MLD Flashcards
L–k-ng…
Looking as if alive
W-rk-d b-s-ly
Worked busily
- W-ll’t pl–s- y– sit -nd
l–k at h-r
Will’t please you sit and
look at her
The c-rt–n I h-v- dr-wn
The curtain I have drawn
c-ll-d th-t sp-t / of j-y -nto
called that spot / Of joy into the duchess’ cheek
Half-flush
Half-flush that dies along her throat
s-ch…
such stuff
E’en then
E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose / Never to stoop
I g-v- c-mm-nds…
I gave command;
Then all smiles stopped togeather
Th-r- sh- st-nds..
There she stands / As if alive
Will’t…
Will’t please you rise?
MER+C
Will’t please you rise?
-Presented as an iterragative and polite however due to the disparity on social class, by implication it acts as an imperitive.
C- Social class
MER+C
1)”Looking as if she weres alive”
2)There she stands/ As if live
- Cyclical strructure C - Power is immortal and will persist unless there is societal change
-Simile
1) Impression of reminisance
2) Far more sinister implications
3) Enj creates a somewhat macabré atmoshphere
MER+C
The curtain I have drawn for you
Power and control, he decides when to curtain and uncurtain her
Possessiveness and sees her as a material object
Possesiveness 1) Closeness, love
2) Pathological, sinister
MER+C
called that spot/ Of joy
1) Healthy youthful blush he sees as a “spot” which connotates to a stain ans suggests that the Duke is sexually insecure as he does not like it if his wife blushes.
2) ENJ - Spitting contempy + SIBILANCE + PLOSIVE in spot
MER+C
Half-flush that dies along her throat : such stuff
Half flush…
May be a compliment of her youthful beauty but the idiomatic use of “dies: may foreshadow her death and creates a sinister atmosphere
Such stuff
SIBILANCE - Spitting contempy - awk phonolagy and fricative nature of “stuff” is indicative of his jealousy and insecurity.
MER+C
E’en then would be some stooping : and I choose / never to stoop
No point in arguing as she wouldnt understand and even if she did it would make him look weak
Polyptoton- emphasises the Duke’s need to have absolute power and his desire to be seen as strong and not weak. He would do anything to not sully his reputation and image especially infront of women who he sees as an inferior
Enj- Physicallises the stooping and shows the Dukes Petulance and stubborn nature
Awk phonolgy - dismissive and no intrest in voivcing his concerns and arguing.
Critises the treatment of women and the dismissive nature of some men.
I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together
Implication of murder
Enjambment
Context
- The Duke of Ferrara is widely considered to be the insporation for the poem whose first wife died under suspicious circumstances and then he remarried multiple times, which further accentuates the potrayal of tyranny as something that will persist, and history will repeat itself unless there is societal change
Browning sets the poem in another time and place so that the reader is more accepting of the underlying political message and criticism of society, and accept the need for change to bresk the power of tyrants.
Browning was critical of the treatment of women at the time and pushed for a more égaliterian society
Increasing social mobility in Britian in terms of class but aswell as Gendeer however they still had no legal rights and would be married off by brothers and fathers. They were legal property and it was believed they were incapable of rational thought.
Set in the Italian renaisance and written during Victorian England
Structure
Iambic pentameter
