My Last Duchess Essay

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, a dramatic monologue poem which explains the thoughts through the Duke point of view. Yet the speaker portraits all these events to one particular person relating to the situation that is drawn out. At the same time the Duke shares the fact that how she was a property of his even after death, as he explains the painting of his last Duchess hung behind curtains. The indication of being his property is showing throughout the poem but the beginning stands out as the Duke interduces the picture as “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive” (Browning, 697). Which the Duke decides who he wants to show the painting too, which is showing the reader that even after death she is a property of his and only
In line 45 and 46 of the poem “Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together” (Browning, 698) the Duke tells the person that he had the Duchess killed based on the speculation of that she was cheating. Whereas the Duke was doing the cheating. As the Duke doesn’t morn the duchess's death, but is eager to get married. As if The Duke know who he wanted to marry. Knowing this whole part, we can speculate that the Duchess’s must have found out about it And so he had her killed. And what other way to show that he cares about his last Duchess is to keep a painting behind closed curtains and open them to those who don’t know her. Knowing the Duchess is dead, the painting of her is hung behind curtains and the Duke only shares her painting with some people. Due to the knowledge of that she was only his as if she was a piece of land that he owned before and after death. As he also opens the poem with “That's my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive” (Browning, 697). indirectly telling the reader that she was his to be owned because he had married her and she was his