My Last Duchess, by Robert Browning, is an example of a dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose replies are not given in the poem. The Duke is speaking to an envoy about his fisrt wife who is apparently dead. From what he is telling him, one can conclude that he is arrogant, domineering, and very insecure about his relationship.
The Duke of Ferrara was a very arrogant man. He did not seem to care about the happiness of his wife, only his own. He did not like the fact that she found happiness in other places beside himself, as if he should be the only life in her life. He could not understand how she could rank his nine thousand year old name with more simpler things such as her white mule that she rode on the terrace, an act of kindness from an "officious fool" and the "drooping of the daylight in the west." His wife, no doubt, had no idea he felt that way but he could not discuss it with her, blaming it on the fact that he had no skill in speech. He let the problem persist until he no longer could stand it and finally "gave commands" that in one way or another caused her death.
Another problem that he had was that he was too domineering. This is evident in the fact that he went to the extreme and killed his wife just because she did not conform to his image of a perfect wife. He wanted things to be his way regardless of how she felt. He now talks about his last duchess as if she were simply a thing painted in a picture to be admired. Other evidence that supports the idea of him being domineering is shown when he told his envoy that no one but him could touch the curtain that covered the picture. It is almost as if he has marked his territory and if anyone crosses the line they would be "dealt with" accordingly. Lastly, on the way down to meet his company he proudly points out his bronze sculpture of Neptune taming a sea horse. This is probably the embodiment of his whole mentality. He wanted to tame his wives into perfect women.
Insecurity is something that we all feel at one point or another in our relationships.
Dramatic monologue often pertains to the narrator talking to and addressing the audience (1063). Fife uses dramatic monologue form, without any particular rhyme schemes, as well as no typical line or stanza count ordinarily given for regular verse poetry. Along with not using rhyme or line count norms, Fife has a lack of grammatical use throughout her poems. There is no punctuation or capital letters
He thought he kept the universe alone,” to most people the thoughts of being alone are very frightening. It is human nature to search for companionship. In the poem “The Most of It,” Robert Frost uses a wealth of strong imagery to tell a story of a person who has lost his loved one to death and has to suffer the feeling of loneliness and emptiness created by it. Frost uses the setting of a lake surrounded by a forest to convey a feeling of peace and of being alone to the reader. A man is sitting on the edge of the lake, crying out for someone, his echo being his only company. After time, a buck swam across the lake and appeared on the shore and abruptly runs into the brush, away from sight. Although the man only caught a glimpse of the deer for a short moment, it was long enough for him to feel that he was no longer alone, but had something there, even though it was not tangible. The clues given to the reader that someone has passed on are the words “wake” and three lines down, the word “morning.” A wake can be many things; one is that it is a vigil that is held in honor of a person who has recently died.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an early American writer that has had a powerful influence on literature for literally centuries. He was known for penning short stories that still have a powerful impact. This writer had a unique style and incorporated definite themes in his writings. This essay will explore Nathaniel’s early life, writings and delve into his specific style of storytelling.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American writer was the child of Elizabeth Clarke Manning and Nathaniel Hawthorne. He was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He is a descendent of a long line of Puritan ancestors which of one is his great-grandfather John Hathorne who was a judge in the Salem witch trials. He was not proud of his family’s background and in order to disassociate himself with them he added a “w” to his last name to make it Hawthorne.
Robert Lee Frost was an honored American Poet who received four Pulitzer Prizes for his works. His poetry reflected realistic illustrations about rural life in the twentieth century, while his poetry also tackled social issues. Robert Frost was known for his use of metaphors in his poetry about the landscape, human nature and history. He was greatly inspired by his wife, Elinor. The other two people who had a significant impact on his life were Ezra Pound and Edward Thomas. Edward Thomas inspired one of Frost’s famous poems called, “The Road Not Taken.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne, born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, was an American writer. He was the descendent of a long line of Puritans, including the magistrate during the Salem Witch Trials, John Hathorne. The “w” in his name was added to distinguish himself from another writer with the same last name as himself, and also to distance himself from his family’s involvement in the Salem Witch Trials which brought upon a great deal of shame. After his father, died of yellow fever at sea when Hawthorne was but four years old, his mother became overly protective and pushed him toward scholarly things rather than hobbies of any physical danger. His childhood left him fairly timid, intelligent, and bookish, which formed the mold for him to become a writer.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born on March 6, 1806, in Coxhoe Hall, Durham, England. She was the eldest of eleven children born of Edward and Mary Moulton-Barrett (DISCovering Authors). Her father was a “possessive and autocratic man loved by his children even though he rigidly controlled their lives” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Although he forbid his daughters to marry, he always managed to encourage their scholarly pursuits (DISCovering Authors). Her mother, Mary Graham-Clarke, was a prosperous woman who earned their wealth from a sugar plantation in Jamaica (EXPLORING Poetry). When Elizabeth was “three years old, the family moved to Hope End in Herefordshire,, and she spent the next twenty-three years of her life in this minareted country house overlooking a lake” (Hayter).
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in 1850. He also wrote Twice-Told Tales. Hawthorne also wrote short stories like “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” and “The Minister’s Black Veil.” Nathaniel Hawthorne used a great deal of imagery and symbolism in his stories. Nathaniel Hawthorne was an early American author whose novels and short stories shaped American Literature.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s hatred of Puritanism was so big that he described in many of his writing such as The Scarlet Letter and The Minster Black Veil. He usually satirized them as evildoers and sin creators, not holy and Christ zealous as they described themselves. Hawthorne also used the effects of mysterious human mind and spontaneous action to describe the Puritan as satanic worship and God disobedience. In result, his writing reflected much of his Puritan ancestry affections.
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...
the Duchess's kindness toward others. Her benevolence "disgusts" the Duke, and causes him to "stoop" down to spouting off "commands" in her direction.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of symbols through much of his writing was caused primarily by his remarkable connection with a mysterious and supernatural plane of consciousness. This fact becomes evident even with just a cursory examination of one or more of his short stories. By using symbols, Hawthorne's ability to express things almost impossible to put into words was greatly increased. Many of the symbols used in "Young Goodman Brown" have both spiritual and mythical merit. It was as if Hawthorne was able to think with the mind of an uneducated peasant, the mind of a well-educated lawyer, and at the same level of shear brilliance of Plato all simultaneously.
is used in Krapp’s Last Tape makes it a modernist characteristic. The monologue in this drama
The third character trait of the duke is his controlling behavior. In lines nine and ten he told the emissary that no one “puts by the curtain'; that he had drawn for him but the duke himself. He felt the need to control who ever looked at the painting of the duchess. The main evidence of his dominating behavior is in line 46. The line reads, “…then all smiles stopped together.'; The line is ambiguous, but the most likely interpretation is that the duke had his wife killed. The poem can be interpreted in several different ways, but in all cases the duke is a very controlling man.
century. Most Americans recognize his name, the titles of and lines from his best-known poems, and even his face. Given his immense popularity, it is a remarkable testimony to the extent of his achievement that he is also considered to be one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, of modern American poets. "…the life and work of America's premier poet- the only truly national poet America has yet produced"(Parini23). His influence is still being felt in American life today. His success in America as well as in England has guaranteed the preservation of his legacy for generations to come. "…Frost gradually evolved from poet to cultural icon, becoming a friend of presidents, a sage whose pronouncements attracted world press attention" (Pa23). Robert Frost wrote poetry for all people, which is the main reason for his success still today. He portrays life and death in many of his poems. His views on life and death can be seen in poems such as Acquainted with the Night, The Span of Life, West-Running Brook and Out- Out.