My Last Duchess Essay
Discuss My Last Duchess as an example of a well constructed dramatic monologue.
Robert Browning used the poetic device of the dramatic monologue in his poem "My Last Duchess." One advantage of using this device is that it allows the speaker's own words to reveal, celebrate, or, in this case, condemn his behavior. The speaker in "My Last Duchess" is the Duke, loosely based on the historical figure, the Duke of Ferrara whose own young wife died under mysterious circumstances. Browning writes the poem completely from his perspective and voice, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the Duke's monologue.
In the opening stanza, the Duke introduces the painting of his last duchess. Using iambic pentameter thoughout his …show more content…
This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together."
Through the convention of dramatic monologue, Browning creates a character that reveals himself to be jealous, controlling, and sadistic; rather than describing these characteristics, hearing the speaker's own words gives the reader a first hand encounter with the psychopathic Duke.
"My Last Duchess" is a poem that was written by Robert Browning. It is often referred to as a dramatic monologue because the speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, reveals he felt the woman he married was beneath him in intelligence and social standing. The poem is sad and has a somber tone and implies that he may have eventually poisoned her or ordered her death.
Summery
“My Last Duchess” is probably Browning’s most popular and most anthologized poem. The poem first appeared in 1842 in Dramatic Lyrics, which is contained in Bells and Pomegranates (1841-1846). Perhaps the major reason for the fame of “My Last Duchess” is that it is probably the finest example of Browning’s dramatic monologue. In it, he paints a devastating self-portrait of royalty, a portrait that doubtless reveals more of the duke’s personality than Ferrara intends. In fact, the irony is profound, for with each word spoken in an attempt to criticize his last duchess, the duke ironically reveals his utterly detestable nature and how far he is from seeing it
Robert Browning used the poetic device of the dramatic monologue in his poem "My Last Duchess." One advantage of using this device is that it allows the speaker's own words to reveal, celebrate, or, in this case, condemn his behavior. The speaker in "My Last Duchess" is the Duke, loosely based on the historical figure, the Duke of Ferrara whose own young wife died under mysterious circumstances. Browning writes the poem completely from his perspective and voice, allowing the reader to draw his or her own conclusions about the Duke's monologue.
In the opening stanza, the Duke introduces the painting of his last duchess. Using iambic pentameter thoughout his …show more content…
This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together."
Through the convention of dramatic monologue, Browning creates a character that reveals himself to be jealous, controlling, and sadistic; rather than describing these characteristics, hearing the speaker's own words gives the reader a first hand encounter with the psychopathic Duke.
"My Last Duchess" is a poem that was written by Robert Browning. It is often referred to as a dramatic monologue because the speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, reveals he felt the woman he married was beneath him in intelligence and social standing. The poem is sad and has a somber tone and implies that he may have eventually poisoned her or ordered her death.
Summery
“My Last Duchess” is probably Browning’s most popular and most anthologized poem. The poem first appeared in 1842 in Dramatic Lyrics, which is contained in Bells and Pomegranates (1841-1846). Perhaps the major reason for the fame of “My Last Duchess” is that it is probably the finest example of Browning’s dramatic monologue. In it, he paints a devastating self-portrait of royalty, a portrait that doubtless reveals more of the duke’s personality than Ferrara intends. In fact, the irony is profound, for with each word spoken in an attempt to criticize his last duchess, the duke ironically reveals his utterly detestable nature and how far he is from seeing it