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"MY LAST DUCHESS."
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Analysis of Robert Browning's 19th Century dramatic monologue poem.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Analysis of Robert Browning's 19th Century dramatic monologue poem.
Paper Introduction:
Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" (1842) is a dramatic monologue in which the character of the speaker, a Duke showing a painting of his wife, is gradually revealed. As the Duke speaks of the woman in the painting the reader's initial interest turns to apprehension. This feeling is heightened and then justified as he is shown to be responsible for her death. But the reader, now stunned by the Duke's blandly terrible nature, has also wondered all along what the point might be in talking about these matters. This becomes clear, however, when it is revealed that he has an actual auditor in the poem -- and the auditor's identity greatly increases the horror of the poem. All the accumulated inferences the reader has drawn from the Duke's increasingly bizarre speech have indicated that the woman is, indeed, dead -- as his first words seemed to indicate but never
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There is no more ambiguity about his jealousy. But the reader, now stunned by the Duke's blandly terrible nature,has also wondered all along what the point might be in talking about thesematters. Since there is no auditor in sight this feelssomewhat confusing. The fact that the poem is set in Italy in the sixteenth century -- aplace and time when a Duke could be an absolute ruler in his small city-state - -establishes him as a man of power so that, as he describes hisgrowing displeasure at his wife's perceived behavior, a sense of menacearises quite naturally. In continuing with therevelation of the identity of the speaker and the Duke's reasons forshowing him the picture Browning manages to move the poem from disturbingto shocking to horrifying. But as the ruler of a Renaissance city-state he isalso a patron of art and a cultured individual. As the Duke speaks of the woman in the painting thereader's initial interest turns to apprehension. Had he chosen "to stoop" the Duchess might, at least,have been able to save herself. Yet thequestion of the second presence in the poem has begun to nag at the readerand, taken in combination with the odd choice of the phrase "my lastDuchess," this reference to the unidentified auditor makes the readeruneasy. This raises the question of whether visitors really didhave such a reaction or whether the Duke simply imagined it. On the one hand, he is colloquial anddiscusses painting without pretension, as in "I call / That piece a wondernow." On the other hand, there is a courtly formality to inverted syntaxsuch as "for never read / Strangers like you that pictured countenance //But to myself they turned // And seemed as they would ask . "My Last Duchess." The Victorian Web. His insanity consists not so much in havingkilled his wife out of unwarranted jealousy but in the cool way he wentabout it and his absolute conviction that he is the picture of reason. Work CitedBrowning, Robert. But when the Dukesays that he could not tell her what bothered him the reader sees that herfate was sealed. . It is thefirst strong sign that everything that transpired in relation to his wife's"earnest glance" -- up to the question visitors supposedly wished to ask --was seen through the distorting lens of the Duke's own feelings. Then,when the import of the question becomes clear, the reader sees that theDuke is answering a question that no half-way polite person would everdream of asking. " It isclear that the auditor is being treated with grave but friendly goodmanners by a true man of the world. The slow realization that the Duke is a menaceis intensified by the news that he is looking for someone new to be worthyof the dead Duchess' place. And his hesitations ("how shall I say") andcareful language soften any hint of accusation. As the Dukecontinues in exactly the same tone of condescending politeness and turns todiscuss another work of art with his visitor the reader can only hope, forthe sake of the potential bride, that the envoy's reaction to the Duke hasbeen the same as her/his own. Yet he doesnot accuse her of misbehaving. This civilized Duke wouldnot dream that his wife would be capable of low behavior. This becomes clear, however, when it is revealed that he has anactual auditor in the poem -- and the auditor's identity greatly increasesthe horror of the poem. The strangeness of the Duke's conversation emerges at the point wherehis remarks reveal that the picture is kept behind a curtain and that he isthe only one who ever sees it. His courtesy and urbanityare always apparent, especially in the combination of friendly directnessand elegance in his speech. But it is the unvarying consistency ofthis very tone that becomes the eeriest feature of the poem. The shock is created,instead, by the continuing blandness of his tone and the fact that this,clearly, is not all there is to the poem. All the accumulated inferences the reader hasdrawn from the Duke's increasingly bizarre speech have indicated that thewoman is, indeed, dead -- as his first words seemed to indicate but neverclearly stated -- and even the news that he has been responsible for herdeath is not as surprising as it might have been. This implies, of course, that she is treatingeveryone like her husband -- or at least that her smiles implied that shewould have liked to treat everyone this way. In other words, he must be shown to beinsane but utterly unaware at the same time that he is revealing hisdisturbed mind to the listener -- or even that anyone might regard hiswords or behavior as strange. Therevelation that he is the envoy of a prospective new father-in-law for theDuke makes it horrifyingly clear that the phrase "last Duchess" was used asif he was describing the need for a new carriage or horse. At his exclamation, "Sir, 'twas allone" the Duke begins to list those who received her treasured look -- buthe begins with himself and makes it clear that he believed that she wastreating everyone the same. This feeling builds as it becomes clear that the Duke's jealousy madeany response the Duchess made to others seem like flirtation. Available http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/rb/ duchess.html She would have taken the painter'sattentions and admiration for mere courtesy and, for her, that was "causeenough for calling up that spot of joy." He protests, in essence, that shewas simply too good and kind. Because every word of the poem comes from the Duke's own mouth it isnecessary that they be capable of revealing him for what he is while beingfaithful to his self-delusion that he is a reasonable and temperate personwho is merely aware of the value of his name and his station in life andknows what to expect from a wife. Instead, as he blandly remarks, thebehavior continued, "I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together."But, barely drawing a breath, he moves from what most people would considera confession of murder to courtesy for his visitor and suggests that they"meet / The company below." Now that this auditor has been shown to have aspecific identity the reader's curiosity is at a high pitch. It was merelythat she was "Too easily impressed" -- for what other inference could agentleman draw from the fact that she looked as sweetly (it seemed to him)on everyone else as she did on him. This feeling isheightened and then justified as he is shown to be responsible for herdeath. The Duke originally asked the auditor to sit and lookat the picture but the reader tends to dismiss this by assuming that theDuke is speaking to an anonymous person whose identity is immaterial (i.e.,the reader is, in a way, the contemporary audience of the Duke). . Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" (1842) is a dramatic monologue inwhich the character of the speaker, a Duke showing a painting of his wife,is gradually revealed. At first this might sound like mourning.But then he discusses the question that his auditor has, supposedly,desired to put to him.
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