My Last Duchess Flashcards
My Last Duchess quotes
“My Last Duchess” immediately evokes reader’s interest (reader is left to question ‘why is it his last?’). The speaker establishes control from the very start of the poem through the use of the possessive pronoun “my”. “Last” suggests the duchess was temporary & simply the most recent in a long line of wives
“Spot of joy”. The man is jealous of her blush with other men. “Spot” almost sounds critical as if her blush is a blemish
“My gift of a nine-hundred-year-old-name”. The man’s status/power through time within society. He owns the wife as an object
“I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together” - euphemism for her murder, shows his power (as he was able to kill her with a simple command with no consequences)
Form of My Last Duchess
Dramatic monologue - shows the prominent presence of the Duke, who dominates a conversation (the poem is in the form of a conversation) & wont let anyone else talk. There is no female side to story (reflects Victorian society)
Lack of control over what he says, shown by parentheses & dashes in “-how shall I say?-“. This implies he is overcome by emotion/anger as he lacks control over his speech
Entire poem is in rhyming couplets. The whole poem is strictly controlled (to rhyme), much like the woman
Structure of My Last Duchess
Iambic pentameter used. A classic of English poetry, reflecting how the Duke holds traditional views of women in patriarchal Victorian society
Strict rhyme and rythmn suggests the Duke’s power over the completely powerless wife (in the form of a lifeless painting)
The poem is a Single verse, 1 stanza - overwhelming/tiring to read, suggesting his presence is overwhelmingly dominant, even for the reader. One stanza gives the poem a sense of being like a stream of consciousness of the Duke’s unadulterated thoughts
Lots of enjambment - gives the poem a more natural flow like a conversation OR the Duke gets emotional & worked up, unable to compose himself (hence the overflowing lines)
Caesura to show his speech as poorly planned as he keeps interrupting himself - unpleasant to listen to, unstable rambling.
Context of My Last Duchess
Poem is about the Duke of Ferrarar talking about his first wife, Lucrezia de’ Medici, 3yrs after her suspicious death shortly after marrying the Duke
