Robert Browning: "My Last Duchess" Analysis

• Robert Browning was an English poet (1812-1889).
• Browning is known for writing poems in the dramatic monologue form.

Browning's Background

• Born in Surrey, his father was an administrator at the Bank of England.
• His grandfather was a wealthy slave owner in the West Indies.
• His father collected books and encouraged his children to pursue the arts.
• His mother was devoutly non-conformist.
• By age 12, Browning had written his first poetry collection.
• He studied Greek at University College, London.
• He devoted his life to writing poetry.
• He lived with his parents until age 34, when he married poet Elizabeth Barrett.
• Her father disapproved, so they moved to Italy, had a son, and lived there.

"My Last Duchess" Background

• The poem is based on historical figures.
• The speaker Duke Alfonso II, ruled Ferrara, Northern Italy, from 1559-1597.
• His first wife was Lucrezia de Medici, who married at fifteen and died two years later in 1561.
• There were suspicions she had been poisoned.
• The poem is set in 1564, three years after her death.
• A negotiator from the Count of Tyrol is arranging the Duke's marriage to the Count's daughter.
• The Duke married three times.
• Fra Pandolf, who painted Lucrezia's portrait, was a celebrated historical painter.

Summary of the Poem

• The Duke of Ferrara shows a portrait of his dead first wife to a man arranging for his marriage to a new woman.
• The reader suspects something dreadful happened to the Duchess as the Duke describes her.

Message of Poem

• Powerful people treat others as objects.

Analysis of Poem

• The poem is a dramatic monologue, a speech by one character, the Duke of Ferrara.
• The poem is told entirely from his perspective to a gentleman about his wife.
• It resembles a scene from a play/film, capturing a moment in a specific time and place.
• The Duke speaks to an ambassador/negotiator arranging his marriage to the daughter of his boss.
• It takes place with the Duke standing before his first wife's portrait, describing it to the ambassador.
• The dramatic monologue creates convincing characters who reveal their identities through their words.
• The reader is encouraged to read between the lines to find the truth.
• The poem is one long verse.
• It is written in iambic pentameter with rhyming couplets.
• Enjambment is used to mimic real speech patterns.
• The title "My Last Duchess" indicates ownership through the possessive pronoun "my".
• "Last" suggests she is his previous wife, implying more wives to come and a callous attitude toward women.
• The subheading "Ferrara" places the poem in northern Italy and connects it to the historical Duke Alfonso II.
• The poem begins mid-conversation, with the Duke pointing out his "last Duchess."
• The painting captures the woman looking "as if she were alive", thus she is dead.
• Rather than grieving over the Duke describes the painter who made the portrait, Fra Pandolf.
• The Duke boasts great art made by famous artists.
• The ambassador is put in the position of the reader, listening to the Duke's explanation.
• The Duke explains that he is the only one to draw the curtain concealing the portrait.
• The curtain symbolizes his possessiveness and control.
• He opens the curtain, maintaining power over others.
• The Duke's controlling nature is emphasized to the reader.
• The Duchess in the picture has an "earnest glance," meaning serious and sincere.
• Strangers always ask about her anxious look when they see the portrait.
• The Duke says the Duchess was not only happy in her "husband's presence", which suggests it was expected that she be happy.
• It implies the Duke treated his Duchess as a controlled object.
• The Duke mentions "perhaps" compliments from the painter caused that 'spot of joy' on her face, implying he does not have facts and is just speculating.
• 'Spot of joy' describes a look of pleasure as a small mark or taint.
• The Duke does not like his wife looking happy, which hints at maritial issues.
• It implies the Duke believes his wife has committed infidelity.
• The Duke says his wife’s heart was ‘too soon made glad, Too easily impressed' and that she ‘liked whate'er She looked on'.
• He is turning her good qualities against her.
• He wanted to control what she was able to see and did not like that she "looked everywhere."
• The theme of sight recurs throughout the poem, creating instances of perception.
• The reader is encouraged to look below the surface and judge the Duke's behavior.
• The Duke says "twas all one" meaning everything she saw was treated the same, she was treating everyone the same, implying how unappreciative she was.
• The Duke is materialistic and elitist as compared to the Duchess who likes sunsets, fruit, and animals.
• The Duke only wants her to value things involving him.
• The Duke believes his wife should be grateful to him for marrying her.
• The Duke believes him giving her his name is a gift and underlines that she has been taken into his possession.
• The Duke thinks she should appreciate his name as a sign she belongs to him.
• The Duke is irritated by his wife's lack of materialism.
• He thinks his wife is treating him as unimportant.
• The Duke is too proud to lower himself to tell her he does not like her happy attitude to life.
• The Duke claims not to be able to speak well but has just spoken at length already.
• The Duke says he considered telling her the things that disgusted him.
• The Duke uses harsh language to address his wife's attitude.
• The Duke does not want to teach his wife, because if he did, he would be stooping too low.
• The word ‘stoop' is repeated by the Duke to emphasise his belief.
• The Duke does not like that his wife smiles at everyone with the same smile.
• The Duke orders her to not smile because the commands are to show that she his servant.
• After this, ‘all smiles stopped', and his wife is clearly upset.
• The duke orders the ambassador to rise.
• This shows the moment when the duchess' happiness dies.
• The duke changes the subject and asks the ambassador to stand, a break in the poetry line.
• The ambassador's ‘master' will give the Duke a ‘dowry' with his 'fair daughter'.
• A dowry is a sum of money that is formal.
• The Duke calling the Count's daughter his "object" shows that he objectifies and dehumanizes women.
• He is a collector of beautiful objects that he can control.
• The Duke directs the ambassador to "Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse."
• Neptune is a powerful male figure.
• The sea-horse is delicate like the Duchess.
• This sculpture symbolizes the relationship between the Duke and women.
• He wants to overpower them.
• Because status is important to the Duke, he tells the ambassador that the statue was made by Claus of Innsbruck.
• The Duke only likes things made to please him as well as things he owns, showing that ownership is vital to him.

Explore Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" poem including its historical background, themes, and characters. Examine the role of the Duke and literary devices. Understand Browning's influence and family.