Browning exposes the innermost characteristics of the Duke of Ferrara. The Duke is the speaker of the poem and is hashing out the details of another marriage with an emissary from a Count when he draws a curtain to reveal a magnificent fresco of the Duke’s Last Duchess. The emissary voices a question about the expression on her face‚ an “earnest glance” of “depth and passion” (line 8)‚ prompting the Duke’s monologue. Looking upon the artwork‚ the Duke praises “Fra Pandolf’s hands” which worked “busily
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Fra Pandolf. Boasting about the painting on the wall‚ the Duke adopts a cold and dispassionate tone when talking about his wife. Mentioning ambiguously that the Duchess is ‘[his] last’‚ it is implied that she is no longer alive. … I call That piece a wonder; now; Fra Pandolf’s hands… The word ‘now’ is foregrounded by a caesura‚ offering the unnerving realisation that the
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Duchess" by Robert Browning is a poem written about a Duke of the 16th the century. The Duke is the speaker of the poem an is explaining to a visitor about a portrait of a ex-wife. He tells how she was a flirt and had very disgraceful behavior. He claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his "gift of a nine-hundred-years- old name." As his monologue continues‚ the reader realizes with ever-more chilling certainty that the Duke in fact caused the Duchess’s early demise‚ when her behavior
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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. As he shows the visitor through his palace‚ he stops before a portrait of the late Duchess‚ apparently a young and lovely girl. The Duke begins reminiscing about the portrait sessions‚ then about
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presentation in ‘My Last Duchess’ is a relationship that has no equality between the Duke and the Duchess. This is shown through the title of the poem. The word ‘my’ is a possessive pronoun and it connotes with the fact that someone has ownership over something else; in this case the Duke has ownership over the Duchess. The Duke is objectifying the Duchess and the word after is ‘last’ this suggests that the Duke has had more than one wife and they are his objects‚ they are not their own person‚ they
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control over his Duchess. In this poem‚ a Duke is showing a portrait of his first wife to a servant of his future father-in-law in his private art gallery. He keeps this portrait behind a curtain that only he can draw. Throughout this poem he also reveals his personality as an extremely controlling‚ jealous man. He shows the reader his personality by describing the portrait of the duchess. In a sense‚ he shows his true feelings he had towards her. As the Duke is describing how the duchess was easily
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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
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women. We can see that the Duke judges the value of a living woman by referring to the Duchess as "painted on the wall... There she stands as if alive.” He attempts to identify his wife with the painting‚ due to the fact that the Duchess is no longer there‚ physically with him‚ the painting is enough for the Duke and also makes her a lot easier to control. He also refers to the painting of his wife as a “piece” which further supports the idea of objectification. When the Duke says‚ “I call that piece
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takes place in the palace of Alfonso II who is the Duke of Ferrara in Italy. 2. Who is the Duke speaking to? The Duke is entertaining an ambassador type person who has come to arrange the marriage of the duke and a daughter of a very wealthy and powerful family. What are they both looking at? They are looking at a painting of the Duke’s last “duchess” or wife that is hanging up on the wall in the palace. 3. How does the duke characterize the duchess? He characterizes the duchess
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Analysis of The Duke "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning is clearly a dramatic monologue used to depict the character of the Duke. The agent seems present although he never participates in the conversation and all parts are spoken by the Duke. The Duke describes some of the agent’s questions and makes the dramatic monologue possible by answering‚ for example‚ the questioning glance he gets from the agent about the "spot of joy on the duchess’ cheek". The poem presents the Duke as manipulative
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