Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

Analysis of My Last Duchess by Robert Browning

1. Vocabulary

   • Countenance - face, expression
   • Durst - dared
   • Mantle - cloak
   • Courtesy - polite
   • Bough - branch
   • Officious - busybody
   • Munificence - generosity
   • Warrant - guarantee
   • Avowed - promise
   • Dowry - money for marrying a man's daughter

2. Poet and Background

   • Based on the life of Alfonso II Duke of Ferrara, Italy
   • The Duke's first wife died in 1561 after 3 years of marriage
   • We learn about the Duke by what he says about his wife and how he says it
   • We learn about their relationship, what was expected, how she responded
   • The Duke is talking to an emissary of his future wife's father
   • The Duke is only interested in money an material possessions but his money and power will not buy him love and respect

3. Poetic Techniques

   • 'My' - possessive pronoun, the wife is the Duke's property
   • Dramatic monologue - one person's point of view on an incident, biased
   • Written in Iambic Pentameter - beats like a heartbeat (de dum, de dum). The poem is about matters of the heart
   • Sections in brackets - internal thoughts

4. Ideas and Imagery

   • The Duchess is the Duke's possession and gives him status
   • The Duchess is a modest, shy person who got embarrassed by compliments
   • Jealousy - the Duke's 900 year old name is more important than other gifts e.g. cherries
   • Uses words 'throat', 'breast' associated with areas of the body which could be injured and cause death
   • A curtain covers the portrait - again a sense of ownership, a possession
   • The Duke had his wife killed because she was kind and made him jealous
   • The Duke does not realise how much of himself he has given away in the criticism of his former wife
   • The Duke accidentally reveals his weaknesses during the conversation
   • The Duke is only interested in money and material possessions but his money and power will not buy him love and respect