My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Just as the object of Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” is a portrait, the poem is painting another portrait; a portrait of the speaker. The portrait the poem paints of the speaker –at first glance- is that of a madman: an irrational brute who slew his wife in a fit of jealous rage. However, by looking closely at the speaker’s words, examining the form of the poem, as well as examining the historical context of the poem, we can begin to see how the murder of the Duchess was not conducted in an emotional rage, but rather was a rational decision based on societal expectations.

This is not to say that the Duke’s actions are necessarily justified. There are simply many ways to read a dramatic monologue beyond just the speaker’s thoughts and what seems obvious when the reader examines those thoughts. Of course, as a dramatic monologue, the main function of the poem itself is to paint a proverbial picture of the speaker; who they are and what motivates them. However, beyond that, when some historical and formal context is added to the poem, we can begin to understand how the poem might be read in different ways, and how -in the case of “My Last Duchess-” the Duke might be judged in different ways.

Before one can understand multiple interpretation of a dramatic monologue based on historical and formal context, it is important to first closely examine the concrete information that is given to the reader. When it comes to dramatic monologue, the concrete information is the initial portrait that the poem paints of the speaker by taking the reader into their world. The initial portrait we get of the speaker is that of an irrational and jealous man, as much of the poem discuses the Duchess’ flirtation with other men. For example “she had...

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...re is a lot they do not know about other characters, and therefore a lot of possibilities beyond one character’s monologue. This is not to say that the reader writes the narrative themselves or can simply make up their own story. It simply means that the dramatic monologue –a form known for being limited to one character- actually has much greater possibility and a much great ability to tell a larger story.

Works Cited

Appell, Felicia. “Victorian Ideals: The Influence of Society’s Ideals on Victorian Relationships.”

Scholars. 1.18 (Summer, 2012): Web.

Adler, Joshua. “Structure and Meaning in Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess.” Victorian Poetry. 15.3

(Autumn, 1977) 219-227. Web.

Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess.” The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Fourth

Edition. Ed. David Damrosch and Kevin J.H. Dettmar. New York: Pearson, 2010. 1328-

1331. Print.