My Last Duchess - Robert Browning
Other Poem Links Context
- Ozymandias ~ Pride and power of man - Browning was a British poet; the poem was published in 1842.
- Tissue ~ Pride and power of man - Browning may have been inspired by the story of an Italian Duke; his wife died in superstitious circumstances and it was
- Kamikaze ~ Pride and power of man rumoured that she had been poisoned.
- Browning didn’t fit in as much in London society and went to marry a fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett because of her over
protective farther→patriotic society. As a result they were both familiar with over controlling patriarchs in the family as
well as Italy itself.
Key Words
→ Patriarchal society
→ Pride – the Duke is very proud of his possessions and his status
→ Jealousy – he couldn’t stand the way the Duchess treated him the same as everyone Message
else; may have wanted more attention. - ideas of a patriarchal society were women were considered as objects meant to be seen ‘look at her’ and were not heard
→ Power – the Duke enjoys the control he has over the painting as he he didn’t have or treated with respect or equality.
power over her when she was alive. - The poet ironically highlights that this Duke is rich and educated yet is a fool in matters of love and honesty.
Plot Summary
The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary
“Will’t please you sit and look at her?...The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”
who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage. As he shows the visitor through
→ Rhetorical question – ordering the man to look at his wife; intimidates reader- commanding→tension
his palace, he stops at a portrait of the late Duchess; a young and lovely girl. He
→ Noun ‘curtain’ – Hiding his wife; controlling who can look at her. Inhumane action→ controlling her
claims she flirted with everyone. The reader realizes the Duke in fact caused the
→ Naturally has a lot of power because he’s a Duke; upper class ruled over those inferior to them.
Duchess’s death. → He sounds polite but he’s being quite forceful
“Never hope to reproduce the faint /Half-flush that dies along her throat”
Themes
→ Adjective ‘faint’ – seemingly forgotten his wife; lack of respect where he barely saw them as human.
→ Dominance of men over women
→ Verb ‘dies’ – no longer living or remembered and suggests no ‘hope’ for the future
→ Morality → Sinister tone created foreshadowing the fact that the Duchess was murdered
→ Power → Reference to death is out of place and suspicious; it hints at the Duchess’ fate.
→ Stability Vs complexity of the modern world → Repetition of noun ‘spot’ – highlights that this spot was bothering the Duke
Language & Structure
→ Dramatic monologue – selfish and arrogant; not allowing anyone to speak
→ Caesura – captures the tone of the speaker “I gave commands, /Then all smiles stopped together.”
→ Verb ‘command’ - superior nature of the Duke; upper class had a significant amount of power
→ Enjambment
→ Sibilance ‘smiles stopped’ - sinister tone; tension. Duke arranged for Duchess to be killed (Euphemism)
→ Rhyming couplets
→ He’s almost proud of the power that he holds over his wife.
→ Iambic pentameter – reflects the style of romantic poems which contrasts
→ Euphemism for his wives murder
with this more sinister poem.
, Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelly
Other Poem Links Context
- Tissue ~ Decay - Egyptian pharaohs like Rameses though they were God in mortal form; they not only believed that they were the most
- My Last Duchess ~ Pride and power of man powerful, but they believed that they would leave behind a legacy that would last forever.
- All pharaohs had high hopes of leaving behind a legacy however in reality, everyone is one day forgotten; nature holds all
the power of man.
- His radical political views were inspired by the events of the French Revolution, where the monarchy was overthrown.
Key words
- Shelley disliked monarchies absolute power and the oppression of ordinary people
→ Pride – the ruler was proud of what he achieved; he called on other rulers to admire
- Shelley was a ‘romantic’ poet; a poet that believed in emotion, rather than reason, they tried to capture intense
what he had.
experiences in their work.
→ Arrogance – the inspiration implies that the ruler believed that he was the most
powerful ruler on the land; nobody could compete with him; he believed he was better
than those he ruled. Message
→ Power – art has the power to preserve elements of human existence, but is also only - Power held by those in positions of high command can weaken the moral of an everyday citizen.
temporary. - Highlights the myth of permanence suggesting that everything that rises will eventually fall
- The pharaohs story is a moral lesson: while power and wealth are significant in the moment, after death everything
declines.
Plot Summary
The speaker describes a meeting with someone who has travelled to a place where
ancient civilizations once existed. The traveller told the speaker a story about an old, “My name is Ozymandias, King of kings:”
fragmented statue in the middle of the desert. The statue is broken apart, but you can still → Nouns ‘Ozymandias’ & ‘King’ – ‘Ozy’ meaning ‘to breath’ or ‘air’ and ‘mandias’ meaning to rule; born to rule
make out the face of a person. The face looks stern and powerful, like a ruler. The sculptor → Repetition ‘King of Kings’ – Saw himself as a high status; almost Godly. Arrogant and full of himself.
did a good job at expressing the ruler’s personality. The ruler was a wicked guy, but he → Saw himself as a great warrior and one of the most powerful men in the world; mocking religion
took care of his people.
→ Mocking religion; Shelley was an atheist
→ Arrogant and powerful; he even challenged other rulers.
Theme
→ Decay
→ Power of nature “Colossal wreck… lone and level sands stretch far away.”
→ Pride and power of man → Metaphor – Describes the statue but also Ozymandias’ ego; ‘colossal’ portrays a huge ego.
→ Juxtaposition – the ‘lone and level sands’ juxtapose the power and ego of the statue ~ ironic
→ Demonstrates the downfall of rulers and tyrants suggesting that nothing, not even power, lasts forever.
→ Literally the ruins of the tomb; alternatively the wreck of civilisations: pride of man swallowed by nature
→ Human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.
Language & Structure
→ Sonnet – generally meant for romantic/ love poem; ironic. Alternatively this is a
romantic and exotic tone of a lost legend.
→ Loose iambic pentameter – was not as powerful as he made himself out to be ; had “Half sunk a shattered visage… wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command”
areas of weakness which is natural for a ruler to have. → Alliteration – despite his power and arrogance, ironically there’s nothing left of him or his statue; tension.
→ Irregular rhyme scheme – symbolic of the broken statue; no longer perfect. → Symbolism – broken and unrecognisable face; can no longer tell who the statue is; no purpose.
→ Ironic because all that remains is an arrogant boast on a ruined statue. Feared leader to a ‘faint memory’
→ Sibilance – eeriness of passing time and a degraded leader; ‘shattered visage’ loss of identity
→ Ironic as even a powerful man can't control the damaging effects of time.
Other Poem Links Context
- Ozymandias ~ Pride and power of man - Browning was a British poet; the poem was published in 1842.
- Tissue ~ Pride and power of man - Browning may have been inspired by the story of an Italian Duke; his wife died in superstitious circumstances and it was
- Kamikaze ~ Pride and power of man rumoured that she had been poisoned.
- Browning didn’t fit in as much in London society and went to marry a fellow poet Elizabeth Barrett because of her over
protective farther→patriotic society. As a result they were both familiar with over controlling patriarchs in the family as
well as Italy itself.
Key Words
→ Patriarchal society
→ Pride – the Duke is very proud of his possessions and his status
→ Jealousy – he couldn’t stand the way the Duchess treated him the same as everyone Message
else; may have wanted more attention. - ideas of a patriarchal society were women were considered as objects meant to be seen ‘look at her’ and were not heard
→ Power – the Duke enjoys the control he has over the painting as he he didn’t have or treated with respect or equality.
power over her when she was alive. - The poet ironically highlights that this Duke is rich and educated yet is a fool in matters of love and honesty.
Plot Summary
The Duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary
“Will’t please you sit and look at her?...The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”
who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage. As he shows the visitor through
→ Rhetorical question – ordering the man to look at his wife; intimidates reader- commanding→tension
his palace, he stops at a portrait of the late Duchess; a young and lovely girl. He
→ Noun ‘curtain’ – Hiding his wife; controlling who can look at her. Inhumane action→ controlling her
claims she flirted with everyone. The reader realizes the Duke in fact caused the
→ Naturally has a lot of power because he’s a Duke; upper class ruled over those inferior to them.
Duchess’s death. → He sounds polite but he’s being quite forceful
“Never hope to reproduce the faint /Half-flush that dies along her throat”
Themes
→ Adjective ‘faint’ – seemingly forgotten his wife; lack of respect where he barely saw them as human.
→ Dominance of men over women
→ Verb ‘dies’ – no longer living or remembered and suggests no ‘hope’ for the future
→ Morality → Sinister tone created foreshadowing the fact that the Duchess was murdered
→ Power → Reference to death is out of place and suspicious; it hints at the Duchess’ fate.
→ Stability Vs complexity of the modern world → Repetition of noun ‘spot’ – highlights that this spot was bothering the Duke
Language & Structure
→ Dramatic monologue – selfish and arrogant; not allowing anyone to speak
→ Caesura – captures the tone of the speaker “I gave commands, /Then all smiles stopped together.”
→ Verb ‘command’ - superior nature of the Duke; upper class had a significant amount of power
→ Enjambment
→ Sibilance ‘smiles stopped’ - sinister tone; tension. Duke arranged for Duchess to be killed (Euphemism)
→ Rhyming couplets
→ He’s almost proud of the power that he holds over his wife.
→ Iambic pentameter – reflects the style of romantic poems which contrasts
→ Euphemism for his wives murder
with this more sinister poem.
, Ozymandias – Percy Bysshe Shelly
Other Poem Links Context
- Tissue ~ Decay - Egyptian pharaohs like Rameses though they were God in mortal form; they not only believed that they were the most
- My Last Duchess ~ Pride and power of man powerful, but they believed that they would leave behind a legacy that would last forever.
- All pharaohs had high hopes of leaving behind a legacy however in reality, everyone is one day forgotten; nature holds all
the power of man.
- His radical political views were inspired by the events of the French Revolution, where the monarchy was overthrown.
Key words
- Shelley disliked monarchies absolute power and the oppression of ordinary people
→ Pride – the ruler was proud of what he achieved; he called on other rulers to admire
- Shelley was a ‘romantic’ poet; a poet that believed in emotion, rather than reason, they tried to capture intense
what he had.
experiences in their work.
→ Arrogance – the inspiration implies that the ruler believed that he was the most
powerful ruler on the land; nobody could compete with him; he believed he was better
than those he ruled. Message
→ Power – art has the power to preserve elements of human existence, but is also only - Power held by those in positions of high command can weaken the moral of an everyday citizen.
temporary. - Highlights the myth of permanence suggesting that everything that rises will eventually fall
- The pharaohs story is a moral lesson: while power and wealth are significant in the moment, after death everything
declines.
Plot Summary
The speaker describes a meeting with someone who has travelled to a place where
ancient civilizations once existed. The traveller told the speaker a story about an old, “My name is Ozymandias, King of kings:”
fragmented statue in the middle of the desert. The statue is broken apart, but you can still → Nouns ‘Ozymandias’ & ‘King’ – ‘Ozy’ meaning ‘to breath’ or ‘air’ and ‘mandias’ meaning to rule; born to rule
make out the face of a person. The face looks stern and powerful, like a ruler. The sculptor → Repetition ‘King of Kings’ – Saw himself as a high status; almost Godly. Arrogant and full of himself.
did a good job at expressing the ruler’s personality. The ruler was a wicked guy, but he → Saw himself as a great warrior and one of the most powerful men in the world; mocking religion
took care of his people.
→ Mocking religion; Shelley was an atheist
→ Arrogant and powerful; he even challenged other rulers.
Theme
→ Decay
→ Power of nature “Colossal wreck… lone and level sands stretch far away.”
→ Pride and power of man → Metaphor – Describes the statue but also Ozymandias’ ego; ‘colossal’ portrays a huge ego.
→ Juxtaposition – the ‘lone and level sands’ juxtapose the power and ego of the statue ~ ironic
→ Demonstrates the downfall of rulers and tyrants suggesting that nothing, not even power, lasts forever.
→ Literally the ruins of the tomb; alternatively the wreck of civilisations: pride of man swallowed by nature
→ Human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time.
Language & Structure
→ Sonnet – generally meant for romantic/ love poem; ironic. Alternatively this is a
romantic and exotic tone of a lost legend.
→ Loose iambic pentameter – was not as powerful as he made himself out to be ; had “Half sunk a shattered visage… wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command”
areas of weakness which is natural for a ruler to have. → Alliteration – despite his power and arrogance, ironically there’s nothing left of him or his statue; tension.
→ Irregular rhyme scheme – symbolic of the broken statue; no longer perfect. → Symbolism – broken and unrecognisable face; can no longer tell who the statue is; no purpose.
→ Ironic because all that remains is an arrogant boast on a ruined statue. Feared leader to a ‘faint memory’
→ Sibilance – eeriness of passing time and a degraded leader; ‘shattered visage’ loss of identity
→ Ironic as even a powerful man can't control the damaging effects of time.
