My last duchess - Robert Browning

• Context

  • loosely based around Italian noble man, the duchess being Lucrezia De Modici
  • Written around time of Industrial Revolution after which people say more class mobility and freedom evolving led to more poets like Browning voicing progressive attitudes
  • Society was still patriarchal so browning shielded criticism through time and setting
  • Poem is set in renaissance, a period in which art was highly produced and valued, as shown by the exploration of characters through art
• ”too easily please“ - pride


  • duke sees himself as the be-all and end-all in the duchess’ life, with any other avenues to pursuit her happiness being quickly stifled by the overbearing duke
  • Shows his utter disdain for all that made her happy
  • Duke didn’t make an effort to explore his wife’s playful, childish nature and the little things that bought her joy
  • Sees them as insignificant
• “My gift of a 900 year old name”- pride 


  • Abuse of power through hubris and arrogance
  • The use of the lexis “gift“ Implies he sees it as a privilege for his wife to be married to him
  • Condemns this pride as sickening for the reader
  • Duke portrayed as helpless exposes his narcissism Saying he had no choice but to commit uxoricide
• “I choose never to stoop”


  • shows his narcissistic, patriarchal value system
  • Arguing with women is beneath him
  • Views himself as superior and that she lacks the intellectual facilities to understand him
• ”the curtain I have drawn for you” - symbolism of art


  • even in death the duchess is the dukes possession
  • In death he has achieved his true desire of complete control as symbolised by the painting
  • Laced in irony as it highlight the insecurity of him and the emasculating threat caused by the lingering image of his wife
• ”notice Neptune, taming a seahorse” - symbolism of art


  • serves as a metaphor for the duke taming his wife
  • Comparison of himself to Neptune shows his arrogance as he sees himself as this mighty gift of god
  • Taming shows how arrogantly the duke views controlling the duchess
• Symbolism of art topic sentence

  The use of artwork throughout the poem serves to show us a glimpse into the dukes true personality beyond deceitful monologue
• “I gave commands” - abuse of power


  • dukes insecure and paranoid nature eventually cumulated into him committing uxoricide
  • Euphemistic language demonstrates not only abuse of power but cowardide
  • Lacks courage to do heinous deed himself
• “Your fair daughter” - abuse of power


  • dukes abuse of power serves as a cautionary tale to his next wife, whose envoy he’s meeting
  • Values he places on virginity and innocence
  • Constant hedonistic tone
  • Sees women as property to please him and only he has a right to use
  • Dukes entitled and self centred behaving shows his abuse of power
• Form - dramatic monologue 


  • dramatic monologue with no stanzas shows how the duke exercises absolute power with no room for deviation or freedom of expression
  • domineering personality as he chooses to only soliloquise his own thoughts
  • reader immediately recognises bias account and is aware of the need to infer to ascertain what really happened
• form- perspective

  • persona poem from personality of Duke of Ferrara
  • Gives understanding of the realities and context of the time
  • First person narrative gives duke greater control over how much information he divulges
• Form - rhyme scheme

  • regular ABAB rhyme scheme with no deviation
  • Duke controlled with startling regularity with no freedom for opportunity to escape
  • No stopping shows he continues to stifle and control her after death
• Structure- enjambment and caesura

  • combination of the two leads to a conversational tone
  • Enjambment provided a natural tone
  • Caesura makes monologue feel disjointed and painful to listen to
  • Gives overall effect that he is rambling - unimpressive
  • Perhaps showing how the duke covers up his own insecurity by manically controlling those around him
  • Combination also hides ABAB rhyme scheme
  • Shows dukes deceit and untrustworthiness