My Last Duchess Overview

Brief Summary

My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue (a narrative poem in which the speaker reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation/event) written by Victorian poet Robert Browning in 1842. The Duke of Ferrara (city in Italy) is the speaker of the poem, who tells us that he is entertaining an emissary (a person sent to represent a leader/someone important) who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. The Duke uses a painting of his former wife as a conversation piece, and suggests that she did something he didn’t approve of

The rest of the poem is a subtle warning about what happens to women who disappoint him, as his last wife (his last duchess) is now deceased (he supposedly killed her)

The poem mainly deals with themes of power (and its abuse), ownership and male attitudes towards women. Conflict is also represented in terms of how the Duke presents himself to the outside world versus his true nature

Synopsis

• Duke is showing a painting of his dead wife to a visitor (emissary)

• Has it hidden behind a curtain – makes the visitor sit down to admire it

• Praises the artist who painted it

• Points out duchess’ blush – suggests she was flirting and being complimented

• Laments over wife being “too easily pleased” – criticises her for appearing to favour other men

• Claims he was not eloquent (forceful, expressive) enough to tell her to stop

• So he had orders for her to be killed

• Then discusses with the visitor arrangements for his next marriage

• Points out statue upon leaving

Form

The poem is written in the first person and in the present tense

• This enables the speaker to control what he tells the reader, including whether what he is saying is true, biased or exaggerated - this could reflect the power the Duke holds, both politically and over his wives

The perspective in the poem is entirely the Duke’s

• Shows the controlling presence of the Duke. He doesn’t let anyone else speak. We are given a one-sided account, and it is up to the reader to read between the lines to find the truth. The Duchess’s side of the story is not told, which implies the lack of feminine narrative in Victorian society - Women had no right to vote or hold power outside of the home, so were politically silenced. Browning is criticising the Duke’s abuse of power over his wife, so is therefore criticising the inequality between men and women in his society

Structure

Single verse/no stanzas

• This shows the poem is set in one single place and moment in time. Makes the Duke’s dominance overwhelming, as the single stanza structure also seems overwhelming at first. Poet gives a sense of the poem being the Duke’s stream of consciousness (constant flow of someone’s thoughts) - his unfiltered thoughts and feelings - suggests he lacks control over himself, even though he tries to exert control over others

Poem uses traditional iambic pentameter

• Reflects how the Duke holds traditional views about women; the regular rhyme scheme also gives a natural, conversational tone

Browning uses rhyming couplets, such as: “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive. I call…”

• This suggests the Duke’s desire for control, by using carefully considered and refined (elegant/cultured) speech

Browning adds to the sense of natural speech through the use of enjambment

• The Duke again dominates the conversation, but the enjambment shows he is rambling (linking again to the sense of this being a stream of consciousness)

For example; “The bough of cherries some officious fool / Broke in the orchard for her…”

• When he loses control of the structure of his speech, he reveals glimpses of his inner nature

Browning continues to interrupt the Duke’s speech through the use of punctuation, such as parenthesis and dashes For example: “But to myself they turned (since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)” AND “A heart - how shall I say? - too soon made glad,”

• The deliberate use of punctuation demonstrates the Duke getting side-tracked - suggests his smooth exterior is starting to crack, and his inner emotions and violence are starting to show, as he cannot keep up the controlled conversational meter

Browning also employs caesura to show that the Duke keeps interrupting himself

• This further breaks up the rhythm of the poem and makes it tiring to listen to. This does not concern the Duke, however, which can be seen as a sign of too much pride and self-obsession. Even when he does imply his last Duchess’s fate, he then returns to his smooth rhythm and polite façade (deceptive outward appearance)

Language - social structure and class

When speaking to the envoy (representative), the Duke uses the terms “Sir” and “you”

• These formal terms of address establish the Duke’s social superiority over the envoy - he’s being manipulative and controlling

The Duke “invites” the envoy to “sit” and “rise” through rhetorical questions

• These rhetorical questions are actually commands. The Duke expects the envoy to obey

The Duke is proud of his “nine-hundred-years-old-name”

• He believes that the superior social status and “gift” of his family name should have been respected above everything else by his wife. Here, Browning is commenting on the arrogance, pride and abuse of power by those who have inherited it

The Duke chooses “never to stoop”

• He refuses to lower himself to what he believes is his wife’s inferior level

The Duke uses an obvious euphemism (indirect word or expression used when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing) for his last Duchess’s murder: “-I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.-”

• The Duke is clear that people obey him. He gave the command to have his wife murdered. He believes that he is superior and his family name gives him enough power to be able to do this without consequence. The repetition of “I” also shows how self-obsessed the Duke is

Language - sexism and oppression

Browning uses possessive pronouns when the Duke refers to his wife as “my” last Duchess

• The Duke views his wife as a possession, rather than as an individual

He also refers to her as “it” in the line, “The depth and passion of its earnest glance,”

• It suggests that he can buy a wife like a piece of art

In addition, he calls her his “Duchess” rather than his wife

• This implies a lack of affection and his wife as an accessory, rather than a partner. Again, the use of the pronoun “his” demonstrates his feelings of ownership and absolute power over his spouse. Browning is commenting on the loss of name, rights and power of women upon marriage, and the objectification of women as something to be owned by men

Browning uses symbolism in the form of the Duchess as a painting, the viewing of which no one but the Duke can control

• This suggests he is threatened by other men enjoying looking upon her beauty. It highlights the absolute control he had over her, not just in life, but also in death

The Duke moves fluidly from discussing his last wife to his new wife 

• This indicates that the women are not special to him and are disposable. This is reinforced when the Duke moves seamlessly from talking about her painting to his new statue of Neptune

The statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse is symbolic

• This parallels the Duke who has attempted to use his domestic power to “tame” a wife that was “too easily impressed” by other things. He transformed her into a painting which he could control. By showing the statue to the envoy, he is also issuing a warning that his new wife needs to be more easily tamed

Browning uses the metaphor of the Duchess having a heart “too soon made glad”

• By reading between the lines, the Duchess is presented as innocent and delighted by all of nature’s things. She is embarrassed by compliments, easily pleased and pleasant to everyone; The Duke misinterprets this as unfaithfulness. He is driven possibly mad by jealousy and pride. He values wealth, status and possessions over natural beauty and the beauty of the earth

Browning employs dramatic irony to imply the Duke’s sinister real character

• The reader is able to read between the lines and detect the sinister undertone of the Duke’s comments

For example, when he says: “Twas, not her husband’s presence only, called that spot / Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek:” AND “Her looks went everywhere”

• The Duke was paranoid and suspicious of the Duchess and believed (or claimed) that she was unfaithful