My Last Duchess

• What tone does the Duke use throughout the monologue?

  Conversational tone with colloquial phrases
• How does the Duke manipulate his guest?

  By using a friendly tone to control him
• What do both the guest and the reader know about the Duke?

  He is a dangerous man underneath
• What do the Duke's rhetorical questions signify?

  They reflect his controlling nature
• What does the Duke imply by saying his wife's "looks went everywhere"?

  He suggests she was promiscuous
• How does the Duke's claim of lacking speaking skill function in his monologue?

  It is disingenuous and excuses his behavior
• What does the phrase "Then all smiles stopped together" suggest?

  His last wife met an unpleasant fate
• What is the significance of the Duke's use of litotes in his speech?

  It hints at dark implications without direct admission
• What is the structure of the poem?

  It is a monologue without guest interjections
• How does the Duke maintain control during his speech?

  Through compelling subject and structured speech
• What does the Duke's speech reveal about his personality?

  His dominant and controlling nature
• Which poetic techniques does Browning use in the Duke's speech?

  Iambic pentameter and rhyming couplets
• What does the break in the rhyming couplets signify?

  The end of the Duke's monologue
• How does Browning play with time in the poem?

  By structuring events in reverse order
• What does the Duke commission Pandolf to do?

  Capture the Duchess's likeness in a portrait
• How does the Duke feel about his wife's kindness to others?

  He feels hurt and unappreciated
• What does the volta in line 47 signify?

  Time begins to run forwards for the Duke
• What is the effect of enjambment in the Duke's monologue?

  It allows the speech to flow continuously
• What does the juxtaposition of the portrait and Neptune's sculpture represent?

  The Duke's control over his last Duchess
• Who is the Duke based on in the poem?

  Alfonso II, ruler of Ferrara
• What broader theme does Browning explore through the Duke's character?

  The human drive to control and dominate
• How can the last Duchess be interpreted symbolically?

  As a symbol for vulnerable people