My last duchess Flashcards
My last duchess
Key quotations
“I gave commands; then all smiles stopped”
“Too soon made glad”
“Ranked my gift”
“I choose never to stoop”
“Nine-hundred-years-old name”
My last duchess
Summary
The poem is about an Itallian Duke, who has supposedly killed his first wife and is now planning another wedding to another woman. He displays a painting done of his dead life in his house, and reveals it to a visitor, who is made to sit and admire it.
My last duchess
Poems that link to it
Ozymandias
My last duchess
Key contextual information
This poem is set in 1564 and is based on the real-life Duke Alfonso II who ruled Ferrara, Italy in the latter half of the 16th century. In the poem, he’s talking about his first wife Lucrezia de’ Medici, 3 years after she died under suspicious circumstances shortly after marrying the Duke.
