My Last Duchess analysis

Question 1

“Then all smiles stopped together.”

Answer 1

• Metonymy ‘smiles’ reduces his wife to a lasting expression which he doesn’t like
• Caesura brings a sense of finality which signifies her death or alternatively that he killed her for this very reason
• Sinister tone created after her death, shows how the Duke still wants to control her and how she is viewed by others

Question 2

“Notice Neptune though taming a sea horse”

Answer 2

• Noun ‘neptune’ is a strong and powerful Roman God, so through this metaphor, a boastful tone is portrayed which presents the Duke as having an obsession with power
• Verb ‘taming’ suggests how the Duke treated the Duchess as a pet
• however it is in the present participle suggesting how he never had complete control over her
• Sculpture is a visual metaphor for the denomination he wanted to have over his wife

Question 3

“As if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name”

Answer 3

• Noun ‘gift’ shows how he is proud over his ancient heritage
• Pronoun ‘my’ highlights he is pretentious as he views his family superior to hers
• During the italian renaissance, names were passed down to the male children, showing how the Duke’s family had been in power for a very long time, so the Duke expected the Duchess to respect and admire his legacy, further highlighted by the dramatic monologue