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My Last Duchess

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“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning was a poem inspired by the Renaissance Duke, Alfonso Ferarra. This poem is based loosely on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, who lived during the Renaissance in the 1500’s. The Duke is the speaker of the poem. He begins with revealing to his readers that he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage to the daughter of another strong and political family. While entertaining the emissary throughout the palace, he stops at a painting of his late wife, his last Duchess. The portrait captures the smile of an obvious happy young lady. While reflecting on the painting of his late wife, the Duke begins to remember and reflect on the portrait sessions conducted by Fra Pandolf and about the late Duchess. Applying the techniques of a dramatic monologue, Browning talks about his relationship with the Duchess to the visitor, and while in the process, disclosing some very personal information and secrets. Foremost, the Duke’s rants presents itself in a dramatic form. Using iambic pentameter AABB couplets, Browning reveals the horrifying story of the murder of the duke's previous wife through the duke's conversation with the emissary. In the process, he tries to paint himself as a loving and abused husband who was forced to kill his wife. This leads to an ambiguous portrayal of the Duke’s character. In the poem, he elaborated on the Duchess’s disgraceful behavior: he claimed she flirted with any person she came into contact with and that she did not appreciate his gift of a nine-hundred-years- old (his last name). According to the text, “Somehow--I know not how--as if she ranked, My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody's gift. Who'd stoop to blame.” The portrayal of himself is proven to be false. As the duke attempts to paint a false picture of himself to the agent, (saying that he was a loving husband and was abused and disrespected by his late wife) it is revealed to the reader of the duke's true character: controlling, manipulative, and extremely jealous. As the Duke’s dramatic monologue continues, the reader realizes with a suspenseful turn of the Duke’s malicious nature, as it is revealed that his control and jealousy issues led him to give the commands to have the Duchess killed. The Duke’s character is solidified as he carelessly points at another painting after making his dramatic disclosure.  Moreover, “My Last Duchess” is filled with imagery. The prevalent symbol in "My Last Duchess" is the portrait of the Duchess herself. The painting by Fra Pandolf apparently evoked the Duke to reflect and reminisce about his late wife. The Duke uses descriptive phrases to capture the beauty of the portrait. According to the poem, the Duke compares the Duchess’ mood to the vivid objects of cherries and a white mood to describe her happiness. The vibrant colors that the Duke used and the elaboration on the Duchess’s smile revealed that the Duke’s last Duchess was a very lovely and happy woman with whom the Duke did not have much control over. As stated in the poem, “Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile?” This line implies that the Duchess’s smile was a double edge sword for the Duke. He adored her smile, however, he resented that the Duchess smiled at other men. Her smile and his jealousy and rage ultimately led the Duke to kill her. In the poem “My Last Duchess”, there are many prominent themes and motifs. The Duke is a very controlling and manipulative. The Duke wanted to control his wife but was not able to because she was prideful and disrespectful. This ultimately led to the Duke killing his wife because he was not able to have full control. The author used dramatic irony in “My Last Duchess” to connect the reading with the monologue being presented by the Duke. The language and communication of the poem changed as the monologue presented by the Duke. It goes from the Duke talking about the painting to telling the events of the death of the Duke’s wife. Moreover, the title of the poem foreshadowed the dramatic conclusion of the poem. After reading the poem, we learn that the Duke killed his former wife proclaiming to the title of “My Last Duchess.” The title reveals several implications. First off, the title implies that there was a Duchess before her and that there will be another Duchess after her. Also, the title implies that the woman is not a Duchess anymore. The woman could have passed away, there could have been a divorce between the Duke and the Duchess, or the Duke could have married another woman who took the former Duchess’s place.

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