My Last Duchess - Robert Browning

STRUCTURE/FORM

• Dramatic Monologue (one single place and moment in time spoken by one character)

• Persona poem as the poet has taken on the perspective of the Duke of Ferra

• The rhythm it is written in is iambic pentameter

• Use of regular rhyming couplets

• Single verse

KEY QUOTATIONS

• “That’s my last Duchess”: “My” is a possessive pronoun, we know straight away that this duke is controlling. “Last” is ambiguous, is she dead and if so did he kill her?

• “Painted on the wall”: The only appreciation a wife receives is surface level; to do with her image. The wife is treated as a trophy.

• “If she were alive”: Again, insinuating that the duke’s wife is deceased

• “Will’t please you sit and look at her?”: The duke forces his visitor to sit down with the rhetorical question which implies that he is in sole control of who sees her. The opening creates a sinister tone for the whole poem.

• “‘Frà Pandolf’ by design”: The duke is flaunting his wealth with references to famous artists that painted for him

• “if they durst”: Means if they dared. Shows he has power over others and people are scared of him, so as a consequence would not dare ask him about the painting.

• “Her husband’s presence only, called that spot / Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek”: Unreasonable to expect her to only gain joy from her husband. He expects to be her entire life and purpose in life. Presents the Duke as paranoid.

• “Frà Pandolf”: Frà is the prefix for a monk. This shows how much envy has corrupted the duke as he believes the duchess would flirt with a monk.

• “bough of cherries some officious fool”: The duke wants his wealth and status to be more important. Materialistic ideals, he does not value the natural beauties and pleasures of the earth. He sees his wife liking anything other than himself as being criticism towards him. He needs a wife to feel powerful, desirable and secure.

• “nine-hundred-years-old name”: Shows that the duke holds status and power within society which he boasts about. It is also a reflection about how the woman is now owned by her husband as she has to take his name and loses all legal rights.

• “Who’d stoop to blame”: Shows male entitlement and pride; he will not lower himself to talk to his wife and confront her about what he fears in fear of being seen as weak and paranoid. It also suggests that he feels that there is no point in arguing with a women since she would be so far below him and apparently incapable of rational thinking. He also believes that he should not have to explain this to his wife; she should be weak and submissive.

• “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”: Euphemism for her murder. Shows the power he has, he is able to kill her without consequence. Also shows overreaction; he loses control and happens to commit murder. Psychology studies show that serial killers collect trophies to mark their kills, this is much like the duke’s gallery of (the inferred many) murdered wives.

• “Notice Neptune”, “thought a rarity”: The metaphor of Neptune suggests he sees himself as god life. He believes his status is one of a kind and therefore more valuable than anything else.

• “for me!”: Final words of the poem. Shows the duke’s self-centeredness and selfishness.