my last duchess

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  Misogyny

  A deep disrespect and /or dislike of women; prejudice against women and their rights.

  The Duke can be described as a misogynist as he objectifies women and clearly did not value his last duchess until she becomes a work of art he can control.
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  Parenthesis

  (plural: Parentheses)

  a word or phrase inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage (usually marked off by brackets, dashes, or commas).

  Where is the parenthesis (what extra information is given)?:

  for never read

  Strangers like you that pictured countenance,

  The depth and passion of its earnest glance,

  But to myself they turned (since none puts by

  The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
• šWhen the poem’s enjambment is considered alongside the poem’s use of controlling rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter, it suggests ‘breaks’ in the Duke’s train of thought, and his thoughts about his wife. He tries to control others but is so full of his own self importance he cannot stick to the lines and runs on. The fact that it is one long stanza shows how he has no thought for the listener, it’s all about him. 
• Gives the monologue a conversational tone which suggests the Duke is trying to win us over and smooth over his sinister and unacceptable treatment of this woman. This informal ‘chatty’ tone makes what he says all the more disturbing and chilling. Think about how he controls this conversation throughout as the other party remains silent.
• Throughout the poem, the duke reveals his belief that women are objects to be controlled, possessed, and discarded. In many ways, this reflects the thinking of Browning’s own era, when Victorian social norms denied women the right to be fully independent human beings. Through this portrayal of the duke, Browning critiques such a viewpoint, presenting sexism and objectification as dehumanizing processes that rob women of their full humanity.
• dramatic monolouge- no room for anyone elses pov as he controls the conversation
• he only pays attention to the art not the woman in the art
• strangers like you ha dnever pictured that countenance
• she liked whatever / she looked on, and her looks went evreywhere
• i gave commands. then all smiles stopped together- causanda
• whod stoop to blame
• cast in bronze just for me
• power of man and hubris- throughout the poem it is understood that in the hierarchal society (orginised by rank)- People can be used and sold as objects,
• egocentric- self centered