in all corners of the world, spread throughout many cultures and societies. The detective genre is held as the idea that an individual has to solve a crime. This detective usually has nothing to gain from solving the crime, but they see it more as an obstacle. The detective doesn’t always take every case, as human beings, we are too often curious of the impossible; our natural instinct is to question why and how things work in this world. People crave mystery, to taste a bit of improbable, to see what the detectives see, to see what is overlooked by many. The idea of an intelligent witty, sharp “sleuth” with an obedient sidekick has been prevalent

    Read More

  • Conan Doyle´s The Speckled Band vs Visitor´s by Brian Moon

    1346 Words  | 3 Pages

    This essay will examine both "The Speckled Band" by Conan Doyle and "Visitors" by Brian Moon and will look at how each one conforms to or diverges from the conventions of the detective story and also how each story is representative of the century it was written in by how it presents the woman, the hero and the villain.

    Read More

  • Cruelty In Detective Stories

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    Surely romantics can be grasping, whereas detective novels withdraw me from the current comforts and enjoyment to try to depict the miserable life someone is bearing in the saddest corners of this imperfect world where I cannot see. I read about Luxun when I was only ten. He wrote to wake Chinese who lived in unrealistic fantasies. His efforts at shaking those who were sleeping or pretending to be sleep were deeply imprinted on my vogue consciousness.

    Read More

  • Compare The Speckled Band, The Red Headed League and Silver Blaze as Examples of Detective Fiction

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    The birth of classic detective fiction was originated just in the mid nineteenth century, and was producing its own genre. Classical detective fiction follows a set of rules called the ‘Ten commandments of detective fiction’. The genre is so popular it can bee seen by the number of sales in any good book stores. Many of these books have been created a long time ago and there is still a demand for these types of books. The popularity is still ongoing because it provides constant entertainment, and also the reader can also have a role of detective trying to solve the crime/case committed. Classical detective fiction has a formula, the detective story starts with a seemingly irresolvable mystery, typically a murder, features the astute, often unconventional detective, a wrongly accused suspect to whom the circumstantial evidence points, and concludes with a startling or unexpected solution to the mystery, during which the detective explains how he or she solved the mystery. Formula that includes certain elements such as, a closed location to keep the number of suspects down, red hearings spread around the stories to keep the reader entertained yet interacted.

    Read More

  • Interpretation of Robert Brownings My Last Duchess

    741 Words  | 2 Pages

    I read a critical article on Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess”. I confess it was harder to find something in the NCLC’s than I would’ve thought. There was a considerable accumulation of critiques on Browning’s work, but very little on “My Last Duchess”.

    Read More

  • Oedipus the King, My Last Duchess, and Death of a Salesman

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is a haunting poem that tells the story of a seemingly perfect wife who dies, and then is immortalized in a picture by her kind and loving husband. This seems to be the perfect family that a tragic accident has destroyed. Upon further investigation and dissection of the poem, we discover the imperfections and this perfect “dream family” is shown for what it really was, a relationship without trust.

    Read More

  • My Last Duchess Poem Analysis

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    The purpose of this essay is to analyze and compare and contrast the two paired poems “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “My Ex-Husband” by Gabriel Spera to find the similarities presented within the pairs. Despite the monumental time difference between “My Last Duchess” and “My Ex-Husband”, throughout both poems you will see that somebody is wronged by someone they thought was a respectable person and this all comes about by viewing a painting on the wall or picture on a shelf.

    Read More

  • My Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock Comparison Essay

    1669 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Use of Irony, Diction, and Imagery in My Last Duchess

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Comparison of ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’

    1236 Words  | 3 Pages

    ‘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.

    Read More

  • Disguised Motives for Murder in Short Stories by Edgar Allen Poe

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the mid 1800’s America was in full swing of the romanticism movement. During this time readers were entertained by the fresh new writing styles of the latest authors. There were several famous authors in this era such as: Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant. One innovative author from this movement however, added a new dynamic writing style that still intrigues many readers today. Edgar Allen Poe, through his invention of detective stories, has become a house hold name to many. In his short stories “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Black Cat,” Poe describes two heinous crimes committed by men whose motives can only be traced back to their deranged perception of reality, domestic relationships, and a soul whose thirst can only be quenched through violence.

    Read More

More about Reverse Imperialism in My Last Duchess

Open Document