my last duchess

• Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" is about an Italian Duke who has supposedly killed his first wife and is planning another wedding, displaying a painting of his dead wife to a visitor
• The Duke praises the artist who painted the portrait of his dead wife and points out details like her blush, suggesting she was flirting and being complimented
• The Duke criticizes his wife for being "too easily pleased" and appearing to favor other men, claiming he had her killed because he was not eloquent enough to tell her to stop
• The Duke then discusses arrangements for his next marriage with the visitor and points out a statue upon leaving
• Robert Browning, born in London, spent most of his life in Italy and died in Venice; he started writing poetry as a child and married Elizabeth Barrett secretly against her father's wishes
• The Duke of Ferrara, believed to be the inspiration for the poem, was known as Alfonzo II and was suspected of murdering his first wife, leading to other marriages
• The poem reflects the Victorian era's views on women, showing patriarchal beliefs and the idea of marriage as a transition to ownership
• In "My Last Duchess," the Duke's conflict with his wife arises from his desire for control and his abuse of power, leading to her death
• The Duke's possessive nature is evident from the start of the poem, emphasizing his wealth and influence through references to famous artists
• The Duke expects his wife to find joy only in him, presenting a complete domination of her life and showing his paranoia
• The Duke views his dead wife as a possession, emphasizing his power over others and creating a sinister tone in the poem
• The Duke's boasting about his status and the woman's loss of legal rights upon marriage reflect societal norms of the time
• The Duke's euphemism for his wife's murder showcases his power and lack of control, leading to a drastic overreaction
• The Duke's description of his wife's behavior and his reaction to it reveals his possessiveness and need for control over her actions
• The Duke's perception of his wife's gratitude and his comparison of his gift of a "nine-hundred-years-old name" with others' gifts highlight his need for validation and superiority
• The Duke in "My Last Duchess" views attachment as a possession, not a genuine emotional bond
• Schaffer and Emerson's 1964 study aimed to identify stages of attachment and find a pattern in the development of attachment between infants and parents
• Participants in the study were 60 babies from Glasgow
• The study analyzed interactions between infants and carers to determine the impact of 'sensitive responsiveness' on forming attachments
• Abrasion in glacial environments is a sandpapering effect caused by small rocks embedded within the glacier rubbing on bedrock, leaving a smooth surface with scratches called striations
• Plucking in glacial environments occurs when meltwater from glaciers freeze around broken or cracked parts of rock, breaking it off from the bedrock or sides as the ice moves down the slope
• The Duke in "My Last Duchess" presents a male entitled pride, unwilling to lower himself to talk to his wife and confront her, showing his materialism and insecurity
• The Duke's use of the metaphor of Neptune taming a sea-horse reflects his excessive hubris and materialism, believing his status and wealth should be seen as more valuable than anything else
• The poem "My Last Duchess" is an example of a persona poem, where the speaker takes on the persona of the Duke of Ferrara to convey a message about the wider context of the time
• The first person, present tense narrative in "My Last Duchess" gives the Duke power over the text, reflecting his dominance over women and his subjects
• The dramatic monologue perspective in "My Last Duchess" provides a biased account of the narrative, emphasizing the need for readers to read between the lines and understand the inequality in power dynamics
• The opening of "My Last Duchess" sets a sinister tone, with the Duke viewing his dead wife as a piece of art rather than sentimentally as his wife, establishing control from the start
• Browning uses iambic pentameter in "My Last Duchess" to reflect the Duke's traditional and conservative views of women, demonstrating his sense of pride and superiority
• Browning's use of enjambment in "My Last Duchess" allows the poem to flow naturally like a conversation, showing the Duke's lack of control over his speech and emotions
• Browning's use of caesura in "My Last Duchess" demonstrates the Duke's poorly planned speech, interrupting himself and making the poem seem rambling and unbalanced
• Caesura in the poem creates a rambling effect, breaking up the rhythm and making it unpleasant to listen to
• The speaker's possessive pronouns like "my" show ownership of the Duchess, portraying her as a possession without autonomy
• Referring to her as "my duchess" instead of "my wife" indicates a lack of affection or emotion, emphasizing the speaker's power and control over her
• The simplistic language in the poem, with phrases like "skill in speech" and "(which I have not)", aims to convey a clear message about not challenging the speaker's power
• By portraying the Duchess as a painting, Browning symbolizes her complete objectification and the speaker's control over her
• The statue of Neptune in the poem symbolizes the Duke's attempt to control his wives, transforming them into possessions to be tamed and controlled
• The Duke's power over the Duchess is highlighted through his expectation of her complete devotion and his ability to control who sees and enjoys her
• The Duke's criticism of the Duchess for being too flirtatious and enjoying compliments from other men shows his possessiveness and desire for control
• The Duke's euphemism for the Duchess's murder, "all smiles stopped together", illustrates his power to act without consequence
• The Duke's materialism and insecurity are revealed through his disdain for the Duchess's enjoyment of natural beauty and his need for complete control