My Last Duchess Flashcards
My Last Duchess : setting
Italian renaissance
My Last Duchess : all smiles stopped
This grew; I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together
My Last Duchess : disgust
‘Just this or that in you disgusts me’
My Last Duchess : Themes
Attitudes to women and how they were controlled in Victorian England
My Last Duchess : summary
The duke shows a guest a painting which he hides behind a curtain. It is a very good painting showing his last duchess. She was pleased by everyone and so his frustration grew, refusing to talk to her until he ordered her to death
My Last Duchess : Curtain quote
‘since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I’
My Last Duchess : Narrator
The poem is told by an unreliable narrator. I.E. it is implied the duchess is cheating, but this is unlikely due to the narrirator.
My Last Duchess : Improvement in death quote
That piece a wonder, now:
My Last Duchess : Spot of joy in husband quote
Sir, ‘twas not her husband’s presence only, called that spot of joy into the duchess’ cheek:
My Last Duchess : Structure
Dramatic monologue, iambic pentameter, rhyming couplets, enjambment (sentences run over the lines)
My Last Duchess : Language breaks
Over the second half, the amount of commas and dashes increases. The duke is pausing and carefully choosing his words
My Last Duchess : Metaphor of the statue taming a sea horse
The statue of Neptune is a metaphor for the view the duke has of the situation. He sees himself as a powerful god, taming his wife (wild creature)
Also represents the Duke’s desires to control everything around him
My Last Duchess : enjambment meaning
This could be to make the poem more realistic, or an alternate view is that the duke cannot control everything, starting with himself.
My Last Duchess - Deictic markers - “That’s my last Duchess”
Deictic “that’s” signify the Dukes control over us, making us see what he wants us to see
My Last Duchess - “Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse”
