Notes by Roxanne Willemse
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
Background: Renaissance
Increased acquisition of wealth and materialism among upper class
Materialism was used as a way of displaying their wealth through status symbols such as art
Subjugation of women: women married to wealthy men lacked independence
Structure
Dramatic monologue
o speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a situation
Framing/cyclical structure: the poem begins and ends with the same
references/sentences/ideas – with duke displaying his precious possession, highlighting his
materialism and worship of objects
o Used to develop the theme of the poem: the poem begins and ends with
descriptions of a work of art from the duke’s collection (it starts with a description of
a painting of his late wife and ends with a description of a bronze statue of Neptune)
o Framing the poem like this draws attention to the themes of objectification and
treating people like possessions (shows that duke is only interested in possessions)
Enjambment makes it more conversational – sinister because he is blasé over wife’s death
Language
Speaker: widowed Italian Duke of Ferrara as he tells a silent listener about a painting
o Duke had a position of power and influence
o Unreliable 1st person narrator
o Addressing an emissary who is there to arrange a marriage between the Duke and a
Count’s daughter
Formal speech pattern with strict rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter with controlled
diction
o Controlling his diction
o Speaking euphemistically with forced politeness to his guest
o Run-on lines result in open couplets, deliberate disruption in sentence structure
reflects Duke’s speech patterns (controlling, dangerous man)
Obsessiveness shown by duke’s fussy attention to his own rhetoric using interjections,
shown by dashes, parenthesis, and ellipsis
Movement
AABB
Heroic couplets (paired rhymes in iambic pentameter)
Meter: Iambic (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable) pentameter (each line
is divided into 5 beats/feet) – mimics the rhythm of natural speech and so gives the poem a
conversational tone
Imagery
Wealth and everything that has monetary value (status symbols)
Intention
1
,Notes by Roxanne Willemse
Social commentary on the ideal man living in the renaissance period in the 16 th century: like
many noblemen, the duke collects art, is considered to be the epitome of a gentlemen –
however his reasons are portrayed as being superficial and implies questionable values and
morals, proving that he might be capable of murder
Criticism of how women were treated as objects to possess
Themes
Acquisition of wealth
Subjugation of women
Objectification and treating people like possessions
Social status
Gender roles (husband/wife dynamic)
Art
Elitism
Jealousy and insecurity in relationships
Tone
Duke’s voice:
o the duke is the poem’s only voice (questionable honesty because there is no other
perspective to compare/contrast with)
o Reader has a temporary sympathy with him because he is the only voice, despite his
outrageous arrogance
o Single voice focuses attention on duke’s character
Duke’s character:
o Proud – it is beneath his dignity to correct his wife’s misbehaviour
o Acts superior – suggesting his guests are not as perceptive as he is
o Cold/insensitive/callous – indifferent about his late wife, praises the painting more
than her
o Arrogant/self-important – asserts value of his family name, unabashed about dowry
demands
o Jealous – describing his wife’s interactions with other men
o Controlling/domineering – only person allowed to expose the painting, gave
commands
Sounds
Assonance (slows down the pace, adds to menacing and threatening tone)
Line by line analysis
Lines 1-4
Duke draws aside a curtain (shown in later lines) to show a portrait of his late wife – a
theatrical beginning for a theatrical man
The conversation takes place in a private art gallery upstairs in the duke’s palace
Lines 5-13
Duke invites listener to have a seat and admire the painting of his late wife
2
, Notes by Roxanne Willemse
People are afraid of the Duke – he often speaks without fear of being challenged or
contradicted
Duke feels everybody would like to ask why the duchess looks so earnest and passionate
The duke’s arrogance is evident in his proud reference to the fact that nobody dares to put
aside the curtain but himself and nobody dares to ask him why the duchess looks so much in
love
Lines 13-21
What we would consider innocent exchanges between artist and model, are seen as
unnecessary flirtations by the duke
Speculating what caused her to blush, perhaps that she blushed guiltily at what the artist
said, could have commented on her clothing
Doesn’t consider that many artists exaggerate colour on a women’s cheeks in their paintings
Speculates that the artist commented on his wife’s beauty
The duke is furiously jealous of the wife’s blush, evident from his careful pointing out that it
was not only his presence that made her joyful
Lines 21-24
Jealousy is made obvious as he believes the duchess was easily pleased and easily impressed
He is accusing the duchess of infidelity without evidence (uses innuendo – an allusive or
oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one)
His indecision with word choice betrays a tellingly careful attitude towards his
speech/diction
Ellipsis acts as a parenthesis – dramatic pauses to allude to wife’s supposed infidelity
Lines 25-31
Duke shows supposed evidence to prove that she found the same amount of pleasure and
delight in all things
Evidence: duchess considered his gift of jewellery as beautiful as the sunset, as lovely as a
branch broken from a cherry tree by some man, as sweet as the white mule she used to ride
around the terrace of the house
He is angered that all of these things were rated the same by the duchess, she spoke
approvingly of all of them to others, and they all caused her to blush
Duchess treated everyone/everything the same, with courtesy and kindness
Lines 31-34
Futilely, duke says he did not mind if duchess thanked men for gifts and kindnesses, but he is
irked that she treated them the same way she treated him – as though his status and family
name were not appreciated enough by her
Duke believes that he is all his wife needs because he is wealthy and comes from an ancient
family (his pedigree)
His arrogance – he can’t believe that his gifts can be ranked the same as anybody else’s gifts
He believes that by marrying him, his wife is privileged and should be eternally grateful
Lines 34-43
He tries to convey that he is a reasonable man
Blaming her for being courteous to everyone
3
My Last Duchess by Robert Browning
Background: Renaissance
Increased acquisition of wealth and materialism among upper class
Materialism was used as a way of displaying their wealth through status symbols such as art
Subjugation of women: women married to wealthy men lacked independence
Structure
Dramatic monologue
o speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character while describing a situation
Framing/cyclical structure: the poem begins and ends with the same
references/sentences/ideas – with duke displaying his precious possession, highlighting his
materialism and worship of objects
o Used to develop the theme of the poem: the poem begins and ends with
descriptions of a work of art from the duke’s collection (it starts with a description of
a painting of his late wife and ends with a description of a bronze statue of Neptune)
o Framing the poem like this draws attention to the themes of objectification and
treating people like possessions (shows that duke is only interested in possessions)
Enjambment makes it more conversational – sinister because he is blasé over wife’s death
Language
Speaker: widowed Italian Duke of Ferrara as he tells a silent listener about a painting
o Duke had a position of power and influence
o Unreliable 1st person narrator
o Addressing an emissary who is there to arrange a marriage between the Duke and a
Count’s daughter
Formal speech pattern with strict rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter with controlled
diction
o Controlling his diction
o Speaking euphemistically with forced politeness to his guest
o Run-on lines result in open couplets, deliberate disruption in sentence structure
reflects Duke’s speech patterns (controlling, dangerous man)
Obsessiveness shown by duke’s fussy attention to his own rhetoric using interjections,
shown by dashes, parenthesis, and ellipsis
Movement
AABB
Heroic couplets (paired rhymes in iambic pentameter)
Meter: Iambic (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable) pentameter (each line
is divided into 5 beats/feet) – mimics the rhythm of natural speech and so gives the poem a
conversational tone
Imagery
Wealth and everything that has monetary value (status symbols)
Intention
1
,Notes by Roxanne Willemse
Social commentary on the ideal man living in the renaissance period in the 16 th century: like
many noblemen, the duke collects art, is considered to be the epitome of a gentlemen –
however his reasons are portrayed as being superficial and implies questionable values and
morals, proving that he might be capable of murder
Criticism of how women were treated as objects to possess
Themes
Acquisition of wealth
Subjugation of women
Objectification and treating people like possessions
Social status
Gender roles (husband/wife dynamic)
Art
Elitism
Jealousy and insecurity in relationships
Tone
Duke’s voice:
o the duke is the poem’s only voice (questionable honesty because there is no other
perspective to compare/contrast with)
o Reader has a temporary sympathy with him because he is the only voice, despite his
outrageous arrogance
o Single voice focuses attention on duke’s character
Duke’s character:
o Proud – it is beneath his dignity to correct his wife’s misbehaviour
o Acts superior – suggesting his guests are not as perceptive as he is
o Cold/insensitive/callous – indifferent about his late wife, praises the painting more
than her
o Arrogant/self-important – asserts value of his family name, unabashed about dowry
demands
o Jealous – describing his wife’s interactions with other men
o Controlling/domineering – only person allowed to expose the painting, gave
commands
Sounds
Assonance (slows down the pace, adds to menacing and threatening tone)
Line by line analysis
Lines 1-4
Duke draws aside a curtain (shown in later lines) to show a portrait of his late wife – a
theatrical beginning for a theatrical man
The conversation takes place in a private art gallery upstairs in the duke’s palace
Lines 5-13
Duke invites listener to have a seat and admire the painting of his late wife
2
, Notes by Roxanne Willemse
People are afraid of the Duke – he often speaks without fear of being challenged or
contradicted
Duke feels everybody would like to ask why the duchess looks so earnest and passionate
The duke’s arrogance is evident in his proud reference to the fact that nobody dares to put
aside the curtain but himself and nobody dares to ask him why the duchess looks so much in
love
Lines 13-21
What we would consider innocent exchanges between artist and model, are seen as
unnecessary flirtations by the duke
Speculating what caused her to blush, perhaps that she blushed guiltily at what the artist
said, could have commented on her clothing
Doesn’t consider that many artists exaggerate colour on a women’s cheeks in their paintings
Speculates that the artist commented on his wife’s beauty
The duke is furiously jealous of the wife’s blush, evident from his careful pointing out that it
was not only his presence that made her joyful
Lines 21-24
Jealousy is made obvious as he believes the duchess was easily pleased and easily impressed
He is accusing the duchess of infidelity without evidence (uses innuendo – an allusive or
oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one)
His indecision with word choice betrays a tellingly careful attitude towards his
speech/diction
Ellipsis acts as a parenthesis – dramatic pauses to allude to wife’s supposed infidelity
Lines 25-31
Duke shows supposed evidence to prove that she found the same amount of pleasure and
delight in all things
Evidence: duchess considered his gift of jewellery as beautiful as the sunset, as lovely as a
branch broken from a cherry tree by some man, as sweet as the white mule she used to ride
around the terrace of the house
He is angered that all of these things were rated the same by the duchess, she spoke
approvingly of all of them to others, and they all caused her to blush
Duchess treated everyone/everything the same, with courtesy and kindness
Lines 31-34
Futilely, duke says he did not mind if duchess thanked men for gifts and kindnesses, but he is
irked that she treated them the same way she treated him – as though his status and family
name were not appreciated enough by her
Duke believes that he is all his wife needs because he is wealthy and comes from an ancient
family (his pedigree)
His arrogance – he can’t believe that his gifts can be ranked the same as anybody else’s gifts
He believes that by marrying him, his wife is privileged and should be eternally grateful
Lines 34-43
He tries to convey that he is a reasonable man
Blaming her for being courteous to everyone
3
