Essays on Last Duchess

Formalist Criticism of My Last Duchess

My Last Duchess is probably the best example of the dramatic monologue, a poetical form that was invented and applied essentially by one of the foremost Victorian poets, Robert Browning. A dramatic monologue should certainly have a character who speaks to some particular person, mainly certain silent listener, in the manner of a dramatic speech and has to take place in specific physical setting like that of a drama. The poem My Last Duchess definitely belongs to the dramatic monologue because it, at first, possesses three formal elements, such as an occasion, a speaker, and a hearer. Secondly, the ...

Part 1

In “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning we meet the narrator who is a Duke. The duke is meeting an emissary in order to discuss marrying the daughter of a very important man. As he is giving the emissary a tour of his home he stops to admire the portrait of his dead wife. The Duke begins to speak of his dead wife with affection. This quickly turns into bitterness when he goes on a rant about the fact she engaged in behaviors that he found distasteful. As he goes on he reveals that he “gave commands; / Then ...

A look into the work of Fredrick Douglass and Robert Browning shows that the society around them heavily influences their work. While Douglass concentrated on larger social issues such as slavery and false use of religion, Browning looked into the interpersonal relationships of members of their societies. A common aspect of both writings, however, is the social critique that the two writers engage in. Through their work, they attempt to point out at the evils they see in their society, with the hope that their criticism will help change the situation . Fredrick Douglass, in his poem, a parody, analyzes ...

Gender tends to affect any exchange between two human beings whether it be monetary or otherwise. However, it is to be noted that these exchanges can never be restricted to monetary limitations. They tend to consist of undertones of psychological and social effect because of their sensitive nature with society’s dynamics. Gender and the roles that it plays in any society has been under literary debate and discussion throughout time. Stereotypes pertinent to gender have been highlighted by numerous poets and authors in order to make the importance of its understanding clearer to audiences. All mediums including ...

‘Instructor’s Name’

The Narrators of ‘Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess’ – Similarities and Differences Unlike comics or fairy tales, villain characters are not a common occurrence in modern adult literature, especially in poetry. In the literary works aimed for the grown up or matured reader segment, the authors more often than not, refrain from portraying a character which explicitly exposes villainous nature, or coal-black personifications of evil. Mostly characters who exhibit villainous traits are not easily located in such literary works, but their persona is revealed only after a deep scrutiny of the said work. Particularly in the nineteenth century, as ...

My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is a poem where the Duke of Ferrara narrates about his last wife to an envoy. Through the narration, the readers get to know about the duke and his last duchess. The poem, which appears to be a dramatic monologue, gives an insight into the duke’s nature. The paper will closely analyze the duke’s character and how he justifies the killing of his wife. The paper will show that the murder of the duchess only highlights the most defining characteristic of the duke, which is his excessive demand for control. The poem ...

In many instances, authors use powerful ideas that shift their readers in a way that intrigues their every day understanding of life. It is not debatable that Robert Browning and William Shakespeare were legendary writers of their time. It is also not ironic that although there are years separating the two writers, their work contains similar themes. As a common ground for my comparisons, this paper examines the common ideas and how the themes are brought out in William Shakespeare’s “Othelo”, and Robert Browning’s two poems “My Last Duchess” and “The Laboratory”. Using characters Iago in Othelo, The Duke ...

Why did the Duke kill the lady?

Why did the Duke kill the lady?

Introduction

There are certain poems which are beautiful in terms of poetic structure but depict a gruesome tale of barbarism and conservatism. One of such works is The Last Duchess by Robert Browning which was written in the first half of 19th century ("Applying Modern Critical Theory to Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess"”, Allingham). When one reads along the rhythm of its iambic pentameter, it seems like a poetic essence on drift. But, the fact is that these mesmerising lines are telling the story of a fanatical Duke who was displeased with his wife’s jolly ...

‘My Last Duchess’ is a well-acclaimed and famous poem by Robert Browning. Born in 1812 in London, Robert went on to become one of the most celebrated and accomplished English poet and playwright. As a poet of Victorian age, he was known for his grip and mastery of dramatic monologue and psychological portraiture. He came up with many famous poems and plays throughout his life, with ‘My Last Duchess’ being one of them. The poem is based on historical events and involves Duke of Ferrara as its central and most important character. The Duke recites this poem to an emissary ...

Introduction

My last Duchess is an admirable work of poetry and dramatic monologue. I find it extremely captivating to read, although emotional. This is because the drama of the poem is so powerful and also the beauty of language is evident all through the text. The different emotions brought out by the poem are also something marvelous. Emotions such as anger, envy, astonishment, pity and admiration are so clear within the poem. From the choice of words by the Duke, it is evident that the Duke was unhappy with the Duchess innocently flirtatious and friendly nature. This is brought ...

“To His Coy Mistress” by Andrew Marvell and “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning

Power and Desire in a Man’s World

Although these two poems share certain superficial similarities, they are very different in method, tone, subject matter and overall effect. Both poems deal with a relationship between a man and a woman; in both poems the speaker is a man; and in both poems the woman who is addressed in “To His Coy Mistress” and the woman who is spoken about in “My Last Duchess” are not given a voice at all. Indeed, from a feminist perspective the titles of both poems – because they use the possessive adjective “my” - could ...

Introduction and Thesis

‘My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning is a very famous and much-anthologized poem. It is a dramatic monologue written in rhyming iambic pentameters – that is to say the poet adopts the voice of someone else and speaks throughout as that person. It was first published in 1842 and is one of many dramatic monologues that Browning wrote. This poem is based on real historical events. Duke Alfonso II of Modena and Ferrara (1559 – 1597) married Lucrezia de Doctors and she died four years after the wedding in mysterious circumstances. This is the starting point for Browning’s poem. Victorian Britain was ...