My last Duchess is a dramatic monologue, wrote in 1842 by Robert Tennyson.

Reading the title the intelligent reader can understand that the dramatis personae deals with a story of a duchess, who is his last one.

The word “last” give the idea of “the final one”. It means that there will not be other Duchesses after she. The word “my” underlines the possession felt by the faint for the duchess.

The story deals with a duchess (probably Lucrezia de Medici) who has been killed by her duke (Alfonso d’Este) because of his inability to completely posses the woman. He murdered her maybe using some poison. After the death of the lady the duke makes Fra Pandolf do a wall painting which represents her in all her beauty.

In the poem is reported the scene where the duke shows to an imperial ambassador the portrait, speaking about the duchess and reflecting about the causes which led him kill her. After that he makes arrangements with the ambassador for the close marriage with Barbara d’Asburgo. The lyric starts with a deittic (Ferrara) which sets the story. The scene takes place in the Renaissance.

The narrator uses a language which recalls every-day speech.

At the beginning the dramatis personae shows to the silent listener the picture on the wall. He is the first privileged “stranger” who can see it. The duke is very jealous and possessive and covers it with a curtain. He is also authoritarian and seems to dominate the painting. The duke wanted to have the possession of the feelings and the mind of the woman. He could not possess her because she was very open with the others, she smiled to everybody and she liked everyone. Her behaviour was not considered suitable for her rank. The duke cannot teach her how to behave because at that time man had not to say to a woman what she has to do.

In the last 10 lines the duke reveals his personality. He murdered her because she dedicated to everyone (also to the duke) the same smile. She appreciated all at the same way. The figure of the duke conveys the idea that appearance, sometimes, is better than reality.