My Last Duchess - Robert Browning Flashcards
‘my’
repetition of the personal pronoun highlights that the speaker sees the duchess a s his own property, typical of 19th century
‘white mule’
The painting of the Duke’s last Duchess symbolises how he objectifies women as property or possessions. “White mule” symbolises her innocence and purity
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands.”
The use of the euphemism attempts to make the speaker appear less sinister however it amplifies the horror of the death, as a smiley face is used as a symbol of evil.
What is the effect of Browning’s frequent use of dashes in ‘My Last Duchess’?
Dashes mimic realistic speech reflecting the Duke’s pauses as he searches for the appropriate vocabulary to describe his wife to his listener.
The dashes create a conversational style allowing the Duke to add additional clauses to sentences which would lack formality in writing. This is what people do when speaking to each other.
Dashes create a faltering effect like stuttering. This conveys the Duke’s exasperation with the Duchess.
The Duke cannot hide his displeasure at what he sees as infidelity though there is no evidence his wife was ever unfaithful. The dashes emphasise his disturbed mental state as he tells the envoy about the Duchess
rhyming coupletes
his desire to be part of a couple
iambic pentameter
rigid rhythm highlights the controlling nature of the duke.
cyclical structure
at the beginning we view an an anonymous duchess, who once was alive, should provoke a powerful reaction from the duke, however the reaction of the statue of Neptune is regarded with equal admiration, proving the dukes cool and callous personality.
lack of literally devices
interesting as it demonstrates the strangeness of reality and begs question from the audience. Victorian audience- ordered by rules and etiquette browing is asking the audience i they are numb to this world, this is made clear by the euphemistic way he explains the fate of his wife, the use of overly flamboyant language, to mask the truth so it is possible to miss them.
lack of literally devices
interesting as it demonstrates the strangeness of reality and begs question from the audience. Victorian audience- ordered by rules and etiquette browing is asking the audience i they are numb to this world, this is made clear by the euphemistic way he explains the fate of his wife, the use of overly flamboyant language, to mask the truth so it is possible to miss them.
lack of naming eg ‘her’ sir you
dukes desire to be all powerful, he name drops the artist to appear more knowledgeable and demonstrates that he is capable of owning art from well-renowned artists
“I gave commands; then all smiles stopped”
verb commands shows authoritative abuse of power, suggests he gave orders for his wife to be killed, he went to extreme causes to gain full control.
