My Last Duchess - 965 Words

How does Browning tell the story of â€Å"My Last Duchess† in the first thirteen lines? In the opening lines of â€Å"My Last Duchess†, Browning introduces his speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, who sets the stage to tell the story of his late wife to the Count’s emissary. As a dramatic monologue, Browning’s identity is dissolved into his character’s voice and persona; the first-person narration of the Duke dominates the perspective of the story; the emissary becomes a silent listener, whose presence is only known because he is addressed as â€Å"you† and â€Å"Sir† by the speaker throughout the poem. The relationship between the speaker and the listener within the narrative thus sets up an analogous relationship between the poet, Browning, and his audience†¦show more content†¦The intricate syntax of the following two sentences, constantly interrupted by caesuras within the verses that flow inconsistently outside of the verse in enjambments, is very difficult to follow, especially because he keeps changing the subject of hi s speech from the painting, to Fra Pandolf, to the emissary, to other strangers, and back to himself. The length of the sentences themselves is also inconsistent, the first verse being the only self-contained clause, indicating incoherence in the Duke’s seemingly-eloquent narrative. Browning’s verse not only establishes the Duke’s conversational tone, but also indicates the Duke’s attempt to obscure the truth, which remains as unclear and unstressed as is the fact that the Duchess is dead, even if she is â€Å"looking as if she were alive.† What â€Å"stands† is not a human being (â€Å"she†), but an objectified â€Å"piece†, an â€Å"it† possessing nothing but an â€Å"earnest glance†. Furthermore, the Duke is not aware of the double entendres of his â€Å"design†, even if we know that like â€Å"Fra Pandolf’s hands†, he is working â€Å"busily† to sustain his authority. By calling her a â€Å"piece†, a term not without sexual innuendo, he feels that he has won over her, but her objectification into a painting has been his only means to possession. It becomes apparent that the Duke’s interpretation of Fra Pandolf’s â€Å"piece† of art is not as important as our interpretation of Browning’s piece. Though Browning is more absent from the poem than the emissary, heShow MoreRelatedEssay on my last duchess684 Words   |  3 Pagesliterary techniques to clearly convey the personalities of their speakers. In â€Å"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. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In a dramatic monologue, character development is based on what the speaker says, and how he says it. In â€Å"My Last Duchess†, the speaker of the monologue addresses a fictional audience, and the reader isRead MoreMy Last Duchess By Robert Browning886 Words   |  4 Pages My Last Duchess The dramatic monologue â€Å"My Last Duchess† was penned down by Robert Browning. In this poem, the narrator is the Duke of Ferrara, and the listener is the count’s agent, through whom the Duke is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess. The poem is ironical and reveals its rhetorical sense, gradually. In the later part of the poem, the Duke claims that he does not have a skill in speech, but his monologue is a masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedlyRead MoreMy Last Duchess by Robert Browning693 Words   |  3 Pages‘My Last Duchess’ is all about control and jealousy. Written by Robert Browning in 1842 (the Victorian era), the dramatic monologue is set in 16th Century Italy where the Duke of Ferrara is talking to a Count’s emissary about a prospective marriage with the Counts daughter. The poem conveys the controlling nature of the Duke by the use of one stanza in the entire poem. It demonstrates this, as there is no interruption from the servant and no break whilst the Duke is talking. Any pauses in the poemRead More Analysis of My Last Duchess Essay585 Words   |  3 Pages‘My Last Duchess’ is a poem written by Robert Browning in 1845. It’s a first person narrative of a duke who is showing the ambassador around his palace and negotiating his marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. As they are walking through the palace, the duke stops and looks at the beautiful portrait of his lovely last duchess. The duke speaks his thoughts about the girl, and as the poem progresses we begin to realize that his last duchess had been murdered. â€Å"†¦I gave commandsRead MoreThe Lady Of Shalott And My Last Duchess1765 Words   |  8 PagesThere are many poems about love, but fewer poems about the dynamics of that love, of the power structure inherent in heterosexual relationships. Two poems that don’t seem to have much in common at first glance â€Å"The Lady of Shalott† and â€Å"My Last Duchess† make these power dynamics a central theme of their respective plots. Specifically, these poems put a huge emphasis on how women interact with men, and revolve around a feminine need for male approval, even in death. In this paper I will examine theRead MoreMy Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover714 Words   |  3 Pageswishes are usually unknown to the person himself.† (Flanagan). This can help explain how the men act within the stories My Last Duchess and Porphyria’s Lover. Furthermore, this is a comparative analysis of the lover’s within Porphyria’s Lover an d My Last Duchess, both by Robert Browning. In both stories, the lovers perceive the women as objects, instead of actual people. In My Last Mistress, he believes that he has given her a gift by marrying her, and thus thinks that he owns her. He feels that sheRead MoreMy Last Duchess By Robert Browning1492 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"My Last Duchess† The poem â€Å"My Last Duchess† is a masterful example of a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning. In this poem the narrator is a duke who is discussing his murder of his last duchess with a man with whom he is arranging his marriage to a count’s daughter. As it is a monologue, the man being spoken to does not say a word. It is believed by many that this character is based on the Italian Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso II, who sought out the marriage of a count’s daughter followingRead MoreMy Last Duchess By Robert Browning Essay1058 Words   |  5 PagesMy last duchess by Robert Browning Quote Analysis My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a mysterious monologue about a duke who is showing a portrait of his former wife or last duchess to a visitor at his palace. While showing this portrait of his former wife, the duke begins to demean the duchess character and their life together. Although the duke is very well spoken and chooses his words carefully as he describes the duchess, he ends up reveling more about himself than his last duchess. By doingRead MoreMy Last Duchess by Robert Browning1795 Words   |  7 PagesIn My Last Duchess, Robert Browning takes poetic license with a real historical character from within the Italian Renaissance: Alfonso II, the last Duke of Ferrara. The Duke married a young bride, Lucrezia de’ Medici; however, their marriage ended mysteriously after just three years (Bloom 16). Within My Last Duchess, Browning uses the character and voice of the Duke to pass comment upon some of the themes of the Italian Renaissance, particularly the juxtaposition between aesthetics and moralityRead MoreSummary Of My Last Duchess By Robert Browning1164 Words   |  5 PagesKendra Collins English 2116 Professor Newberry 13 February 2017 A Reader’s Guide to Robert Browning â€Å"My Last Duchess† Title and Author Robert browning was born on May 7,1817 in Camberwell, England. To and accomplished pianist and a bank clerk. It is said by the age of five he was already proficient of writing and reading. At the age of twelve he wrote a volume of Byronic verse entitled Incondita, which his parents attempted to have published. By thirteen birthday Browning had received the rest of