Analysis of Robert Browning’s poem My Last Duchess

My Last Duchess is a poem by 19^th century poet Robert Browning. It is a dramatic monologue, constituted by a single section, where indirect speech coexists together with direct speeches.

Starting from the title, the reader’s attention is caught by the word “last”, which hints at the final element of a series, so it raises curiosity to discover why a duchess should be considered “last”. The subtitle gives a spatial coordinate: the Italian city of Ferrara. Thus the reader may conjecture the scene takes place in the Renaissance, when Ferrara was home of the Este house.

At the beginning of the poem, the Duke asks an unknown listener (who then will be revealed to be an envoy from the Count of Tyrol) to admire a fresco on the wall, which represents his “last duchess”. The presence of a listener is also suggested by the question mark and the invitation (will’t please…) in l. 5. Listening to the Duke’s words, it becomes soon clear that he has a patronizing attitude, as it appears from the use of the possessive adjective “my”. Moreover, when he recalls the observations made by Fra Pandolf (the painter), he remembers that Fra Pandolf said the mantle “laps over the lady’s wrist too much”, or “paint must never hope to reproduce the faint half-flush that dies along her throat” (ll. 16-19). Going on, the Duke recalls her lady’s happy and light-hearted countenance; however, he describes it in a very jealous and resentful way, as it is suggested by the anaphoric repetition of “too” (ll. 22-23). In addition, the great indignation that breaks from the Duke as he remembers his lady is shown by the frequent false starts that interrupt his speech (e.g. “How shall I say?”, l. 22). In l. 31, the Duke even suspects that his lady was unfaithful to him, as he hints at that when he says “she thanked men – good! But thanked somehow – I know not how” (l. 31-32), and he believes that the Duchess’ behaviour was an insult to his “nine-hundred years-old name” (l. 33). The Duke was so proud that even telling the Duchess that he could not stand her behaviour would have been “some stooping”, and he chose “never to stoop” (ll. 42-43).

If the description of the Duchess’ manners occupies more than half poem, the central event, that is her murder, is just slightly hinted at in ll. 45-46 as the Duke says “I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together”. The terrible truth of the murder clashes with the almost ironical expression “there she stands as if alive” that follows; such irony highlights how the Duke considered her lady’s killing an act more than justifiable, a sort of duty to prevent his family’s name from being “spoiled” by a duchess’ foolish actions.

The last lines of the poem contribute to explain why the Duke revealed so many details of his relationship with his last wife to a complete stranger. Indeed, he specifies that he does not request any dowry for the marriage with the Count’s daughter, but he warns the envoy that the daughter “is my [the Duke’s] object”. The word “object” is even more dreadful to the listener’s hears as it could be interpreted as a synonym of “goal”, but it may also mean “thing” (and this is probably what the Duke intended). It appears clear that the Duke considers his wives as his own possessions, and he told his wife’s story to the envoy with the specific purpose to warn him (and the Count of Tyrol) that he will claim but one thing from her future wife: that she will be a toy in his hands, and that she will do only what pleases him.

As the two men leave the room, the Duke invites the envoy to look at a statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse: it is again an image of domination and control, the only things that can satisfy the Duke’s mad mind.