The Last Duchess

Question 1

Who wrote this poem

Answer 1

Robert browning

Question 2

What happened to the duchess

Answer 2

She has died due to the act of murder

Question 3

What is the poem based on

Answer 3

The poem is based on the real life events from the life of Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, Italy. Duke Alfonso married 14 year old Lucrezia de’ Medici who died aged 17, only three years after he married her. Lucrezia died in suspicious circumstances and the theory is that she might have been poisoned.

Question 4

What is the main theme explored?

Answer 4

Tyranny and how power is able to corrupt people

Question 5

Extenuate

Answer 5

Cause an offence to seem less serious

Question 6

A summary

Answer 6

In ‘My Last Duchess’, the Duke of Ferrara gives the Count’s envoy a tour around his home. As he reveals a portrait of his late wife, he also reveals troubling aspects of his personality, namely, a jealous possessiveness. He heavily alludes to having had his first wife killed for being too free with her affections

Question 7

What type of poem is the last duchess

Answer 7

A dramatic monolouge

Question 8

Caesura

Answer 8

Is a bit of punctuation in the middle of the line in poetry

Question 9

General effect

Answer 9

Shows something is fragmented or broken