My last Duchess Flashcards
summary
speaker ,a d uke , points out a portrait of his former wife , invitinge implied listneir to admire its lifelike quality ,
- duke implies that his wife may habve neem flirting wit waiter , too quickly comes clear hat dukee beleived wife was too freindly or flitratious with everyoen esle and dint apprecite duke himslef .
- duke expresses his belief that the power conferred uphon hsi wife by mariage uaaluabel and she shoudl be grateful for this @gift@ he also makes cler that he didnt need to expin that .
- duke hintd he had his wife killed nd sicusses meeitng hte listener’s master - a count he hopes t o marry .
key aspecs of poem
- poem is in drmatic monolgue presenting us wighth onyl duke’s voice . resepresne power of duek as listnenr remians silent .
- use of iambic pentameter in rhyming couplets reflects the conrol of the dke .
key theme of social status
borwmigng makes it clear duke is upset not jus about duchess;s perceived infideltiy , also offende that she seems as content ith less materiallly valubale fits , accuses hero f being ‘too easily impressed’ he htniks he should be more discerning . Brownign depiicts the Duke’s irritation at hsis wife’s enjoyment of natue a ‘bioough of cherries’
key quotation power of his name
Duke’s obsession with valsue of his family anme
‘my gits a 900 years old name’ made mire umportant by hypenrsted ajecibe prhase to emphasise tthe age of nae
-mplies rhat this makes the due untouchable .
vern ‘ranled’ empahssies e association with status instead of calued whih has less to do with sturcute , brwonign uses specific word swith its connotations of drading and levels of worth .
posessivees of duke
‘my’ last uchess , shows how self obssessed the duke is as he objecivies her as ine of his possesins .
‘none puts the cutain’ i have drawn for you , only he can acess duchesses image .
death of duchess
fainthalf fulsh dies along her thorat
the duchess joful reactio to compliment sis juxpaosed with the foreshaswoigng of her fte by vocabalry ‘dies’ and throat’ also how she ided [posisbly .
duke duchess is free with her affeciosn towards othe rmen .
‘her looks wnet everyhere;
arrogance of duke
i choose never to stop
alsohe has a sacracstic tone but it hosws his anger
‘@oh she smiled no doubt whenever I passed her’ also showing his jeaousy – which leads onto hat mabe Duke lacks power .
continued from eight
lac of power due to enjambent , onse sanza poem .reflecing duek’s sprawlig uncontrolled speech as he canrt seem to conrol his frustation and posibl jealousty , cant controll himself .
domicnacne of duke
questions frmsed and demans shows his social superiosty demading from an inferior .
He descirbes neptuuen god o the sea as tmaing a eild animal , metaphor for duek and whe feels like his role is toward women , to domineer and control tyring to ‘fix’ his wife .
end it ends with ‘me!@ closing on a firt person pornoun ephasises how self-centered h is reflected by drmatic monolgue form
what should it be compared to ?
Ozymadnias
