My Last Duchess
Encyclopedia : M : MY : MYL : My Last Duchess
My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue in poetry, written by Robert Browning, and published in "Dramatic Lyrics" in 1842.
Murder... mystery... intrigue... All describe Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers's indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader might easily think that the speaker committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His flowery speech confuses and disguises any possible motives, however, and the mystery is left unsolved. Based on the poem's style, structure, and historical references, it becomes evident that even if the speaker did not directly kill his wife, he certainly had something to hide.
Style and Structure
The style and structure of this poem play a significant role in the effect of the poem. As is typical of Browning's poems, "My Last Duchess" is written as a dramatic monologue. This format suits this poem particularly well because the speaker, taken to be the Duke of Ferrara, comes across as being very controlling, especially in conversation. For example, he seems jealous that he was not able to monopolize his former duchess' smiles for himself. He also seems to direct the actions of the person he is addressing with comments such as "Will't please you rise?" (line 47) and "Nay, we'll go / Together down, sir" (lines 53-54).
Browning uses many techniques, including a simple rhyme scheme, enjambment, and caesura to convey various characteristics and qualities about the speaker and the situation. Browning uses an AA BB rhyme scheme, which is very common to ballads and songs. It also enhances the irony of the speaker's later comment that he does not have "skill / In speech" (lines 35-36). The enjambed lines indicate the control that the speaker is exerting on the conversation and give the feeling that the speaker is rushing through parts of the poem. When the Duke is speaking of the death of his wife, for example, the lines running over suggest that he is nervous about the subject. The caesuras also suggest to the reader that he is hiding something or that he is pausing to think.
Meaning of the Poem
When discussing the poem's content, there are many things we know for certain and many others that are questionable. We know that the Duchess died suspiciously and that the Duke is in the process of looking for a new wife. He is speaking to a messenger about a painting of his now deceased wife. The Duke, of course, is casting himself in a favorable light and is presenting his best side. He wants to make it look as if his wife was cheating on him and was unfaithful to him. He is very controlling, and could not control her and her smiles. This smile was what the Duke likes the most about the painting of the Duchess--he feels that the painter accurately captured the smile and the vivacity of the Duchess. Now that the Duke owns this painting and has placed it behind a curtain, he can at last control who is graced with her smile.
When the Duchess was alive, the Duke could not control her smile and love for life and he considered her unfaithful. It is thought that he poisoned her because of these suspicions. Other aspects of the Duke that remain unclear include his true character. As mentioned, he is presenting his best side, but through his speech the reader sees how he is very jealous and controlling, which leads one to believe that he may have many dishonorable qualities. Another ambiguous quality about the Duke is his historical character. The poem clearly references the historical Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara (a city in northeast Italy), whose first wife died suspiciously within two years of their marriage. We know that Browning's Duke has a 900-year-old name of which he is very proud, and, based on his collection of paintings and sculptures, that he was an patron of the arts. Both facts correspond with information known about the historical Duke. However, the poem omits some important information. Browning does not refer to the Duchess in the painting as being a member of the royal de Medici family. Historical sources indicate that Alfonso's first wife was Lucretia de Medici, the daughter of two very important and powerful Italian monarchs. The poem is based on the fact that she died within two years of the Duke's ascension to the throne. Although sources indicate that she died suspiciously, it was never proven that the Duke had anything to do with her death.
Interpretations
It is interesting to consider the poem also as an elegy of romanticism with the duchess representing an excess of it and the duke 'liquidating' it with Victorian Reason and pridenosity. There are several expressions in the poem to suggest this romantic excess. The duke's comment that she smiled at everything including 'the beautiful sunrise' and 'the officious fool' are pointers to the misdemaeanour of the duchess. The last few lines of the poem in which the duke shows the artifact to the visitor is suggestive of a veiled threat - that if the new duchess also misbehaves, she could end up as another portrait 'hanging on the wall'.
See also
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.