MY LAST DUCHESS 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

• the curtain i have drawn for you, but i


  theatrical imagery - opened curtains = start of 'show', closed = end of show/ end of life

  the repetition of 'i' shows his need to control his wife even once she's dead (he couldn't 'control' her when she was alive)
• she looked on // her looks went everywhere


  motif/ lexical field of sight - action of 'looking' has diff connotations for men ( duke wields his authority by transforming his wife into a stareable/ inanimate object ) and women ( duchess was killed because of how much she 'looked' and others looked at her )
• is my object


  possessive pronoun AGAIN - referring to upcoming marriage to the count's daughter (when they get married she will become 'his') - proof of how the duke objectifies women & as the only voice in the poem is his - robbed women of their voice and power, subtle hint that is she 'disobeys' him she'll suffer the same fate as the Duchess which shows his abuse of power
• Neptune, though, taming a seahorse

  taming - connotations of wild/ untrainable -> duke views women like these 'uncontrollable' animals ( flirtatious attitude )

  Neptune - metaphor -> powerful ruler of the seas, duke sees himself as god-like, showing his narcissistic personality
• the bough of cherries some officious fool broke into the orchard for her

  enjambment - gets carried away with his anger/ poem is a stream of consciousness

  believes his wealth and status should be more important to her than the beauty of nature (man vs. nature)
• context

  • influenced by shelley (ozymandias)
  • critiques such a viewpoint by presenting sexism & objectification as a dehumanising process ( robbing women of their full humanity)
  • based on duke alfonso d'este (5th duke of ferrera) - suspected to have killed his wife but no evidence found
  • interest in the true, darker side of human behaviour
• structure

  • single verse - duke's dominance overwhelming as no clear break, duke's stream of consciousness - lack of self control & feels need to exert control over others
  • iambic pentameter - reflects duke's traditional views on women
  • dramatic monologue - allows duke to control what info is relayed (biased) - reflects power he holds
  • 1st person perspective - lack of female narrative in victorian society - criticises duke's abuse of power over his wife, therefore criticising the inequality & mistreatment experienced by women