The age, when women were grasped more as chattels in a marriage than real humans capable of love, ‘My Last Duchess’ was written in the Victorian age. Browning somewhat wrote the poem to see the sights of male and their supremacy, marriage position of women predominant in the society.
What is the poem my Last Duchess about?
Get LitCharts A + “My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue written by Victorian poet Robert Browning in 1842. In the poem, the Duke of Ferrara uses a painting of his former wife as a conversation piece.
What is the form of my Last Duchess by Robert Browning?
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning 1 Summary. ‘ My Last Duchess ‘ by Robert Browning is a chilling poem about the value of women in a duke’s life. 2 Structure and Form. ‘ My Last Duchess ‘ by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue written in five sections and made up of rhyming couplets. 3 Literary Devices. ... 4 My Last Duchess Analysis. ...
How is my Last Duchess a critique of Victorian Society?
Certainly, women were oppressed during the 1500s, the era in which "My Last Duchess" takes place. Yet, the poem is less of a critique of the feudalistic ways of medieval Europe and more of an attack on the biased, overbearing views and rules of Victorian society .
Does My Last Duchess have an end stop?
“My Last Duchess” comprises rhyming pentameter lines. The lines do not employ end-stops; rather, they use enjambment—gthat is, sentences and other grammatical units do not necessarily conclude at the end of lines.
What is the purpose of My Last Duchess?
'My Last Duchess' by Robert Browning is a well-known dramatic monologue. It suggests that the speaker has killed his wife and will soon do the same to the next. The poet's inspiration for this poem came from the Duke and Duchess Ferarra. The Duchess died under very suspicious circumstances.
What is the poem The Last Duchess about?
This poem is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, who lived in the 16th century. The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke's marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family.
What is browning message in My Last Duchess?
In the poem, the Duke of Ferrara uses a painting of his former wife as a conversation piece. The Duke speaks about his former wife's perceived inadequacies to a representative of the family of his bride-to-be, revealing his obsession with controlling others in the process.
What painting Is My Last Duchess about?
The poem begins with the Duke of Ferrara, a historical figure from the Italian Renaissance, pulling back a curtain to reveal the painting of his wife to the emissary of a Count: That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive.
What is the irony in My Last Duchess?
The overarching irony in Browning's "My Last Duchess" is that it really is not about the duchess, but instead about the controlling, jealous, and arrogant nature of the duke. In his monologue describing a painting of his former wife, the duke introduces us to his dark and sinister qualities.
How Does My Last Duchess relate to the Victorian era?
In this poem, the Duke reveals common beliefs in society during the Victorian Era that women are objects to be controlled, possessed, and then thrown away when there is no more use.
What does the Seahorse symbolize in My Last Duchess?
At the end of his speech, he invites the ambassador to go downstairs with him. As he does so, he points out another one of his favourite works of art from his collection: a bronze sculpture of the sea-god Neptune brutally taming a sea-horse. It is an image of power and domination.
Why does the Duke hide the Duchess painting behind a curtain?
Eventually, "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together." In an interview, Browning said, "I meant that the commands were that she should be put to death ... Or he might have had her shut up in a convent." The duke now keeps her painting hidden behind a curtain that only he is allowed to draw back, thus now she ...
Why is the curtain drawn only by the Duke?
The duke keeps the painting of the duchess behind a curtain as a means of postmortem control. That is, he wants control over who gets to see her image.
Is My Last Duchess based on a true story?
This poem is set in 1564 and is based on the real-life Duke Alfonso II who ruled Ferrara, Italy in the latter half of the 16th century. In the poem, he's talking about his first wife Lucrezia de' Medici, who died under suspicious circumstances shortly after marrying the Duke.
Why My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue?
"My Last Duchess" is an example of a dramatic monologue because it is a poem written from the viewpoint of a character who is definitively not the author of the poem. Robert Browning himself didn't kill his "last duchess." Instead, he is expressing, in verse form, the story of an imaginary man who did.
What flaw does the Duke identify in his last Duchess?
“Who'd stoop to blame This sort of trifling?” These lines identify his arrogance that he did not want to have a discussion with the duchess on the silly matters, but on the contrary, he had reared all these events in his mind which turned him into a heartless person who could kill his wife without a second thought.
What is the genre of Robert Browning's poem?
Browning characterized this poem as a dramatic lyric; but essentially it is a dramatic monologue, a genre typically associated with Robert Browning, where one person speaks to a presumed audience. It is written in the iambic pentameter, employing the rhyming couplets and the enjambment technique of not always concluding the sentences at the end of the lines. Because of these techniques, the poem has a conversational quality and can be read as a long speech.
What is Margaret Atwood's last duchess about?
It is about two high school students who study the poem and argue about its meaning.
Why does the Duke draw a curtain?
He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting. As they look at the portrait of the late Duchess, the Duke describes her happy, cheerful and flirtatious nature, which had displeased him.
Who are the other characters in the poem?
The other characters named in the poem – painter Frà Pandolf and sculptor, Claus of Innsbruck – are fictional. The poem is a representation of male and female relationships and their contrasting powers or lack thereof. Women in the past and even in some cultures today are considered pieces of property.
Who is the speaker of the poem "Italy"?
The poem is preceded by the epigraph " Ferrara: ", indicating that the speaker is most likely Alfonso II d'Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara (1533–1598), who, at the age of 25, married Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, the 14-year-old daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, ...
Who wrote the poem "My Last Duchess"?
Lucrezia de' Medici by Bronzino, generally believed to be the subject of the poem. " My Last Duchess " is a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue. It first appeared in 1842 in Browning's Dramatic Lyrics. The poem is composed in 28 rhyming couplets of iambic pentameter .
Who wrote the poem "Nikolaus Mardruz"?
The 20th century American poet Richard Howard wrote a sequel to the poem, "Nikolaus Mardruz [ sic] to his Master Ferdinand, Count of Tyrol, 1565", in the form of a letter from the listener in Browning's original that details his response to the Duke's monologue.
What is the Duke of Ferrara's painting about?
The Duke speaks about his former wife's perceived inadequacies to a representative of the family of his bride-to-be, revealing his obsession with controlling others in the process. Browning uses this compelling psychological portrait ...
Who wrote the song "Lady in Red"?
Chris de Burgh, "The Painter" (1976) — Chris de Burgh (a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, best known for "Lady in Red") wrote a song from the perspective of the Duke of Ferrara about his former wife, in which the duchess was having an affair with Fra Pandolf. My Last Duchess Glass Window — The Armstrong Browning Library ...
Who sang "My Last Duchess"?
Julian Glover performs "My Last Duchess" — Actor Julian Glover performs "My Last Duchess" with a suitably dramatic tone of voice. Note how he emphasizes the conversational quality of the poem. Nikolaus Mardruz to his Master Ferdinand, Count of Tyrol, 1565 by Richard Howard, 1929 — This poem by American poet Richard Howard provides ...
What is the misogynistic character of the poem?
The misogynistic character of the poem is a severe contrast to Browning himself who—while writing in the persona of men like the duke, who dominated (and barely loved) their wives—penned endearing love poems to his own Elizabeth.
What is the negative capability of John Keats?
Browning exercises what John Keats referred to as negative capability: an artist's capacity to lose himself in his characters, revealing nothing of his own personality, political views, or philosophies. Though written in 1842, " My Last Duchess " is set in the 16th century. And yet, it speaks volumes of the treatment of women in ...
What is the Duchess' smile?
Some readers believe that the Duchess isn't as innocent and that her "smiles" are really a code word for promiscuous behavior. To what degree, we will never know. It is, however, possible that when the friar paints her, she blushes out of pleasure to be near him.
What is a dramatic monologue?
What sets this poem apart from many others is that it is a dramatic monologue —a type of poem in which a character distinctly different from that of the poet is speaking to someone else. Actually, some dramatic monologues feature speakers who talk to themselves, but the monologues with "silent characters," such as “My Last ...
What did Victorian husbands want?
While many Victorian husbands desired a pure, virginal bride, they also desired physical, mental, and sexual conquest. If a man was not satisfied with his wife, a woman who was his legal subordinate in the eyes of the law, he might not kill her off as the Duke so cavalierly does in Browning's poem.
What are the qualities of a Victorian woman?
For a Victorian woman to be morally good, she must embody "sensitivity, self-sacrifice, innate purity .". All of these traits are exhibited by the Duchess, if we assume that her marriage was an act of self-sacrifice.
What is the Duke's power over his wife?
By being the only one with the power to reveal his wife’s portrait, constantly hidden behind a curtain, the Duke obtained the final and absolute power over his wife.
What is the purpose of punctuation marks in poetry?
A poet uses a punctuation mark to plot a crime. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “ My Last Duchess ,” first published in Dramatic Lyrics (1842), is also an ekphrastic poem: one that engages with a work of art and in this case dramatizes viewers’ responses to the artwork. In the poem, Browning plays with the genre of ekphrasis to reveal ...
What does the Duke say about the painter's hands?
The painter’s “hands / Worked busily a day,” says the Duke, linking the acts of painting, writing, and perhaps something more ominous: killing. The poet deftly lays bare how work done by one’s hands may preserve something beautiful and precious (such as the image of a woman) or still and silence it forever.
What is the role of castration anxiety in Browning's meticulous punctuation?
Castration anxiety may also play a role in Browning’s meticulous punctuation: the calculated asides set in parentheses or dashes and the two false exclamations disclose the Duke’s fears. In an awful irony, the upset Duke unmasks his secret even at the very moment he negotiates for a new wife.
When was Camille Guthrie published?
Originally Published: August 16th, 2017. Born in Seattle and raised in Pittsburgh, poet Camille Guthrie earned a BA at Vassar College and an MFA at Brown University. She is the author of the poetry collections The Master Thief (2000), In Captivity (2006), and Articulated Lair: Poems for Louise Bourgeois (2013).
Does Keats talk in the poem?
The Duchess in this poem does not talk.
Who controls who sees the portrait?
The Duke confesses, rather theatrically, that only he controls who sees the portrait: “ (since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I).”. This parenthetical remark functions as another curtain, a veil drawn back and forth across her face, the past, the Duke’s secrets and our ability to discover them.
In Short
A Duke shows the portrait of his last Duchess to a guest in his palace. Artist Fra Pandolf painted it beautifully and the Duchess looks alive in the picture.
My Last Duchess – Explanation
That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now;
What is the name of the poem that Browning wrote in a long stanza?
Moulded in rhyming couplets or so-called the heroic couplets, in a distinct long stanza, My Last Dutchess is one of the finest examples of Browning’s talent for developing character and this remnant as an influential part of psychological poetry.
What is the difference between the Duke and the Duchess in the poem?
The poem is well defined as factually and expressively. The Duchess is a character with natural humanity. The Duke , on the other side , is given the figure of Renaissance Machiavellian. The man with his pride avidity, and absence of human values.
What is the Venerable tradition?
Venerable was the tradition of monologues in theatre and Browning intellectually this monologue form to poetry. The Ring and the Book, in this a short form of the monologue is taken he takes the short monologue form and lends it to multiple characters who collectively reveal the story of a murder.
What is a dramatic monologue?
A poetic form attendant primarily with Browning the dramatic monologue is a poem in which the narrator is the true focus of the poem. The subjects are being talked about by the characters in the poem, and the personality and psychology of the speaker are learnt predominantly by the readers.
What is Robert Browning's forte?
Dramatic monologue and Robert Browning are inextricable! Browning mastered the art of painting characters through monologues or soliloquies. A dark tone paired with irony and Dramatic lyrics were considered to be Browning’s forte.
Why was My Last Duchess written?
Browning somewhat wrote the poem to see the sights of male and their supremacy , marriage position of women predominant in the society. The poem thus proves to be an account of the imagination ...
What does the duke pull off his own mask?
The readers see the duke pulling off his own face mask. The theme and style of the poem are always admired. The possessiveness and the distrust of the Duke as a husband is revealed when he tells the readers that the Duchess use to smile at every other person and it was not only for her husband.
Summary
This poem is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, who lived in the 16 th century. The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family.
Commentary
But Browning has more in mind than simply creating a colorful character and placing him in a picturesque historical scene.
Overview
Form
Browning characterized this poem as a dramatic lyric; but essentially it is a dramatic monologue, a genre typically associated with Robert Browning, where one person speaks to a presumed audience. It is written in iambic pentameter, employing rhyming couplets and the enjambment technique of not always concluding the sentences at the ends of lines. Because of these techniques, the poem has a conversational quality and can be read as a long speech.
Historical background
The poem is preceded by the epigraph "Ferrara:", indicating that the speaker is Alfonso II d'Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara (1533–1598), who, in 1558 (at the age of 24), had married Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, the 13-year-old daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo.
Lucrezia was well-educated, and the Medicis could be considered "nouveau riche" in compariso…
Synopsis
The speaker (presumably the Duke Alfonso of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of the family of his prospective new wife a tour of the artworks in his home. He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting. As they look at the portrait of the late Duchess, the Duke describes her happy, cheerful, appreciative and kind nature, which had displeased him.
Modern adaptations
• In 1941, while attending Bowdoin College, novelist Charles Mergendahl was awarded first prize in the school's annual one-act play competition for his blank-verse dramatization of the poem.
• The 20th century American poet Richard Howard wrote a sequel to the poem, "Nikolaus Mardruz [sic] to his Master Ferdinand, Count of Tyrol, 1565", in the form of a letter from the listener in Browning's original that details his response to the Duke's monologue.
External links
• My Last Duchess – the text of the poem
• Audio – hear the poem
• Summary of 'My Last Duchess'
Dramatic Monologue
The Duchess's Character
Analysis of 'My Last Duchess'
Is The Duchess So Innocent?
Women in The Victorian Age
- Certainly, women were oppressed during the 1500s, the era in which "My Last Duchess" takes place. Yet, the poem is less of a critique of the feudalistic ways of medieval Europe and more of an attack on the biased, overbearing views and rules of Victorian society. Literature of the era, in circles both journalistic and literary, portrayed women as f...
Robert and Elizabeth Browning
Sources