Use of language and Word Choice in My Last Duchess

Browning's work is known to be an example of dramatic monologue, with this being the way in which he is able to portray the insanity of his characters. By using the technique of dramatic monologue in 'Porphyria's Lover' and 'My Last Duchess', the reader is immediately given an image of both of the narrators' subjects. The opening line is vital to any poem, as it has the potential to instantly interest the reader. "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall" begins 'My Last Duchess' halfway through the conversation, leaving the audience eager to determine to whom the speaker is talking to. This statement also hints that the story of his "last duchess" will follow, thus sustaining the interest of the audience.

The Duke is shown to be a very materialistic person in the way he speaks of the Duchess as if she were an object he had acquired instead of a loving wife. I said `Frá Pandolph’ by design: This shows the Duke’s materialism, because he is showing off about having such a good artist paint a picture of his last Duchess. The Duke also takes innocent, worthless things, to us, like his “nine-hundred-years-old name”, which she, according to the Duke, took from him like it was anything else she had been given before by a man. Near the end of the poem, the Duke’s love of control and materialism is summed up in one passage, in which he thinks himself as a powerful God taming a beautiful, excitable animal: Notice Neptune, though, Taming a seahorse, thought a rarity.

We can have such strong and great emotion for a certain someone that whatever they do has the ability to drive us mad with jealousy. In Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess,” the speaker is clearly jealous of his late wife. This poem is described by Browning himself as a “dramatic lyric,” however; the poem does not read like a lyric poem. This poem is a mix of a play and a poem, which is why he calls it a dramatic lyric. The meter used is an iambic pentameter.

A key difference between the two narrators is how they show their love for their mistresses. Both poems were written in the literary from known as dramatic monologue, and narrated by a male speaker. A dramatic monologue shows the reader the narrator’s inner thoughts and motives when involved in a particular situation. Using this literary technique, Browning allows the reader to explore the abnormal psychology of the two speakers and also to get closely involved with two acts of murder. Prior to the murders, both speakers are shown to be extremely possessive of their women.

In this passage, through Theseus’ oration much is revealed about him. Theseus’ views imagination as foolish almost juvenile. Theseus’ believes people with vivid imaginations are so foolish, even the smartest people, including himself can’t understand them. Theseus also is agonistic about the supernatural, refusing to accept the act of believing in the supernatural as a way to bring joy and be seen. Through Theseus’ harsh criticism of the poet, madman, and lover it revels his intense stoicism and masculinity complex.

Robert Browning and the Power of the Dramatic Monologue Form The dramatic monologue form, widely used by Victorian poets, allows the writer to engage more directly with his reader by placing him in the role of listener. Robert Browning utilised the form to a famously profound effect, creating a startling aspect to his poetry. In poems such as “Porphyria’s Lover,” and “My Last Duchess,” for example, Browning induces a feeling of intimacy by presenting the reader as the ‘confidant’ to the narrator’s crimes; in “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister,” the reader is more a witness to the narrator’s increasing instability. Thus, Browning is able to use the dramatic monologue form both to expose the narrator’s frailties, and as a channel for them to relinquish their sins. Furthermore, the form allows for a direct insight into the character’s thinking, thus creating an atmosphere of urgency and drama whilst the narrator’s contemplate their situations and actions.

When Porphyria does arrive the mood of the poem changes dramatically. Her very presence brings about a dramatic change in mood in the speake... ... middle of paper ... ...ision. It also confirms for the reader the dangers and the consequences of a love, which is obsessive. “Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning is a poem, which deals with the subject of love, as the reader sees the speaker of poem driven increasingly mad by his obsessive love for Porphyria. Browning’s detailed characterization of the speaker allows the reader to see the subtle changes in his personality and his growing obsession for Porphyria.

Consequently, the mystery behind Lucrezia de Medici’s death influenced the course of “My Last Duchess”. Rumours about Lucrezia’s death being caused by the Duke himself intrigued Browning and resulted in the basis for this poem (Negrut 149). Therefore, the Este family was the backbone of this poem. Furthermore, the Duke is an unreliable individual considering we only learn his side of the story. However, “[u]nconsciously and involunt... ... middle of paper ... ...d insecure about himself.

The portrait of his last Duchess is more satisfactory to him than the Duchess herself; he can open or close the curtain as he pleases, therefore, giving him the complete control a man of his time felt entitled to. As the envoy sits and observes the painting, the Duke describes the circumstances in which it was painted and the fate of his unfortunate former wife. The portrait was painted by Fra Pandolf, whom the Duke believes captured the singularity of the Duchess's glance. However, the Duke angrily insists to the envoy that his late wife’s deep, passionate glance was not reserved solely for him: “she liked whate’er/ She looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (Browning 23-24). The Duke views the Duchess’s tendency to devote her attention to trivialities, such as a beautiful sunset, and accepting flattery and politeness from other people as an insolent act of defiance.

This poem shows how one can be driven by greed and jealousy to commit atrocities. The direct purpose of the duke 's monologue is to act as a warning to the representative of the count so that the duke would not marry another woman like his "last duchess". However, the poem 's influence extends father than this and readers can see Browning 's commentary on love, power, greed, and art. 2. How many characters do we find in this poem?