my last duchess Flashcards
what is my last duchess about
Duke is showing a painting of his dead wife to a visitor
● Has it hidden behind a curtain – makes the visitor sit down to admire it
● Praises the artist who painted it ● Points out duchess’ blush – suggests she was flirting and being complimented
● Laments over wife being “too easily pleased” – criticises her for appearing to favour other men
● Claims he was not eloquent enough to tell her to stop
● So he had orders for her to be killed
● Then discusses with the visitor arrangements for his next marriage
● Points out statue upon leaving
The poem is about an Itallian Duke, who has supposedly killed his first wife and is now planning another wedding to another woman. He displays a painting done of his dead life in his house, and reveals it to a visitor, who is made to sit and admire it
context on robert browning
Browning was born in London, but spent most of life in Italy, and eventually died in Venice.
He disliked school so was homeschooled, but was also fluent in many languages and started writing poetry when he was a child.
In 1845 he married Elizabeth Barret against her father’s permission, keeping the wedding secret from her domineering father. He had visited Italy shortly before writing the poem “My Last Duchess”
significance of the time the poem was written
industrial revolution
-contains a political message and a criticism of society
-The poem was written during the Industrial Revolution, when society was starting to see social mobility in terms of class as well as gender, as women starting to demand equality and saw the beginning of the suffrage movement
-Beforehand, views of women were very backwards and women would become property of their husbands upon marriage, losing right to all property and possessions.
● no legal rights / no access to divorce, and would be married off by brothers and fathers as they were seen as financial burden and as incapable of ‘rational thought’.
● patriarchal views are shown in the poem in the line “I choose never to stoop”, which suggests the speaker thinks there is no point arguing with a woman because they won’t ever come to understand. The woman’s role was firmly situated in the domestic sphere
The conflict within the poem is subtle but displays itself in the power the Duke has over the Duchess’ life. There is also a conflict between how the Duke presents himself to the outside world versus his Duke’s true character. Conflict arose when the Duke realised he couldn’t control his wife, and he retaliated by killing her, which is an abuse of his power and contro
effect of dramatic monologue
-obsessed,rambling,psychotic
The choice of this perspective shows the domineering presence of the Duke, who dominates a conversation and won’t let anyone else talk because he tends to take control of everything. The dramatic monologue means readers are exclusively exposed to his perspective. Thus the reader begins to understand the need to decipher what is and isn’t true for themselves. dramatic monologue provides the reader with a biased account of the narrative which means the reader is immediately aware of need to read between the lines. There is no female side to the story, and this mirrors how there was no female side to the narrative of Victorian society either. Women had no right to vote or hold power outside of the home so were politically silenced. Browning’s criticism of the Duke’s abuse of power is thus a criticism of the inequality in who holds power
structure
-no real structural progression
Browning uses traditional meter of Iambic Pentameter, which is a classic of English poetry. IAMBIC PENTAMETER .The meter reflects how the Duke holds traditional and conservative views of women, especially seeing as the poem is set in the past. It also demonstrates the Duke’s sense of pride and superiority, because the meter has a very tight control of rhythm and rhyme. Iambic Pentameter was used by Shakespeare to show nobility, and it was thought to be the most natural meter for English language. Thus the speaker or characters are able to maintain a conversational tone whilst still keeping a dramatic element.
The use of one single verse to structure the poem makes it feel overwhelming and tiring. This structure mirrors the Duke’s power, suggesting his presence is overwhelming as he dominates the room and the poem.
● This power relates to how there is no importance placed on needing to cover up his mistreatment of past wife as he is so powerful it won’t impact him.
● It makes it very obvious that it is only his view that is ever given in any situation or decision, and that the woman is given no say or chance to defend herself.
● This dominating relates to the context of the poem as both set and written in a patriarchal society, by a man so women are only being viewed through the eyes and perspective of men.
(like a stream of consciousness of the Duke’s unadulterated thoughts and feelings. The stream of consciousness suggests the speaker lacks censorship, thus demonstrating a lack of control over himself. This clack of control implies the Duke has control over others but not over himself and is trying to compensate for this.)
(There is a lack of control over what he says and he keeps getting sidetracked. This is shown by parentheses and dashes such as in the line “– how shall I say? –“. This punctuation choice works to make the poem conversational and demonstrates his lack of “skill in speech”. It could also imply that he is overcome by emotion and anger and this is why he lacks control over his speech and actions. Therefore, he has control/power over himself but not over others.)
main idea 1
yearning for power and dominancy
‘that’s my last duchess’- establishes control from the very start with ‘my’
‘my gift of a nine hundred years old name’
‘notice neptune’
The speaker makes use of possessive pronouns such as “my” to show that he has ownership of the Duchess, and shows that she is a possession not an individual. She has no autonomy and is just like all the other things he can buy, such as statues and art, simply existing for his enjoyment. The speaker refers to her as “my duchess”, not “my wife”, which shows a lack of affection or emotion. This furthers the image that she is an accessory not a partner, as well as showing his complete power over her. It also shows his jealousy, and suggests he feels a wife should be seen and enjoyed only by her husband. the duke is wanting to give a clear message about not challenging his power.
‘that’- immediate ownership of her prescence with a spiteful tone, establishes clearly that she belongs to him, commences with an abrupt tone
‘my gift of a nine hundredyears old name’ -Shows he holds status and power within society, boasting about this but also a reflection about how the woman is now owned by her husband, as she has to take his name and then loses all legal rights.
‘notice neptune’ =The metaphor of Neptune suggests he sees himself as god-like – men are gods that must tame their wives show the excessive hubris and pride of the duke. Shows that the Duke is extremely materialistic, as he condemns her finding nature beautiful but places a lot of value, in a statue “thought a rarity”. Clearly, he believes his status and wealth should be seen as more valuable than anything available to the common man
The statue of Neptune also creates parallels to the Duke who has attempted to use his domestic power to “tame” a wife that was “too easily impressed”. He transformed her from a “sea-horse” with free will into a painting that is controlled by him and a possession equal in status to other statues. The statue is the last thing he shows the envoy, and this could be seen as a warning that he expects his next wife to be tamed, seeing as he was successful in taming his last Duchess
main idea 2-
objectification and oppression of women
The line “I call that piece a wonder” is ominous as it suggests the Duke viewing the subject of his dead wife as a piece of art rather than sentimentally as his wife. This immediately suggests she was only ever a possession to him. The speaker of the Duke establishes control from the very start, from the possessive pronoun “my”. The Duke forces his visitor to sit down with the rhetorical question “will’t please you sit and look at her?”, which implies that the Duke is in sole control of who sees her. The opening immediately sets up a sinister tone for the piece, as the phrase “as if she were alive” shows that the Duchess has died
‘Her husband’s presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek’connotes infidelity=Unreasonable to expect her to only gain joy from her husband. He expects to be her entire life and purpose in life. Her life has the aim of pleasing and being pleased by him. Complete domination of her life. Also presents him as paranoid
main idea 3
insecurity of men, paranoia,
’ the bough of cherries some officious fool’
‘or blush, at least. she thanked men,-good!’
‘who’d stoop to blame’
the bough of cherries some officious fool-
He wants his wealth and status to be more important. Shows his materialism – doesn’t value natural beauty and natural pleasures of the earth. Sees her liking other things as a criticism of himself. Presents him as insecure. Expects her to reserve her joy and smiles for him alone Hurts his pride if he is not unique. Reliant on controlling women to make himself feel powerful and desirable. Sense of underlying vulnerability
‘or blush, at least. she thanked men,-good!’
fragmented speaking, the caesura reflects his anger, exclamatory= trying to gain stability
‘who’d stoop to blame’
he won’t lower himself to talk to his wife and confront her about what he fears, as it would show him as paranoid and weak.
verb ‘stoop’ =It also suggests there’s no point arguing with a woman as she is so far below him, and incapable of rational thinking, AND he shouldn’t have to explain it to her – she should be meek and obedient and submissive= deep down he is insulted
examples of euphemism of death
‘i gave commands; then all smiles stopped together’
‘half flush that dies along her throat’
sinister tone,Euphemism for her murder. Shows the power he has – can just kill her without concequence, but also shows such an overreaction – murder is a sign of lack of control.=’i gave commands; then all smiles stopped together’
‘half flush that dies along her throat’ = unsettling sudden reference to her death
