Compare & Contrast: “My Ex-Husband” & “My Last Duchess” Amy Baysinger 9/16/2012 Both poems are similar in that they revolve around the theme of lost or unrequited love. The speakers‚ a man and a woman‚ are different in sexes but similar in their plights. Both are bitter‚ jealous‚ and seemingly unbothered by their losses (but their aloofness is also what gives away their feelings). Each speaker is having a conversation with an assumed good friend and explains the demise of their respecting
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In the poem my last duchess‚ Robert Browning carefully crafts the character of the duke to illustrate that vengeful male power can lead to dire consequences for women. Firstly‚ the speeches of the dukes reveal a great deal about his character. For example‚ the duke says “she thanked men‚--good; but thanked /somehow… I know not how”. (Browning 31-32) this shows both his arrogant power and his contempt for his duchess‚ both of which lead her demise. Here‚ the duke reveals to his silent listener that
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Tennyson and Browning‚ in their poems "The Lady of Shallot" and "My Last Duchess‚" show‚ through their diction and symbolism‚ how women are first objectified and finally positioned in patriarchal society. The Lady of Shallot is looking through her mirror as a way to experience the exterior world outside of her harsh castle domicile. She also "weaveth steadily‚ And little other care hath she" (lines 43-44). The Lady was creating a tapestry; a beautiful piece of artwork she is confined to create
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#1Reflection on "My Last Duchess"The speaker is notably a snobbish‚ childish‚ and indifferent Duke. He does not seem to have any remorse for his murder of his "Duchess" and remains arrogantly steadfast to his justification that his murder was for the cause of her (the Duchess’s) "too soon made glad" by other men‚ and her smiles to everyone who passed. He describes her as if she was just another distant thing in the past‚ and disregards the painting of her as just another piece of artwork. The poem
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readers? The speaker’s role in a poet’s expression and engagement of readers is essential. It influences a story’s direction‚ the emotions invoked in the reader‚ and how themes are shaped into ideas. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologues Porphyria’s Lover and My Last Duchess contain many thematic similarities‚ despite portraying different scenarios‚ primarily spoken through a possessive and jealous man. In Porphyria’s Lover a man waits in his cottage for Porphyria. Her arrival “shut[s] the cold
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wives have a lesser value than husbands in everywhere. Of course in the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning‚ the speaker also considers his wife is just a woman whom needs to be quiet all the time. The poem begins with him drawing the attention of the person whom he is talking to‚ who‚ asks about the smile of the last duchess in the portrait‚ is silent during the entire poem. Since the move of a Browning dramatic monologue is psychological selfcharacterization‚ the speaker considered himself a
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<center><b>Compare the two poems Porphyria’s Lover’ and My Last Duchess’ by Robert Browning. What do they reveal about attitudes to women and relationships in the nineteenth century?</b></center> <br> <br>Robert Browning was one of the greatest poets of the nineteenth century. In 1842‚ he published Dramatic Lyrics’ which included the two poems Porphyria’s Lover’ and My Last Duchess’. In Porphyria’s Lover’ Browning gives the reader a dramatic insight into the twisted mind of an abnormally possessive
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A Few Thoughts on the Dramatic Monologue A dramatic monologue is a poem written in the voice of a specific‚ definite character who is not the poet: the speaker is a persona‚ a mask. It’s a monologue because it has only one speaker‚ though there is sometimes (as in Browning’s “My Last Duchess”) a silent interlocutor whose unheard (or unread) responses help shape the speaker’s discourse and the meaning of the poem. (In such poems addressed to a specific listener‚ though only one person speaks‚ both
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The Nurse Dramatic Monologue Scenario: After the deaths of Romeo and Juliet‚ the nurse is reminiscing at what happened. This monologue is set inside Juliet’s room with other staff of the Capulet house. [Look at picture of Juliet] Oh Juliet‚ my gorgeous‚ fair‚ young maiden [Touch the face of Juliet in the photo frame]. Lifeless because she loved too well and could not go through without the man of thy dreams. None‚ but that of Romeo‚ son of Montague. Although he was a Montague‚ he was the finest
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In the Merchant of Venice‚ Shakespeare illustrates his feelings towards Jews in 17th century England through the use of a commonly known stereotype during the time‚ the racial tension between Jews and Christians. Shylock is the focal point of the play‚ and acts as the traditional stereotype of the Jew in Elizabethan times. The merchant of venice is often seen as an anti-semitic work due to the stereotypical portrayal of the jewish character shylock. Some would argue that the most inevitable interpretation
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