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Critical Appreciation of MY LAST DUCHESS by

Robert Browning

Dramatic Monologue
A poem in which an imagined speaker addresses a silent listener, usually not the
reader.
A dramatic monologue is a long speech by a single person. It differs from soliloquy
which means the expression of ideas by a character in a play. On the other hand,
dramatic monologue is a kind of lyric which was used and improved by Robert
Browning.
These poems are dramatic in the sense that they have a theatrical quality i.e. the
poem is meant to be read to an audience. To say that the poem is a monologue
means that these are the words of one speaker with no dialogue coming from any
other character.
Features of a Dramatic Monologue
A dramatic monologue has these common features in them.

1. A single person delivering a speech on one aspect of his life.

2. The audience may or may not be present.
3. Speaker reveals his temperament and character only through his speech.

MY LAST DUCHESS by Robert Browning

Robert Browning, a famous English poet, and playwright, wrote ‘My Last
Duchess’, a famous dramatic monologue of a duke about a heinous act of
killing his former wife. The poem was published in the year 1842 in the third
series of Bells and Pomegranate. The particular series was called
as Dramatic Lyrics. My Last Duchess, poem of 56 lines in 28 rhyming
couplets. It is one of Browning’s most successful dramatic monologues.
Setting of the poem:

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The poem is set in the Italian town Ferrara during the Renaissance period. The Duke
[who is also the speaker] is supposedly Alfonso the second. Alfonso is the fifth Duke of
Ferrara and he lived during the 16th century. The Last Duchess is considered to be
Lucrezia de Medici, wife of Alfonso. Robert Browning portrays the character of the Duke
with egoistic attitude and a man who likes to dominate the scene rather than getting
deluged by the ideas of others. An emissary visits the recently widowed Duke and the
dramatic monologue begins.
Form
“My Last Duchess” comprises rhyming pentameter lines. The lines do not employ end-
stops; rather, they use enjambment—that is, sentences and other grammatical units do
not necessarily conclude at the end of lines. Consequently, the rhymes do not create a
sense of closure when they come, but rather remain a subtle driving force behind the
Duke’s compulsive revelations.
Tone
The tone of the poem is that an ignorant ,vulgar , insensitive selfish and arrogant and
brutal man who is trying his best to sound like a courtly aristocrat.

Poetic Devices in “My Last Duchess”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry.
Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
1. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There is one long stanza
in the poem having fifty-six lines in it.
2. Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter having five iambs per line. The
poem follows iambic pentameter such as,
“looking as if she were alive I call”.
3. End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. The
examples of end rhyme in the poem are, “wall/call”, “hands/stands” and
“meet/repeat”.
4. Heroic Couplet: Heroic couplet is a pair of rhymed lines with iambic
pentameter. The poem consists of twenty-eight heroic couplets. For
example,
“Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,”

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Central Idea of the Poem

In the poem, the Duke of Ferrara uses a painting of his former wife as a
conversation piece. The Duke speaks about his former wife's perceived
inadequacies to a representative of the family of his bride-to-be, revealing
his obsession with controlling others in the process. Browning uses this
compelling psychological portrait of a despicable character to critique the
objectification of women and abuses of power.

Analysis of Literary devices in the poem

Assonance
The repetition of the same vowel sound in the same line is called assonance.
In the poem, assonance is used in the following line “Her wits to your,
forsooth, and made excuses”. In this line /o/ sound is repeated while the
sound /o/ and /i/ are repeated in the following line “Of mine for dowry will
be disallowed”.
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonant sound in the same line is called
consonance. In the poem, /t/ sound is repeated in the line “Together down,
sir. Notice Neptune, though”. Consonance is also used in the line “The
Count your master’s known munificence” because of the repetition of /n/
sound.
Simile
The explicit comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as”
is called a simile. In the poem, the simile is used in the following line:
“That’s my last duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive.”
In this line, the poet compares a dead person to her painting by using the
word “as”.

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Irony
When the intended meaning of the writer is different from the actual
meaning of the words, it is known as irony. The title of this poem “My Last
Duchess” is ironic because the dead Duchess of the Duke is not his last
Duchess as he is going to marry the Count’s daughter now.
Hyperbole
The exaggeration of anything for the sake of emphasis, is known as
Hyperbole. In this poem, hyperbole is used in the twenty-fourth line: “She
looked on, and her looks went everywhere”.
Symbolism
The use of symbols to signify any object, idea or quality else than its literal
meaning, is known as symbolism. In the poem, the painting of Duke’s last
Duchess symbolizes how he uses his power to objectify human beings such
as his own wife considering his own property or possession.
“The white mule” symbolizes the pure and gentle nature of the Duchess. It
also symbolizes her innocence. Moreover, the statue of God Neptune
taming his sea-horse symbolizes the cruel character of Duke taming his
own Duchess.
Enjambment
The technique in which a sentence is carried over to the next line without
any pause, is known as Enjambment. In the poem, Enjambment is used in
the following lines:
“The Count your master’s known munificence
Is ample warrant that no just pretense
Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;”
Heroic Couplet
The rhyming pair of lines in the form of iambic pentameter, is known as the
heroic couplet. In the poem, there are twenty-eight heroic couplets. One of
them is given below:

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“Strangers like you that pictured countenance.

The depth and passion of its earnest glance,”

Allusion
The reference to any famous incident, person or work of art in history, is
known as an allusion. The allusion is used at the end of the poem when the
poet refers to the bronze statue of God Neptune taming his sea-horse.
Rhetoric question
The question asked in any piece of Literature specially poetry whose
purpose is not to get an answer and is just used to lay emphasis, is known
as a rhetoric question.
► In the poem, the poet has used rhetoric questions at the following points:
“Who’d stoop to blame
This sort of trifling?”
“but who passed without

Themes in My Last Duchess

Power
This poem is all about power. The Duke of Ferrara is shown exercising his tyrannical
power not only in his political and social affairs but also in his marital life. He rules with
an iron fist. As he was a duke so he even wanted to control his wife’s smile and when he
couldn’t, he gave orders to kill her.
Art
A beautiful piece of art is presented in the poem. The Duke shows the portrait of her
former Duchess to his guest that is so beautifully painted that the Duchess seems alive,
smiling and standing in front of them. The Artist of the painting “Fra Pandolf” worked
hard to put the depth and passion in the painting and he made it a masterpiece.
Everyone gets surprised to see this art of wonder and admires it.
Apart from that painting, the Duke also draws the attention of his guest towards another
beautiful art made by Claus of Innsbruck. It was a statue of God Neptune taming his
sea-horse and it was cast in Bronze. The Duke shows his beautiful art gallery to the

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people whom he wants to impress. It shows that the poem “My Last Duchess” is a piece
of art about another art.
Objectification of women
Throughout the poem, the Duke praises the art and painting of his wife. He shows that
he loves his Duchess more in painting as compared to when she was alive. He values the
art more than his wife. His point of view shows that the women are the objects that are
supposed to be controlled and possessed.
It also reflects the thinking of Browning’s time when people used to treat women badly
in the Victorian era. They were not considered equal as men and were not allowed to
stand as independent beings and were controlled by men. Through this poem, the poet
actually criticizes this type of viewpoint about women.
Pride
The Duke’s pride took the life of his Duchess. He wanted his wife to make him feel
special but he never tried to talk to her about it. The Duke tells that he feels his insult in
it to explain anything to anyone even to his own wife. He considers it equivalent to
stooping and his pride never allowed him to stoop so, in his pride and power he gave
commands to kill his Duchess. Moreover, his pride is also shown when he tells the
servant that he gave his Duchess his nine hundred years old family name but she didn’t
consider it superior to other trivial gifts of others. It shows that he is proud of his family
name and social status.
Communication gap
The lack of communication between the Duke and Duchess become the reason behind
their problems. In any relationship, communication gap is the main factor that gives rise
to misunderstandings. In the poem, the Duke was reluctant to talk to his wife but if he
somehow managed to talk to her and explain to her what exactly he wanted from her,
then maybe she could have changed herself for him. He never tried to tell her about his
feelings and his expectations from her and he ended up taking her life.
Madness
In the poem, the Duke tries to rule over his wife. He even tries to control her smiles and
blushes. He hates when she smiles for others and thanks to them for their presents. He
never even tries to tell her about this but he expects her to become as he wants. It clearly
shows his madness. Without even talking to her, he decides to solve the matter by his
power. In his madness, he takes the life of his innocent wife just to stop her smiles that
are not for him but for others. Maybe, he considers these smiles and blushes equal to
having an affair with someone and the insane Duke murders his wife to stop this.
Jealousy
One reason behind the Duke’s madness is his jealousy. Whenever he sees his Duchess
smiling and thanking other people he gets jealous because he only wants to see her

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smiling for him. Many lines in the poem are the evidence of his jealousy as he himself
says that his Duchess smiles whenever he crosses her but on the other hand he says no
one crosses her without receiving the same smile. He becomes jealous of every smile and
every blush of his wife if it is intentionally or unintentionally intended for someone else.
Cruelty
The nature of the Duke’s former Duchess was very kind and generous. She used to smile
and show gratitude towards everyone for their presents, even the trivial ones but the
Duke didn’t like it. He never wanted her to get frank with other people. He even became
jealous seeing her smiling while watching the sunset or riding on her white mule. He
didn’t even try to solve this issue by communication. The only solution that he came up
with was taking her life. He murdered his own wife and proved himself a cruel Duke
who could only exercise his power on the innocent people.
Greed
The theme of Greed is also found in the end of the poem when the Duke tells the servant
of the Count that he is not worried about the dowry. As the Duke is going to marry the
Count’s daughter, he tells the servant that he has heard much about his master’s
generous nature so he is sure that whatever he demands from him in dowry, he will
never reject it. It shows that the Duke is also greedy and concerned about the dowry
though he tries to conceal his greediness by saying that the Count’s beautiful daughter
will be his primary concern and priority.
Murder and Sadness
The character of Duchess is viewed as an innocent and kind soul who is killed by the
cruel psychopath Duke. The Duke murdered her because of her nice behaviour to
everyone. It makes the readers sad to see any good character suffering at the hands of
cruel and haughty ones.

My Last Duchess Literary Analysis: ( The Meaning )

1-15 Lines
The poet immediately starts with the portrayal of Alfonso’s last Duchess. The Duke is
clear, crafty and aware of the words he is about to utter. Browning reveals later in the
poem that the emissary visits the Duke to talk about marriage proposals. So, the Duke
craftily walks him through to create an impression about him.
Immediately, Alfonso tries to establish a negative impression on the Duchess so
that he could gain from it. He presents himself as a lover of art and admires the work done
by Fra Pandolf. But, his real intentions are shown when he expresses his thoughts about
the Duchess. The Duke says that his mistress would blush at the presence of any man.

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Despite all the concealing ideas shown by the Duke, it is evident that he was
jealous about the nature and character of the Duchess. This leads to the suspicion that
her death was not normal and Alfonso had something to do with it.
16-35 Lines
The reader of the emissary does not know about the personality of the Duchess. His
cynical remarks on how his last Duchess would be blushing in reaction to the words
almost make it certain that she has sinful intentions in her mind.
However, her childish nature is brought forth by Browning in the lines 26-30. The
Duchess isnot unfaithful but a woman with simple philosophy – enjoy the life and the
surroundings. Her attitude towards gifts and the beauty of Nature shows that her easy
going life style, which is not something one would expect from a Duchess.
Duke is too blind with his egoistic lifestyle that he doesn’t even care to know how
his wife thanked others. This has led to a misconception that Duchess is not worthy to
advice and the reader can perceive from his words that she is not worthy to understand
the great lineage of the Duke’s family.
36-56 Lines
The Duke is clever yet remorseless in his actions. The words “I repeat” suggest that the
negotiations for dowry have been going on between him and the emissary. To make his point
clear, the Duke used the story of Duchess to create a pitiful aura around himself and at the
same highlight the name of his family. He does so successfully on several occasions. Further,his
conversation with the emissary is also an indication to how life is going to be for the Count’s
daughter.
Conclusion:
The brilliant conclusion by Robert Browning clears the fog about the true nature of the
Duke. His interest towards the bronze statue Neptune taming a sea horse reflects his
interests in life. One can understand the Dukes poet of view of a noble life is to live
with superiority, unconditional dignity, snobbery and unstoppable power.
Dramatic Monologue is similar to soliloquy in a drama, but Robert Browning has taken it
to a more intimate level. His emphasis was always on the development of an individual,
precisely psychological development. If the reader could understand every word of his
works like –My Last Duchess, it could lead to evolution of thoughts, personal
growth and new understanding of the world.