My Last Duchess

• Themes in "My Last Duchess"

  • Control
  • Women as property
  • Lack of empathy
• Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" was published in 1842 in the book of poems "Dramatic Lyrics"
• At the beginning of "My Last Duchess," the Duke seems to be describing his wife in a wistful & respectful tone
• The Duke of Ferrara is the main character/narrator in "My Last Duchess"
• The Daughter of the Count is the future duchess in "My Last Duchess"
• The Duke's admiration for his late wife's passionate eye contrasts with his lack of empathy and humanity in "My Last Duchess," as he reveals his role in her demise, demonstrating his need for control and dominance
• Robert Browning is Elizabeth Barret Browning’s husband
• Through the Duke's cold and controlling demeanor in "My Last Duchess," Browning critiques the Victorian view of women as property
• Dramatic Monologue


  Speech delivered by a single character dramatically; can be delivered from one character to other characters/from a character to the audience
• In "My Last Duchess," the Duke proposes marriage to the visitor's employer's daughter
• Monologue


  Long speeches given by a single character/narrator
• In "My Last Duchess," the Duke reveals that his late wife was killed by his command
• The poem "My Last Duchess" is a masterpiece of dramatic monologue
• The Envoy of the Count is a servant in "My Last Duchess"
• In "My Last Duchess," the speaker, a Duke, is showing a houseguest a portrait of his late wife
• "My Last Duchess" is a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning in 1842, narrated by the Duke of Ferrara in Renaissance era Italy
• Fra. Pandolf is the friar who painted the Duchess’s portrait
• Robert Browning is an English poet & playwright born in Camberwell, London in 1812