Murder... mystery... intrigue... All describe Robert Browning’s poem‚ "My Last Duchess." From the speakers’s indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader might easily think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His flowery speech confuses and disguises any possible motives‚ however‚ and the mystery is left unsolved. Based on the poem’s style‚ structure‚ and historical references‚ it becomes evident that even if the speaker did not directly kill his
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Through “My Last Duchess”‚ 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
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1. My last Duchess’s Duke begins by bringing up the portrait which he starts reminiscing but they aren’t the most positive thoughts. Memories of the last duchess’s attitude towards other men‚ the Duke had the feeling of being unappreciated by passing on a Victorian name and she did not give the name any respect. I think that all the duchess’s actions made the Duke react by giving the command to “take care of her‚” meaning to get rid of her by death so he can remarry. 2. Ferrara is addressing the
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My Last Duchess When a man cares more about his status and image than his wife‚ he may feel the need to take drastic measures to ensure that he is always the center of attention. Robert Browning’s dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” paints a picture of a duke who is trying to escape from his past‚ by proving to himself that he has power over his deceased wife.During the poem‚ the duke shows a painting of the last duchess to a representative from the Count‚ who is there making arrangements for the
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Poly Klouvas English 1100C September 19‚2014 “Hills like white elephants” & “My last duchess” In the story “Hills like White elephants” by Ernest Hemingway has a lot of common things and differences with the poem “My last duchess” by Robert Browning. Both stories are about loving couples that also have altercations in their relationship. Every relationship has their ups and downs. But everyone is different. The story “Hills like white elephants” opens up with a couple in Spain that are out
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Introduction to Poetry Appreciation. TAQ 2: My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is based upon Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara’s marriage to Lucrezia de’ Medici and her death at his hands. Although it has never been proven that the Duke orchestrated her death‚ she did die suspiciously at the young age of seventeen after only a year of being married to the Duke. At first glance the reader only sees this story but upon reading the poem in more depth and looking at what the form and language devices tell
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Robert Browning is known as the Master of Psychological dramatic monologue. In "My last Duchess" the reader only hears the Duke’s story whose perverse point of view throws false accusations towards his recently deceased wife. What the reader knows about the characters is limited‚ so he must piece together the story on his own. The story the duke thinks he tells‚ of an unfaithful wife who offended his dignity‚ and the story he really tells‚ of jealousy and possessive love that leads to murder‚ engages
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English 2323 - Study Questions “My Last Duchess” – Robert Browning 1. What is the setting for this poem? This poem 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
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In this essay‚ I would like to discuss one of Robert Browning’s better known poems‚ "My Last Duchess." While some readers may be put off by Browning’s language which now seems archaic‚ his poem is every bit as relevant today as when he wrote it almost two hundred years ago. It is as relevant in the twenty first century as it was in the sixteenth century which serves as the setting for the poet’s history lesson. The poem focuses on a sixteenth century Italian duke who is regaling his guest with tales
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In Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” there are …………………… such as the Duke’s different emotions‚ the poem style Browning uses‚ and how the Duchess is seen as a symbol. The poem focuses on the many different feelings of the Duke. The Duke is seen as very controlling over all things. He is controlling over the painting and the curtains. The Duke uses his ability to control by making others do things‚ so he always gets what he wants. The Duchess also had no power since the Duke controlled‚ even
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