Introduced by the Duke of Ferrara, the late duchess herself is denied the chance to present herself to the agent herself. However she cannot do this since she has passed away, for reasons unknown to the agent. The late duchess’s voice is silent now forever. The runaway slave is also silenced. There is no say in whether or not she was allowed to be with the man she loves, nor does she have a say in the matter about her rape, or giving birth to a lighter skinned baby. Neither have a choice with the ways men dictate their lives and suffer as a result of it, but their voices resist the oppression forced down upon them.
‘Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s point’ by Elizabeth Barrett Browning tells the plight of a female African slave living in the New World. Tragedy befalls her after first losing her lover, then again when her owner rapes her, and then she commits infanticide with her baby. Her life comes to an end when they hang her, her voice silenced by her own choice.
Browning’s use of thirty six stanzas, each about roughly seven lines, instills breaks into the poem. These breaks combined with the tone of the poem exude how the narrator feels about the turn of events in her life. “About our souls in care and cark/ Our blackness shuts like prison-bars…”calls the bleak view that she has on the life of a slave (E. Browning 1131). In the beginning, with the discovery of a new, budding love, her voice is hopeful. “I sang his name instead of a song, / Over and over I sang his name, / … I sang it low, that the slave-girls near / Might never guess, from aught they could hear …” reflects her quiet but joyful outlook of life (E. Browning 1133). Afterward, when he is taken and killed, the narrator loses her chance for true love; while grieving, her...
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...obert Browning and Elizabeth Browning used both women to show the immorality of the aristocracy and the men of that time period. Robert Browning displays the brutality of the duke with his descriptions about how he felt about his last duchess. Elizabeth Browning shows the inhumane treatment of the narrator, both reflecting the idea that money gives them the right to treat fellow people like objects and placing them in a negative light.
Works Cited
Robson, Catherine, and Carol T. Christ. "The Victorian Age." The Norton Anthology English Literature. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. E. New York: Norton &, 2012. 1130-137. Print.
Shmoop Editorial Team. "My Last Duchess Speaker"Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Robert Browning’s Poetry.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
"Robert Browning." Critical Survey of Poetry: English Language Series. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 1. Englewood Cliffs: Salem, 1982. 338, 341.
For it is a commonplace of our understanding of the period that the Victorian writer wanted above all to “stay in touch.” Comparing his situation with that of his immediate predecessors, he recognized that indulgence in a self-centered idealism was no longer viable in a society which ever more insistently urged total involvement in its occupations. The world was waiting to be improved upon, and solved, and everyone, poets, included had to busy themsel...
When Victorian Era, England is brought up in most context’s it is used to exemplify a calm and more refined way of life; however, one may overlook how the children of this era were treated and how social class systems affected them. Samuel Butler’s The Way of All Flesh is a novel written to take a closer look at the life of children growing up in the unfair social hierarchy of Victorian Era England. Butler’s main characters are Theobald and Ernest, who grow up during the time period; Overton, who is Ernest’s godfather, is the narrator of the novel and provides insight into Theobald and Ernest as they mature through the novel. Theobald is the son of a wealthy, strict, and abusive father who treats him with no mercy, but leaves him with a rather significant inheritance from his Christian publishing company, at his death. Ernest is the son of Theobald, who beats him with a stern fits over even the pettiest things in
The speaker in any poem is significant because he enables the reader to aquire information necessary in order to enter the imaginary world of the work. In Browning's Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, the solitary speaker, who is a monk overwhelmed with hatred toward a fellow monk, plays an important role as the guide in the world of the poem. The diction, structure, and tone of the entire poem communicate the speaker's motives, perceptions, emotions, and behavior.
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 without ever mentioning them explicitly.
“The act of reading is a partnership. The author builds a house, but the reader makes it a home.” (Jodi Picoult) Elizabeth Browning has built a house that attracts readers of all kinds. Diversity flows throughout her metaphorical home, which disproves a numerous amount of scholars’ claims about her. Browning’s “Sonnet 43” has been criticized for overly personal emotion and dated language. Browning’s immense fan base has actually resulted from the same aspect that she is criticized for. Her diction creates a sympathetic view for her readers. Elizabeth Browning’s criticism is unjust as she creates a relatable feeling for her readers, the diction in which she uses sparks immense thought, and her creativity is captivating.
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...
In "My Last Duchess", by Robert Browning, the character of Duke is portrayed as having controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits. These traits are not all mentioned verbally, but mainly through his actions. In the beginning of the poem the painting of the Dukes wife is introduced to us: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,/ looking as of she were still alive" (1-2). These lines leave us with the suspicion that the Duchess is no longer alive, but at this point were are not totally sure. In this essay I will discuss the Dukes controlling, jealous and arrogant traits he possesses through out the poem.
Murder, mystery, and intrigue all describe Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" (Oliver 1). From the speaker's meandering insinuation, the death of his wife in the reader's point of view may seem like a crime committed because of jealousy. In this monologue, the duke has attempted to justify himself, and to portray his wife as silly and ungrateful. But in fact he does the opposite, and the duchess is revealed as the innocent victim of the duke's outraged pride. There is also the suggestion that other suitors have mad a fool of the duke. But he cannot fully recognize that his wife might love another, and simply calls her "too easily impressed." By the end of his monologue, the duke is already hinting at his next conquestthe count's daughter ("My Last Duchess" 1).
In his dramatic monologue, Robert Browning uses irony, diction, and imagery to achieve a haunting effect.
Browning's amazing command of words and their effects makes this poem infinitely more pleasurable to the reader. Through simple, brief imagery, he is able to depict the lovers' passion, the speaker's impatience in reaching his love, and the stealth and secrecy of their meeting. He accomplishes this feat within twelve lines of specific rhyme scheme and beautiful language, never forsaking aesthetic quality for his higher purposes.
most obviously conveyed by the writers of the time. Houghton examines the dogmatic framework behind the ideals presented by Victorian writers, as such dogmatism is often seen as one of the defining characteristics of the age. A profound difference between the Victorians and the Romantics, for instance, seems to be expressed when he writes:
The Victorian Era in English history was a period of rapid change. One would be hard-pressed to find an aspect of English life in the 19th century that wasn’t subject to some turmoil. Industrialization was transforming the citizens into a working class population and as a result, it was creating new urban societies centered on the factories. Great Britain enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity at home and thus was extending its global reach in an era of New Imperialism. Even in the home, the long held beliefs were coming into conflict.
1. Frost, Robert. Robert Frost’s Poems. Ed. Louis Untermeyer. New York: Washington Square Press, 1968. 194.
Chapman, Raymond. The Victorian Debate: English Literature and Society, 1832-1901. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968.