poems Flashcards
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That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall
compare to “youthful harlot”
The Duke’s possessiveness is established immediately in this initial line. The pronoun”my” conveys a sense of ownership over his late wife and implies a dominant personality. “that” objectifying her
This grew; I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together
The Duke’s statement about giving commands directly connects to his power dynamics. This brief statement highlights the Duke’s capacity for authority. There appears to be a clear cause-and-effect relationship between his demands and his wife’s sudden stop of smiling, which reinforces his position of authority. Abuse of power, suggests he gave orders for his wife to be killed, he went to extreme causes to gain full control.
Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast, / The dropping of the daylight in the West, / The bough of cherries some officious fool / Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule / She rode with round the terrace—all and each
The Duke specifies several giftsand gestures, implying that he anticipates particular appreciation for each. This demonstrates his attitude of entitlement and domination and his desire to control every element of his late wife’s life and reactions.
none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you
he controls who looks at the painting, but he couldn’t control who looked at his wife when she was alive
metaphor- he drew the curtains on her life when he wanted to. he has absolute power
faint half flush that dies along her throat
This lessens for the viewer the Duke’s violent tendencies and the intense jealousy that drives him to kill his wife, putting an end to the blush that has so greatly irritated him. Sinister
marks of weakness, marks of woe
This powerfulclaim implies that thepeople of Londonare stuck in an endless condition of suffering. Another way to think of the word “mark” is as a brand that represents how people are forced to conform to societal expectations and be marked.
youthful harlot’s curse
compare to “thats my last duchess painted on the wall”
It suggests that before she’s even had an opportunity to have a future, she lacks one. Her early years should depict her as a young woman ready to become a mother and wife, making decisions that would push her towards a socially acceptable destiny. Rather, Blake criticises the woman for being forced into an early life of prostitution—a difficult existence that is typically cut short by illness, violence, or childbirth—because of her poverty, desperation, and lack of opportunities brought on by the Industrial Revolution’s rising unemployment rate. A “curse” could mean she is swearing, which would be a very “unladylike” trait signifying her status as an outcast.
