The speaker is laying claim to her as a possession
The portrait above is largely believed to be the last Duchess
The speaker is making an allusion to a famous artist of the time, suggesting that he values the name of the artist more than the Duchess it is a painting of
The speaker is showing his power by
Suggesting that he is giving the messenger a rare privilege to see the Duchess in this way, exercising his control
The speaker needs to show off, despite his attempt to appear in control
If they ‘durst’
It means if they dare, showing off the speaker's power and how others fear him
Implying that people believed it was not only him who could make her happy, hinting at his jealousy
The words 'dies along her throat' have a sinister tone and are semantically linked to murder 'die' and 'throat'
The verse is broken with caesuras to show his rising anger
He is losing control, his personality now angry when it was calm
The poet is ironically mocking how vain the Duke is
He cares more about his heritage and cannot understand that she did not see that as important
Even if he was good with words and could ask her to stop giving everyone else so much attention, he would choose never to stoop so low
He is showing his believed power as above asking for things from women
Ironically she is in control
Semicolons - Give a sense of finality to the statements
This is the culmination of the conflict in the relationship
Ways the Duke views his wife
As a possession
As satisfying him as much in a painting as in real life
He uses an allusion to another famous artist to show off his wealth and power
It is used to show how he quickly forgets about his dead wife who he was previously claimed to be so devoted to
The poem is better as a speech, imagine yourself as a self-centred rich man, how does it sound to read it aloud
Robert Browning was a poet in the 19th century
He (Browning) left the country and went to Italy to marry fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett
The poem is loosely based on the Duke of Ferrara and is written from his perspective, talking to a messenger about arranging his next marriage
The structure of the poem is a dramatic monologue
It uses a large number of pauses (caesuras) and enjambment to capture the tone of the speaker talking away to the messenger
The poem uses rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter
The Duke of Ferrara is the only character that speaks in the poem. He never lets the messenger speak
My Last Duchess: The speaker displays pride and arrogance, revealing insecurities and lack of true control
My Last Duchess uses asides and allusions to create an excellent character voice
The nature of the poem as a monologue and the boastful nature of his remarks create a clear image of an egotistical and cruel man