My Last Duchess Flashcards
Who wrote my last duchess
Robert browning
When was it written
1842
What’s the form of the poem
A first person dramatic monologue which allows us to explore the dukes motivations and actions
What highlights dukes narcissism and pride
Possessive pronouns
Eg “that’s my last duchess” and “is my object”
What type of rhyme and beat is there
Rhyming couplets, frequent enjambment pushes the poem on like how the duke is relentlessly pursuing his next bride
What duke is this poem loosely based on
Duke Ferrara of
Give 1 context on life of browning
Had to move to Italy to marry because of his wife’s over protective father- parallelism from his real life experience to duke
Who is the duke speaking too
The count- envoy
What 3 names does her refer to and why
“Fra pandolf” - artist
“My gift of a nine hundred year old name with anybody’s gift”- demands respect, his antique name should be the biggest gift of all for her
“Claus of innsbruck”
Names represent status and importance
Give quotation that shows the duke still has power over her even now she’s dead
“Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I”
Quotation is in brackets in the poem to draw our attention and take notice of it- he’s attention seeking- threatening tone
Finish the quotation “too
“Too soon made glad”- easily pleased but he wants all the attention- paranoid and self conscious?- that’s why he has to own everything and name drop
“The bough
“The bough of cherri w some official fool broke in the orchard for her”
What makes the duchess happy,?
“Cherries, sunset (dropping of the daylight in the west) riding her horse”
Everything brings her the same amount of joy, he wants more!
Finish the quotation “I gave
“I gave commands then all smiles stopped together”
Where’s the irony in the poem
He says he chooses “never to stoop” to her level- never lower his status to bring up his true feelings about what she does however he’s just spent 56 lines speaking about her and what she did - insight into his character
