My Last Duchess Flashcards
My Last Duchess (MLD) is about Duke … who feels like his wife is not being loyal to him, so he has her killed
Ferrara
Title possessive pronoun and in first line
“My” last duchess - showing a sense of ownership/control and self-centeredness
Sentence structure / ending for first 4 lines / significance
“Wall”, “call”. “Hands” “stands”.
- rhyming couplets
- iambic pentameter Both symbolise the Duke’s control
“(since none puts by The curtain i have drawn for you..)”
- first person used to show that Duke still controls ‘his’ last Duchess even during death
“she had a heart - how shall i say? - too soon made glad”
-shows that the Duke had expectations for the Duchess but she did not meet them
- the dashes emphasises the Duke’s relaxed/arrogant attitude to his views on her.
- slight euphemism as he questions how to put it: “too soon made glad”
“Will’t you please sit and look at her?”
- duke forces his visitor to sit down w/ the rhetorical question, implying that the Duke is in sole control of who sees her.
- this is also a use of levels/proxemics to show hierarchy/power level as the Duke is stood up (powerful) and the visitor (unnamed) is sitting and in this case less powerful.
“if they durst”
- Shows others fear him due to his natural power over them - therefore they dont dare to ask/challenge him about the painting.
“The bough of cherries some officious fool”
- he wants his wealth and status to be more important.
- shows his materialism -> doesnt 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
- Reliant on controlling women to mske himself feel powerful and desirable.
- sense of underlying vulnerability.
“I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”
- Shows the Power of Man, in the span of a line, he got her killed so fast - he didnt even consider consequences
- This is euphemism for her murder “all smiles stopped”.
- Shows an overreaction - murder is a sign of lack of control (Like Macbeth and his lack of control w his mind etc)
“Notice Neptune”
- metaphor of Neptune suggests he sees himself as god-like (Ruler of the Sea)
- ^ Men are Gods that must tame their wives to show the hubris (excessive pride/ self-confidence) and pride of the duke
- Shows he is extremely materialistic , as he condemns her finding nature beautiful but places a lot of value, in a statue “thought a rarity”
- He clearly believes that his status and wealth should be seen as more valuable than anything available to the common man! (Arrogrant)
Cyclical Structure?
Started and ended with statues/art. –> shows that art and wealth are his priority as he values them more (than other things like his wife).
Form of poem? + significance
Dramatic monologue – domineering presence - shows how he silences others (no other voice heard except the Duke’s)
Single stanza - not interrupted - he controls the pace of the convo
First person, present tense narrative - gives speaker a great deal of power over the text as he can control what he tells the reader - reflects Duke’s power over women and his subjects (perhaps extended to the readers too)
^ could also be biased, exaggerated or untrue as its first person only from his pov.
- no female side to this story - mirrors how there was no female side to the narrative of Victorian society either (Women had no right to vote or hold power outside the home - politically silenced)
- Thus, Browning’ criticism of the Duke’s abuse of power is a criticism of the inequality in who holds power.
