𝐌𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐬

• who is the poet of My Last Duchess?

  Robert Browning.
• where did Browning go to school?


  he was homeschooled.
• how old was Browning when he wrote his first book of poetry?

  12 years old.
• who does the Duke in My Last Duchess share real-life similarities to?

  • Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara.

  • his wife's father.
• what does the title of My Last Duchess hold connotations to?

  possession- the Duchess is an object.
• what two poems do My Last Duchess compare best with?

  • Tissue

  • Ozymandias
• line 1; 'my'. what technique is used here?


  objectification.
• what structural technique is used throughout My Last Duchess on the end of each line?

  rhyming couplets.
• line 3; 'Frà Pandolf'. who is this?

  a famous artist. this emphasises the Duke's paranoia.
• line 10; 'the curtain'. what is the Duke presenting himself to be here?

  possessive- only he can pull back the curtain, to keep control. he controls who sees the Duchess smile, even in her death.
• line 13; 'Sir'. what does this clarify?

  authority and superiority. it is condescending- he wants people to notice this.
• what structural technique involving punctuation is seen throughout My Last Duchess and what does this create?

  enjambment- reflects a lack of control and impacts the rhyming couplets, the rhyme is less heard.
• what is the main theme of My Last Duchess?

  abuse of power, politically and domestically.
• what meter is My Last Duchess written in?

  iambic pentameter.
• line 33; 'ranked'. what does this suggest about hierarchy?

  power is all that matters.
• line 34; 'my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name'. what does this symbolise?

  authority through the use of a possessive pronoun- the Duchess should be grateful.
• line 36; '(which I have not)'. what are all the connotations of the parenthesis?

  • lies.

  • skill.

  • deceit.

  • untrustworthy.
• line 45; 'I gave commands'. what is the context behind this line?


  it is an ambiguous line. the Duke is responsible for the Duchess' death and Browning confirmed this.
• line 46; 'smiles stopped'. what technique has been used and why is it important?

  sibilance:

  • sly.

  • sinister.

  • silence.
• line 47; 'Will't please you rise?'. what is used here?

  a rhetorical question.
• line 52; 'I'. what does this suggest about the Duke?


  he uses a personal pronoun and is self-obsessed.
• line 54; 'notice Neptune'. who is Neptune and what are his connotations?

  the Roman god of the sea- the Duke can be likened to Neptune.
• line 56; 'which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!'. how does Browning end the poem?


  with a reminder of power through using a powerful figure.
• when did Robert Browning live?

  1812 - born.

  1889 - died.