Exercises of My Last Duchess:

The listener:

His presence is inferred from clues like “you”and “sir”.

The present situation:

The speaker hints to the behaviours of his wife (when alive) and at the crucial moment when he decided to kill her.

The subject matter:

There is a relationship between the past and the present situation, because the duke, getting married again, can create the same passed situation. The duke, besides, is linked to the past through the portrait. The duke is very jealous and he wants to possess his wife.

The language:

References to the situation: “the company below”, “go together down”

Direct address: “will’t please you sit?”, “strangers like you”, “will’t please you rise?”

Contracted forms: “that’s”, “ ‘twas”, Who’d”, “will’t”

Pauses, signalled by dashes: lines 29,31 36, 39, 43

Fillers when searching for the expression: "I know not how", “which I have not”

The tone:

The tone of the monologue is reflective and a little nostalgic.