my last duchess ferrera Flashcards
“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive.”
Imagery: The Duke introduces the portrait of his late wife, emphasizing its lifelike quality. The painting becomes a symbol of the Duke’s possessiveness; he can now dictate who views her and how she is perceived, unlike during her life when he felt powerless over her behavior.
Effect: This imagery highlights the Duke’s obsession with control and appearances. By reducing his wife to an object—a mere painting—he asserts dominance over her memory, showcasing his authoritarian personality and the commodification of relationships.
“Her mantle laps / Over my lady’s wrist too much… / Paint must never hope to reproduce the faint / Half-flush that dies along her throat.”
Imagery: Browning uses detailed visual imagery to describe the Duchess’s blush (“half-flush”), which the Duke interprets as evidence of flirtation. The reference to “dies along her throat” foreshadows her eventual fate, blending physical description with sinister undertones.
Effect: This imagery highlights the Duke’s jealousy and paranoia. His fixation on minor details like a blush reflects his insecurity and obsessive need for control, while the foreshadowing builds tension and unease.
“A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.”
Imagery: The Duke criticizes his wife’s openness and joyfulness through imagery that suggests promiscuity or unfaithfulness (“her looks went everywhere”). He lists trivial things that pleased her—sunsets, cherries—as if these were betrayals against him.
Effect: This imagery reveals the Duke’s narcissism and inability to tolerate his wife’s independence or joy outside of his influence. It portrays him as insecure and controlling while evoking sympathy for the Duchess as a victim of his possessiveness.
“Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, / Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!”
Imagery: The statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse serves as symbolic imagery for the Duke himself, who sees himself as a god-like figure exerting control over others (Neptune over the sea-horse). The luxurious bronze statue reflects his wealth and vanity.
Effect: This imagery reinforces themes of dominance and arrogance. By ending the poem with this boastful statement, Browning emphasizes the Duke’s sense of entitlement and lack of remorse for his actions. It leaves readers contemplating his manipulative nature.
tone
-“I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”
-Analysis: This line encapsulates the Duke’s chilling detachment and authoritarian nature.
Effect: The cold tone here highlights the Duke’s lack of empathy and his obsession with dominance. His arrogance is evident in how he views his actions as justified, underscoring themes of power, pride, and the objectification of others. This creates an unsettling atmosphere for the reader, who sees the Duke’s tyranny laid bare.
form
Dramatic Monologue:
-The Duke’s uninterrupted speech emphasizes his control over the conversation, mirroring his desire to dominate others in life.
-The absence of the envoy’s voice reflects the power imbalance. The Duke doesn’t allow others to challenge or interrupt him, symbolizing his authoritarian nature.
-The monologue also creates dramatic irony: while the Duke presents himself as sophisticated and noble, his words reveal his arrogance, jealousy, and cruelty.
structure
Single Stanza:
-The lack of stanza breaks creates a relentless flow, reflecting the Duke’s domineering personality. He controls the pace of the narrative just as he controlled his wife.
-This unbroken structure also mirrors how he views relationships: as something continuous and unchallenged by others.
