My Last Duchess Flashcards
What is My Last Duchess about?
a Duke shows a portrait of his former wife to a visitor, the Duke was angered by her friendliness towards everyone, there are strong hints he murdered her for it. the visitor was someone who was going to arrange his next marriage
“my last Duchess painted on the wall”
sounds as though he owns the duchess herself not just the picture, suggests he is possessive and controlling
“The curtain I have draw for you but I”
he controls who looks at the painting, but he couldn’t control who looked at his wife when she was alive, implies he thinks she’s better of this way, selfish
“that spot of joy”
repetition, shows that his wife’s blushes bother him, gets jealous if she blushes at anyone but him
“how shall I say?”
he struggles to express his irritation, its bubbling up inside him and he is trying not to spill every little secret
“her looks went everywhere”
he thinks she flirted a lot, in his eyes, he mistook her cheerful and friendly behaviour as flirting
“Sir, ‘twas all one!”
he is justifying himself, convincing the visitor as well as himself that he hasn’t committed a sin, he is defensive
“She thanked men, - good! but thanked Somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked”
the punctuation and repetition creates a stuttering effect, this underlines his exasperation with her behaviour
“stoop” “my give of a nine-hundred-year old name”
He is proud of his history and the importance of his family and the titles of “Duke” and “Duchess”. didn’t feel like she appreciated them or saw the importance, he felt like she was below him
“I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.”
cold and cynical, seems to be an euphemism for his wife
“Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse, though a rarity”
he returns to the subject of his art collection, which emphasises his power and wealth. The story of his last Duchess is a subtle warning to his visitor on how he expects his new wife to behave
what are the themes of ‘My Last Duchess’?
power of humans, memory, pride, identity
the power of humans in My last Duchess?
The Duke seems obsessed with power of being able to control people, who looks at the painting for example. lack of explanation suggests he doesn’t feel responsible for the murder and feels its a good thing
memory in My last Duchess?
the memory of his wife is put across as how he doesn’t want his new wife to behave.
pride in My last Duchess?
the Duke is that proud of his name he doesn’t believe his dead wife deserved the name he gave her because she didn’t act the way he wanted her to almost as if he thinks he can control everyone
