My Last Duchess Flashcards
List all the techniques
FORM Dramatic monologue - one stanza Iambic pentameter - reg rhythm & line length Rhyming couplets 1st person narrative
STRUCTURE: Enjambment Caesuras FLI LLI Title
LANGUAGE: Verbs Repetition Irony Euphemisms Exclamations Death reference Imperatives Alliteration and symbolism Informal language
Who wrote it?
Robert Browning
When was it published?
1842
Why was it written?
Browning was fascinated by the Italian Renaissance, as it was a period in which art flourished
What are the attitudes?
Pride - being upper class and having good morals don’t necessarily go together
Jealousy - being overly possessive can lead to death
Power - people in power sometimes abuse it
Recite your introduction sentence
My Last Duchess, published in 1842 by Robert Browning, is based on the mysterious death of the Duke of Ferrara’s wife, Lucrezia, in 1561. It was written as Browning was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, as it was a period in which art flourished.
Recite your conclusion
Browning was an English-born poet who live in Italy in the 1800s, and was very interested in art, books and culture; this is what inspired his poem. Browning’s attitudes throughout the poem are mainly expressing how being upper class and having good morals - combined with being overly possessive and a using power - don’t go together.
Who was Browning?
A poet born in England but lived in Italy in the 1800s. He was very interested in art, books and culture, and eloped with his wife Elizabeth Barrett, another poet.
What’s the poem about?
In 1561, the Duke of Ferrara’s wife, Lucrezia, died in suspicious circumstances
