My Last Duchess Flashcards
Form
Dramatic monologue: the first-person narrative allows us to fully understand the Duke’s actions and motivations and could also mirror his self-importance.
Also mirrors his obsessive need for power and control as the conversation is one-sided: we never hear from the wife or the visiter
Structure
one long stanza combined with enjambment suggests that he gets carried away with his anger and passions in contrast to the rhyming couplets which mirrors his desire for control. this presents him as an unstable character
Also note that the poem concludes where it began: with possession. “My” is the first word of the poem’s title; “me” is the final word of the poem, highlighting how possessive he is.
That’s my last Duchess
power of humans
The pronoun “my” hints at the possessiveness the Duke feels toward women as it sounds as if he owns the Duchess herself
the adjective “last” implies that the previous Duchess is just part of a long list of the many wives that the Duke had already had or will have and hints at this objectification of women.
Looking as if she were alive
creates sinister overtones and highlights his wicked nature when we find out later in the poem that he killed her
this statement is repeated later on in the poem striking fear into the reader
(since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
Power of Humans
he controls who gets to see her face, and doesn’t need to worry about other men seeing her as they used to.
The curtains mimic the parenthesis they are put in (brackets) showing that he relishes in the power of concealing his wife as in the past he wasn’t able to control her frivolity. the curtains are his tool of gaining one over on his wife
Sir, ‘twas not Her husband’s presence only, called that spot Of joy
(pride, power)
He expects her to only gain joy from her husband and he expects to be her entire life and purpose in her life. Wants complete domination of her life and presents him as paranoid
“If they durst” (power)
shows the power he has over people, since people were scared of his temper
“As if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With anybody’s gift” (power of humans)
- This indicates the Duke’s vanity, his obsession with wanting to always be the best, and the intensity with which he seeks her exclusive attention. His problem is that she does not recognise the ‘value’ of his “nine-hundred-years-old name”. This is fundamental to his entrenched sense of entitlement and power.
- the possessive pronoun ‘my’ highlights his self-importance and arrogance.
“Who’d stoop to blame This sort of trifling?……….. I choose Never to stoop.” (pride)
- The fact that the Duke considers talking to his own wife to be ‘stooping’ portrays just how much his ego is inflated as he is so proud that he is even criticising his wife.
- portrays him as patronising and demeaning which is further emphasises through the repetition of “stoop”
- shows the Duke’s male entitled pride: he won’t lower himself to talk to his wide and confront her about what he fears, as it would show him as paranoid and weak.
- suggests there’s no point arguing with a woman as she is so far below him and incapable of rational thinking and he shouldn’t have to explain it to her: during the 18th-century women were expected to be meek, obedient and submissive
- trifling sounds like her actions were foolish and childish, showing his disapproval.
“I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.” (power of humans, pride)
- The caesura which finishes this line further emphasizes the blatant stop to the Duchess’ happiness, and life, by the hands of the Duke.
- The fact that the Duke “gave commands,” does show his power and authority over other people but, alternatively, could suggest that he is a spineless, wicked man that has other people to carry out his evil deeds rather than associating himself with such atrocities; he is protective over his reputation.
“Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse thought a rarity,” (pride, power)
- the symbolic image of domination. The sea-god is “taming” something at once beautiful and far less powerful than himself, as the Duke could not do with his wife-or could do only by the most extreme measures.
- The entire poem is about the ownership of women as art objects, valued only when or if they can be “tamed” like Neptune’s sea-horse
- The metaphor suggests Duke sees himself as a god-like figure with unlimited power.
- Also shows that the Duke is extremely materialistic as he condemns her finding nature beautiful but places a lot of value, in a statue “though a rarity”. Clearly, he believes his status and wealth should be seen as more valuable than anything available to the common man
