My Last Duchess

The Duke and His Duchess What would one expect a mans personality and traits to be like if he was to send his wife away for being to easily impressed and made happy too soon? It is just the man Robert Browning portrays in his poem “My Last Duchess” as the Duke who explains a painting of his late wife in a dramatic dialogue. A quick glance at “ My Last Duchess” readers can easily pick up on at least one element: arrogance. The speaker of the poem exhibits arrogance rooted in his audacious sense of greed and dominance over others. But in order to really understand the Duke readers need to indulge into the dramatic dialogue, paying close attention to both what is said and unsaid. With arrogance, greed, and jealousy giving the reader the basis
The first time we get a glimpse at his greed is in line one of the poem when he states, “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall.”(1) He shows the need to prove she was a piece of his property and that he essentially owns her just like he owns the painting of her. In addition, the Duke ‘s need to use the word “my” in front of a lot of things he talks about. From when he says “ My last Duchess” to even when he states “ My gift of a nine-hundred years old name.” (33)The Duke keeps the painting behind a curtain and gets to control when people are allowed o view the painting just like he wanted to have to power or controlling who got to see his wife’s smile when she was alive. The Duke seems pleased with himself in being able to preserve his wife’s smile in the artwork and being able to achieve the ownership he wanted before. The Duchess would often share that smile with everyone, instead of reserving it exclusively for the Duke. It seems she cared for her husband and would show him that smile but he saw her as being ungrateful and most likely disloyal as well. He wanted to be her only person of her affection. He may not have revealed his feelings through explosive emotions to the currier, but the reader can deduce the Duke did not like the Duchess’ lack of worship and praise towards his dominance. The Duke’s greed and jealousy coincide in this poem
It is expressed throughout the poem as the Duke explains the painting and the Duchess. He explains how the Duke has this beautiful painting of the Duchess but he does not really talk positively of her and more so talks bad about her. Even more, the title itself has some irony to it. The title says “ My Last Duchess” and it is inferred that is a way for the Duke to say he is not going to re-marry and that was his last Duchess. But after reading the whole poem it is obvious that the Duke is actually talking to a currier sent to see if the Duke is worthy of marrying the daughter of his master. The irony being that the Duke says it was his last Duchess but he is looking to re-marry. It contradicts what the Duke had said and shows that the last Duchess may not be the last woman he marries and also may not be the last woman he