ACTIVITIES: MY LAST DUCHESS - BROWING

• At the beginninf of the monologue the reader’s attention is drawn to the painting of the Duke’s former wife. How does the Duke look upon it?
• He looks upon the painting with intensity, he invites who looks it to sit down and admire her figure. He says she seems alive, he is involved.

• what did the Duke find offensive in his wife? Why?
• He finds offensive that his wife didn’t care of his important name and that everything, for her, was similar. She was unable to explain what she wants and the Duke hated this aspect of his wife: first of all he is proud of his high importance of his status and than he seems strong in reverse of his wife who is unenthusiastic of everything.

• does the Duke think that his wife was unfaithful to him? If so, how does he hint at this?
• He thinks so, probably he refers to the betrayal when he tells about the smiles she received 

• which words hint at the murder of the Duchess?
• All smiles stopped together

• love of art is part of the Duke’s personality. Where is a work of art mentioned in the poem?
• Art is represented by the Duchess’ portrait in the poem. He admires it continually, he is proud of it also because he shows his to the envoy.

• what kind of personality does the Duke’s posses?
• He is violent and possessive. It comes out whet he tells about how he reprimands his wife for her behavior. Finally it seems as if he had killed her.

• what is the verse pattern?
• The monologue is written in free verse

• the dramatic monologue is characterized by some typical figures as:
• First person speaker: dramatis persone. In this case he is an historical character, Alfonso II of Este. “that’s MY last duchess”; “I CALL…”; “I SAID”
• Presence of a silent listener: the envoy. “the Count YOUR master’s…”; “WE’ll go”; “TOGETHER DOWN, SIR”
• Unusual sintax: free verse, parenthesis, exclamations…

• in My Last Duchess, a classical example of dramatic monologue, Browing portrays an eccentric character taken form the Italian RENAISSANCE. The Duke (possibly Alfonso II d’Este) is talking to his ENVOY of the Count of Tyrol, showing him the portrait of his beautiful young former wife. The portrait preserves an IDEAL image of his wife, who us now under his complete CONTROL while in life her innocent PRIDE and love for people seemed to his UNWORTHY of his nine-hundred-year-old name. Browing aims at creating a character whose moral FAULTS come out of the situation: he ordered the murder of an innocent creature following his monstrous FREEDOM (I choose never to stoop) and his own DISTORTED view of life. This is reached through the SKILLFUL change of perspective between present and past and of a colloquial language which expresses the Duke’s force and rhetoric.

ANALYSIS OF THE POEM

The poem "My Last Duchess," by Robert Browning, is a dramatic monologue, and so it is written in free verse. After the title there is the explication of the setting: the scene is set in Italy, in particular in Ferrara. The scene opens with the dramatis persone, probably Alfonso II d’Este who is watching the portrait of his wife and is showing it to someone, the silent listener.  So the monologue could be interpreted as a part of a conversation. Nothing is said clearly, all must be deducted by the description of the painting. From the Duke’s words come out the characteristic of his wife, of himself and they could be generalized to all the high society of the Renaissance: Browning conveys the abuse of the upper classes of society power. So, the poet, not only brings to the public eye the tyranny of that particular noble, but also castigates the aristocracy in its entirety.

The language used by the speaker alludes to someone who is speaking with pride about a possession: at the beginning, it is not clear if he is proud of his wife or only of the painting.

After few lines he named the painter, Fra Pandolf, who is priced by the Duke : so he is proud only for the artwork. In addition he speaks about his Last Duchess: the word last implies indifference for the death of his wife, so he didn’t care very much of her. He speaks using bright words that reveals him to be vain and materialistic, and unconcerned with the loss of his previous duchess. So, in describing the duchess, the Duke also reveals his character underlining the contrast with the admirable behave of his wife that annoyed him. The duchess appreciated the simple pleasures in life instead of his important aged name. That’s why he killed her. In the middle of the poem, casually the Duke admits the murder: “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands / As if Alive".

Finally, in the last lines, the listener comes out: the Duke addresses directly to him. He greatest gift: his title. The hypothetical listener is an envoy of another noble, "the Count your master" who  has to organize the duke's marriage to the count's daughter.