Robert Browning is remembered for his mastery at capturing the essence and power of the dramatic monologue. Through symbolism, structure and technique, Browning creates the model of the ideal dramatic monologue in the poem, "My Last Duchess." "My Last Duchess" was published in 1845. "Ferrara" is the subtitle of the poem and assists in disclosing the design of the poem, a portrayal of Alfonso II, the fifth Duke of Ferrara. The historical life of Alfonso II fits intricately with the events and happenings
Two Personalities in My Last Duchess The poem "My Last Duchess" is about a powerful Duke, and his beautiful, flirtatious wife who has two different personalities, one that was reality and the other was the lady in the painting. The poem begins and ends with him mourning the loss of his deceased Duchess, but from the way that the mighty Duke speaks, he knows more about her death than he leads us to believe. The Duke chooses his word very carefully, when he talks to his friend about the
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
balance of power between men and women in My Last Duchess and Porphryria's Lover? In these two poems Robert Browning shows the balance of power in male-female relationships. Both are very similar in the way that they portray the women having more power than they should have, and the men not having the power they think they should have. In the first poem, 'My Last Duchess', Browning shows the Duke not having full control over his wife, the Duchess. In the second poem, 'Porphyria's Lover',
My last Duchess “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive.” The duck of Ferrara starts his monologue with a sight of regret that raises the sympathy of the readers and makes them feel that he had lost his beloved wife and is very upset about that. However, in the next few sentences he reveals the dark side of his character and brings the readers to a realization that the Duck of Ferrara is not a noble gentle man. In fact, he is a hysteric murderer who has killed his
Gender and Power Relations in Browning’s Porphria’s Lover and My Last Duchess Robert Browning provides a critical view of gender and power relations in his dramatic monologues “Porphyria’s Lover” and “My Last Duchess.” The dramatic monologue, as S.S. Curry has written, "reveals the struggle in the depths of the soul” (11). Browning delves into the minds of characters to show their conceptions of women and ideas of power. He explores the mental processes of the characters, and invites readers
Laboratory and My last Duchess. The two Robert Browning poems I have chosen are 'The Laboratory' and 'My last Duchess'. My initial reaction on reading The laboratory was one of horror and fascination as it tells a tale of a woman scorned. I found it horrifying that a human being could plan in such a cold and calculating way, but I also found this fascinating. 'Not that I bid you spare her the pain; Let death be felt and the proof remain:' My feelings on reading My Last Duchess was pity for
The Sinister Duke in Robert Browning's My Last Duchess In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," a portrait of the egocentric and power loving Duke of Ferrara is painted for us. Although the duke's monologue appears on the surface to be about his late wife, a close reading will show that the mention of his last duchess is merely a side note in his self-important speech. Browning uses the dramatic monologue form very skillfully to show us the controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits the duke possessed
Women's Behavior in Coleridge's Christabel and Browning's My Last Duchess Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Browning wrote in two different eras. Coleridge's "Christabel" and Browning's "My Last Duchess" both deal with women's sexuality. The women of the poems are both presented as having sinned. Christabel's own belief that she has sinned is based on how a woman of her time was supposed to behave. The Duchess's sin is that she violates the code of conduct for a noble wife
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”. The article I found concentrated mostly on the Duke in the poem, and our reactions to him, stating that “[t]he utter outrageousness of the Duke’s behavior makes condemnation the least interesting response…” The title of the article was “Sympathy
of the speakers listeners. In a dramatic monologue, the 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 future son-in-law. Browning lets the reader know in a roundabout way that the duke only shows
Poets often use literary techniques to clearly convey the personalities of their speakers. In “My Last Duchess”, Robert Browning uses point of view, diction, and imagery to achieve a powerful effect, underlining the attitude and personality of the Duke. In a dramatic monologue, character development is based on what the speaker says, and how he says it. In “My Last Duchess”, the speaker of the monologue addresses a fictional audience, and the reader is seen as an unnoticed third party. It is because
Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess The death of the female beloved is the only way deemed possible by the insecure, possessive male to seize her undivided attention. This beloved woman represents the "reflector and guarantor of male identity. Hence, the male anxiety about the woman's independence for her liberty puts his masculine self-estimation at risk" (Maxwell 29). The jealous and controlling males in Robert Browning's "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess" possess a fervent desire
Comparing My Last Duchess and Ulysses Both of the poems, ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning and ‘Ulysses’ by Alfred Lord Tennyson, are examples of dramatic monologues, in that they solely consist of the speech of the protagonist. As a result, they have few or, in the case of ‘My Last Duchess’, only one stanza. Many enjambed lines and many irregularities in the basic form of iambic pentameter also hide the rhyming couplets in this poem. ‘My Last Duchess’ is set in Renaissance Italy and is the
Power in Browning’s My Last Duchess and Cheever’s The Five-Forty-Eight "That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall," begins Robert Browning’s "My Last Duchess" (594). The Duke of Ferrara, Italy makes a dramatic monologue to the count’s representative in poetic form. The count, being a friend of the Duke’s, has offered to provide the Duke’s next wife. The Duke informs the representative of all the habits he found annoying in his former Duchess as an instruction of the customs his next wife should
Dramatic Monologue in Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess and The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church The general public knows Robert Browning as the writer of “The Pied Piper” a beloved children’s tale, and the hero of the film The Barrett’s of Wimpole Street. Most recognize him for little else. The literary world recognizes him as one of the most prolific poets of all time. However, his grave in Westminster Abbey stands among the great figures in English history. At his death at
Comparing the Male Characters of Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess The creation of a plausible character within literature is one of the most difficult challenges to a writer, and development to a level at which the reader identifies with them can take a long time. However, through the masterful use of poetic devices and language Browning is able to create two living and breathing characters in sixty or less lines. When one examines these works one has to that they are quite the achievements
Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning. What do they reveal about attitudes to women and relationships in the nineteenth century? Robert Browning was one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century. In 1842, he published ‘Dramatic Lyrics’ which included the two poems ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and ‘My Last Duchess’. In ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ Browning gives the reader a dramatic insight into the twisted mind of an abnormally possessive lover, who wishes the moment of love to last forever. In this
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 of the Duke addressing an envoy from the Count to talk of details for the hopeful marriage to the Count’s daughter. The subtitle of this monologue is “Ferrara,'; which suggests an historical reference to Alfonso II, the fifth Duke of Ferrara in Italy in the mid-sixteenth century. The objective of the
held, and he is clearly very controlling in his relationships. Browning's use of the first person narrative in "My Last Duchess" allows the reader to gain insight into the Duke's character and personality. The use of the servant as a listener also allows the reader to see how the Duke interacts with others and how he wants to be perceived. Overall, Browning's use of the first person narrative in his dramatic monologues is a powerful tool in revealing the thoughts and feelings of his characters.