My Last Duchess

Question 1

Big idea of MY LAST DUCHESS

Answer 1

speaker of poem is showing off his power and control that he has over the Duchess’s life

Question 2

structure of MY LAST DUCHESS

Answer 2

dramatic monologue
rhyming couplets
iambic pentameter
(reflects the romance style of the time)

Question 3

when was MY LAST DUCHESS written?

Answer 3

1842

Question 4

who wrote MY LAST DUCHESS

Answer 4

Robert Browning

Question 5

why is the title of MY LAST DUCHESS significant

Answer 5

possessive pronoun
laying claim to the duchess as a pronoun

Question 6

‘Frà Pandolf’s hands’

Answer 6

MY LAST DUCHESS
allusion to a famous artist
suggests that the speaker values art more than the Duchess

Question 7

‘spot Of joy’

Answer 7

MY LAST DUCHESS
pun- implies that it wasn’t only him that made her unhappy
(Duchess was unfaithful)

Question 8

‘I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together’

Answer 8

MY LAST DUCHESS
Euphemism to suggest he had her killed
sinister tone

Question 9

‘Who’s stoop to blame This sort of trifling?’

Answer 9

MY LAST DUCHESS
Ironically mocking how vain the Duke is about his heritage