my last duchess

• 'my last duchess'

  • perspective of the duke
  • possesion
  • been many before
  • didnt care about them
  • objectification
  • looking for another
  • could happen again
• 'looking as if she were alive'

  • he had her killed
  • painting in his possesion in a way she never has been
  • he can now have control over her forever
• '(since none puts by the curtain i have drawn for you but i)'

  • nobody can see her without his permission
  • literaly objectified her
  • reduced to an object for men to enjoy looking at
  • he has the power over her
• 'notice neptune through taming a sea-horse'

  • presents himself as a deity
  • mate for life
  • having her controled by killing her
  • ('tame')animal, dehumanising
• 'i gave comands'

  • braging about having her killed
  • she is from a powerful family
  • impurity in which men can inflict violence on women
• Context:

  • ferrara is a region in Italy
  • 1516 the dukes wife died from susspicious circumstances
  • she was a member of the medici family, related to the pope and the queen of france
  • rumored she was poisoned
  • the duke married 3 times
  • written in the 1800s
• themes:

  • power of humans
  • memory
  • pride
  • identity
• Structure:

  • framed by the visit to the dukes gallery but hes caught up in taklking about the duchess not describing the art
  • builds towards a confession before the visitors identity is revealed