...“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...
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...Mr del Vecchio Name___________________________________________Form________________ From left to right, match the image with a poem from the anthology you havde studied Scaffold for an essay in response to the poetry question How do Carol Ann Duffy in Havisham and Simon Armitage in Kid and Robert Browning in ‘The Laboratory’ and ‘My Last Duchess’, present their perspectives on the theme of betrayal? Objective: how to achieve an A* in the Poetry question * Respond to texts critically, sensitively and in detail, using textual evidence as appropriate * Explore how language, structure and forms contribute to the meaning of texts, considering different approaches to texts, and alternative interpretations * Explore relationships and comparisons within and between texts, selecting and evaluating relevant material * Introduction: keep this brief and concise! * Avoid any description of what happens and cut straight to how the themes are treated similarly in the poems and where the writers’ treatments part company. | POINTLiterary Conceits are features of both poems, through which Duffy and Armitage convey the mental state of their characters | HAVISHAM QUOTATIONS“Havisham” | Both poems begin with and frequently employ strong plosives._____________________________________________For the development: * include that Havisham is an interior monologue; * how do the plosives express her state of mind? * In Havisham, the opening plosive...
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...Comparative essay on ‘My last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s lover’ Robert Browning was born in May 1812 and died at the age of seventy. Browning was an English poet who has become known as the person to invent and popularise the dramatic monologue. This made him the foremost Victorian poet; two of his most successful dramatic monologues are those of ‘My last Duchess’ and ‘Porphyria’s Lover’. The reoccurring theme within the two monologues is murder as they show the idea of men killing a lover Dramatic monologues are significant in that there is only one point of view expressed throughout. In Victorian times dramatic monologues were very popular; Browning was seen as the innovator of this style of writing along with other eminent Victorian poets such as Rossetti and Tennyson. The dramatic monologue takes its style from Shakespeare’s soliloquies were a character speaks their thoughts and feelings aloud. This idea and style has been extended to the preset day, with Alan Bennett’s ‘Talking Heads.’ The speaker in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ is the lover himself, residing in a cottage in the countryside at the beginning of the poem. The mood of the narrator is established right at the start as he talks about “the sullen wind’ ‘tore,’ ‘vex’ and ‘spite.’ He is clearly angry and unhappy. However as soon as Porphyria ‘glided’ in, the mood changes and she ‘ shut the cold out and the storm.’ The narrator feels warmed by her presence. At once the reader sees that Porphyria has taken control...
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... The stories “Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cow Wife” and “My Last Duchess” both contain strong male characters whose personalities drive the storyline and affect the outcome of the story; however the two men cause very different outcomes because of their very different personalities. The authors of each story use character, symbolism, and theme to show how a man’s personality can affect everyone around him, no matter what the circumstance may be. One way that the authors of both stories show just how much people can be affected by the personality of a man is by creating strong leading men as the main characters. The main character of “Johnny Lingo’s Eight Cow Wife” is named Johnny Lingo, who is a rich, smart businessman who has a caring heart towards the one he loves. The main character in “My Last Duchess” however, is an wealthy Duke who owns much land and believes that his duchess should have been more proud of the name he had given her while she was alive. One of the striking similarities about the two men is that their names held honor and recognition. However, it is their attitudes toward the people around them and their significant others that differ greatly. Johnny Lingo is humble, and is willing to sacrifice eight cows in order to make the love of his life feel beautiful and confident. On the other hand, the Duke considers himself higher in importance than everyone else, and found it silly and unattractive when his duchess smiled and gave thanks to everyone. Both Johnny Lingo...
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...Gendered Violence in Browning’s Poems “My Last Duchess” and “Porphyria’s Lover”, both written by Robert Browning in 1842, contain strong elements of gendered sexual violence that is likely a product of the repression and censorship that typified the Victorian Age. While “Porphyria’s Lover” is much more graphic and obvious in its depiction of sexual violence, “My Last Duchess” contains a number of elements that are dark and disturbing in their own right. Most important of these is the objectification of the duchess, which reduces her identity to that of another display in a collection. Both similarities and differences between the poems will be analyzed, including theme, symbolism, rhyme scheme, tone, and the nature of the sexual violence itself. This will show that the gendered sexual violence present in Browning’s poems is indicative of their historical context, primarily the social norms of the time. There are strong similarities between the two poems, particularly in theme, where both poems display a preservation of the mens’ idea of the feminine in a form that fit their ideal. In “My Last Duchess” this is seen in the opening lines, “That's my last Duchess painted on the wall / Looking as if she were alive . . .” and a little later in lines nine and ten, when it is revealed that the Duke keeps the painting curtained so that only he can enjoy the sight and smile of his late wife (1-2,9-10). In “Porphyria’s Lover” the theme is present in the narrator’s desire to fix Porphyria...
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...My Last Duchess and Greek Mythology Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” contains a wide variety of rhetorical devices and includes some symbolism. One piece of symbolism that has gone relatively unnoticed is the allusion to Poseidon because of the mention of his Roman counterpart Neptune; both aid in making Browning’s point clear. Neptune and Poseidon both have strong connections to the main speaker (the assumed Duke of Ferrara). Browning is trying to make the point that unfaithful women and quick-tempered men should be avoided. Browning’s poem is about a nobleman showing an emissary of a potential new wife around the nobleman’s art gallery. The nobleman points out the portrait of his last Duchess and talks about her flirtatious nature and other qualities that annoyed him “her looks...
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...The similarities between Robert Browning's two poems, “My Last Duchess” and Porphyria's Lover, are ordinary, as they can be compared in theme, plot, style, language, perspective and various other ways. The two poems make the same statement concerning men and love and men and their relationship with women. In both poems, the male narrator looks like a jealous, overbearing tyrant and the woman a passive victim of circumstance. Neither poem makes men look very good. This is a single stanza poem. The structure used of “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. This poem provides a good use of Euphemism and Persona. The structural elements include iambic pentameter, the line, heroic couplet, strophe and stanza. Poets combine the use of language and a specific structure to create imaginative and expressive work such as My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. The structure used in some Poetry types is also used when considering the visual effect of a finished poem. The structure of many types of poetry results in groups of lines on the page which enhance the poem's composition. This poem provides a good example of Euphemism and Persona. “Porphyria’s Lover,” while natural in its language, does not display the colloquialisms or dialectical markers of some of Browning’s later poems. Moreover, while the cadence of the poem mimics natural speech, it actually takes the form of highly patterned verse, rhyming ABABB. The intensity and asymmetry of the pattern suggests the madness concealed within...
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...Analysis of Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” Melvin J Rogers L26599934 Liberty University Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” is based on an incident in the life of the Italian Duke Alfonso II d’Este of the Duchy of Ferrara (eNotes.com, 2014). The use of the dramatic monologue is the most effective device to reveal what Browning believes to be the true nature of the narrator, the Duke. By allowing the narrator to tell his own story it becomes readily apparent to the reader that he is a flawed person; self-centered, arrogant, controlling and bordering on the narcissistic. In order to lead the reader to the pre-determined conclusion regarding the Duke’s character, Browning creates two tones, one for the Duke, and one for the poem overall. The tone of the Duke is one of arrogance or insolence; he is quite proud of himself in the way in which he feels he commands those around him and he feels that he is superior to them. Several lines in the poem paint this picture for the reader. The Duke feels that merely being a part of his family is something that should be celebrated and cherished (“- as if she ranked/My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/With anybody’s gift.”) (lines 32 – 34). The Duke refers to the artist who painted the portrait of his wife in a way that implies that not just anyone could secure his services (“I said/ “Fra Pandolf” by design …”) (lines 5 - 6). He is proud of the fact that he does not compromise (“- E’en then would be some stooping;...
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...the four stories, Macbeth, My Last Duchess, Pride & Prejudice, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde you will learn how all four of these stories are related to today’s time relationships compared back in the medieval or renaissance romans era. In this essay I will discuss and point out key terms about today’s current relationships and what they lack in order to have a strong stable relationship versus back in the old ages where it was more related to today’s, but more complicated and dishonored. My goal in this research paper is to explain how destructive love affects the relationships in Macbeth, My Last Duchesses’ and Pride and Prejudice. Who wears the pants in the relationship? In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth wore the pants in the relationship. In the...
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...Allison Honeycutt Ms.Kuhn English 12 20 April 2014 Robert Browning When the Victorian period comes into someone’s mind, they may think the Industrial Revolution. This period was a specific time of change, many people who lived during this period would agree. The Victorian period lasted during Queen Victoria’s reign, which is how the name was established. Queen Victoria started as Queen in 1837 which is when the beginning of the period was. The period ended in 1901, which was the death of the Queen. Other then the Industrial revolution, there were many other events that happened in the 64 years of this era like a depression, “The Hungry Forties”, The Potato Famine, and most important very poor working conditions. One poet that really stood out during all of these tragic events was a man named Robert Browning. Robert Browning wrote many different works, but two works that are common but different are “Prospice” and “My Last Duchess” which both come with common themes but different approaches to those themes. Robert Browning was born on May 7th, 1812 in Camberwell, London to a middleclass family. When Browning was a very young child he decided that he wanted to be a poet. His love for poetry came from his father, also a Robert Browning. His parents were completely supportive with his decision to become a poet. His father specifically educated Browning at home. It is said that the reason of his “wide range of unusual information the mature poet brought to his work” (Poetry...
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...The poem under review in this paper is Robert Browning's “my last Duchess” based on historical events involving the duke of Ferrara (Alfonso) who lived back in the 16th century. The duke is the speaker of the poem about the affection she showed to othermen. It's suggested that this affection causes the narratorto kill her. He tells us that he is entertaining an emissary whom his soon wife to be has sent to negotiate terms of the marriage. He takes him on a tour in his palace, in his gallery specifically. He comes across a portrait painted directly on the wall and volunteers to tell the circumstances in which it was painted and the fate of his unfortunate former wife. He says that his wife was a flirt, she would smile at every man and described her behavior as “disgraceful”, until he gave commands that all her smiles would stop at once –to have her killed-. Having finished his story, he moved on to the next antique as if the past one was nothing. The poet is hiding behind the persona of a real-life Duke who has coldly murdered his young wife and speaks of her as if she was nothing. The title of the poem "my last duchess" suggests that the duke had had more than one duchess that shows greatly how women were treated like objects and properties that were made for men's pleasure. so we can reveal from that ,The dominant theme of this poem is anti-feminism. The way women were perceived at that age is clearly evident in the way the Duke speaks of his wife as if she were a property,...
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...My Last Duchess Robert Browning was in his 50s before he achieved universal popularity but the lean years prior to his recognition allowed the poet to experiment with genre, form and language. As well as poetry, Browning had a great love of theatre and one of his early ambitions was as a playwright but after failing to find success on the stage, he accepted that he lacked the skill to engage audiences for several hours. However, his apprenticeship was not wasted for Browning, honing his skills by endlessly editing scripts, took the dramatic monologue (a new genre of poetry invented by Tennyson) and perfected it. His preoccupation with individual introspection that was a disaster in theatre, once transferred to poetry, added richness and depth. And by employing dramatic techniques learned in the theatre, he created complete poems that could be viewed as vignettes of a larger text. In other words, he was able to successfully write shorter pieces but in a new dramatic fashion. My Last Duchess is not only an example of a dramatic monologue, it is also one of Browning’s most famous and, generally regarded as, his best work. Published in 1842, the poem is the influence of a month-long trip to Italy, a country where he ultimately spent a large part of his life, and can be considered one of his ‘Italian’ poems. The back story is usually considered to be that of the last of the Este line, the fifth Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso II, a Renaissance aristocrat who is famous for imprisoning...
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...DREAM INTERPRETATIONS IN THE DUCHESS OF MALFIAND ALL FOR LOVE Superstition, a sort of a feeling that takes umpteen number of forms and at times frightens life out of people, takes a special place in the life of a person which might make a person float on cloud nine or perish in dungeons. Superstitions are universal and they do exist even now in the 21st century and the plays before three centuries are no exceptions. The plays during the 16th and 17th centuries were abounding with superstitious beliefs which might seem ridiculous in the present scenario. In this paper we shall see the role of superstitious beliefs and dreams in The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster and All for Love by John Dryden. The Duchess of Malfi is a revenge tragedy and unlike other revenge tragedies here the villain himself avenges the death of the Duchess. The Duchess is a young widow who is in love with Antonio, the manager of her house hold and is steadfast on marrying him. In spite of the threatening of her brothers she marries Antonio with the aid of Cariola. Ferdinand, one of her brothers employs Bosolo to spy her. Ferdinand apart from eyeing the fortune of the Duchess he also eyes her beauty. But Cardinal, the other brother of the Duchess is worried only about her wealth. Bosola passes the news that the Duchess has given birth to a child and Ferdinand in unquenchable fury banishes the Duchess. Ferdinand with the help of Bosola gains a fake key to the chamber of the Duchess and enters the chamber without...
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...it. The interpretations of many poems are based upon the measures of the time period in which they were written and often tend to reflect on the time period. A poem’s theme is usually interpreted by not only the plot, but the elaborate diction and language used that contribute to the mood evoked by the poem. Three poems were written in different time periods that all contain a similar theme of “supremacy” are “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, “I like to see it lap the Miles” by Emily Dickinson, and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke. Disregards to the dissimilar time periods of these poems, the audience’s comprehension of the theme to each poem will...
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...Women and society, both in the past and present, have a tumultuous relationship. In the past, societal norms for behaviors and female expectations were, generally, decided upon by the patriarchy. In some occasions, these norms are impressed on one woman who impresses it onto another. Throughout history, women’s fate draw upon societal expectations, as represented in “Sadie and Maud” by Gwendolyn Brooks, in which there can be disastrous results as represented in “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy. In order to appropriately discuss the three works, one must know what a feminist, new historical approach entails. In “Feminism and the ‘New Historicism’”, written by Judith Lowder Newton, one definition may be: “In feminist history, moreover, sexuality and reproduction, both constructed, both seen as sites of power and struggle” (Newton, 154). It is both the difference in gender and the fact that women are capable of birthing children affects literature. Depending on the piece, it can be seen as a “power” over men, but in other cases, it’s a main point of argument for a patriarchal society. “Sadie and Maud” is a telling of two sisters’ lives through perfect rhyming quatrains. The nursery...
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