My Last Duchess Flashcards
What is My Last Duchess about?
- an Italian Duke who murdered his first wife & is now preparing for his second marriage
- tells this story of his first marriage to a visitor, whilst looking at a portrait of his first wife
- it is a subtle poem that condemns the stranglehold that those in power have on those below them
What is the contextual significance of the Industrial Revolution?
- Poem was written around the time of Industrial Revolution after which people say more class mobility & freedom leading to more poets such as Browning voicing progressive attitudes within their poems
What is the contextual significance of the patriarchy?
- Society was still highly unequal, as it was still patriarchal (male-dominated) leading Browning to shield his criticism via time & setting
- Therefore the views offered by Browning are a more subtle criticism of society as opposed to an outright accusation
What quote reflects the Duke’s abuse of power?
“I gave commands”
How does “I gave commands” reflect the Duke’s abuse of power through his wife’s murder?
- The Duke’s insecure & paranoid nature eventually culminates in him commiting uxoricide (wife murder)
- Duke’s emphemistic language in the quote demonstrates not only the Duke’s abuse of power but his cowardice, as he lacks the courage to go & do the heinous deed himself
How does “I gave commands” reflect the Duke’s abuse of power through oppression?
- The quote reflects Browning possibly commenting on how the powers that be control the masses by proxy, using devious means to oppress the common person
What quote reflects the Duke through the symbolism of artwork?
“Taming his wife”
How does “Taming his wife” reflect the symbolism of artwork through arrogance?
- The statue of Neptune taming a sea horse serves as a metaphor for “Taming his wife”, whilst it also connotes the Duke’s absolute control over his wife, alluding similarly to the manipulative nature of Neptune
- The comparison of himself to Neptune shows the Duke’s arrogance as he sees himself as a mighty God
- The taming of the sea horse by extension refers to how arrogantly the Duke viewed the controlling of his wife
- Therefore, the use of artwork throughout the poem serves to show us a glimpse into the Duke’s true personality beyond his deceitful monologue
What are the two pieces of form used in the poem?
- Dramatic monologue
- Rhyme scheme
Why is the poem structured as a dramatic monologue with no stanzas?
- It shows how the Duke exercises absolute power over his wife with no room for deviation or freedom of expression
- This set-up also shows the domineering personality of the Duke: he chooses to soliloquise on his own thoughts only, neglecting those around them as an oppurtunity to speak
- This means that the reader immediately recognises it as a biased account and is made aware of the need to infer to ascertain what really happened
What type is rhyme scheme is the poem and why?
- Regular ABAB rhyme scheme present throughout the poem, with no deviation
- Serves to show how the Duke controlled the Duchess’ life with startling regularity, allowing her no freedom to break free
- The fact that the ABAB rhyme scheme continues throughout the poem without ever stopping may also reflect how not only did the Duke stifle & control the Duchess whilst she was alive, he continues to do so after her death
What type of structure is presented in the poem?
- Enjambment
- Caesura
What is the structural significance of using emjambment & caesura?
- The combination of the two leads to a conversational tone, with the Emjambment providing a natural tone whereas the Caesura make the monologue feel disjointed & painful to listen to
- They combine to give the overall effect that he is rambling, making the Duke seem unimpressive and perhaps therefore showing how the Duke covers up for his own insecurity by maniacally controlling those around him
- The combination of the two also hide the ABAB rhyme scheme, perhaps to show the Duke’s deceit & untrustworthiness
