Analysis of My Last Duchess

My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue written by Robert Browning. Right from the title an intelligent reader can understand that the poem will deal with a duchess, an high status female character. Under the title there's a reference to the geographic position: Ferrara.

The poet adopts a speaking voice. The speaking voice is a Duke and probably the duchess was his wife.  The Duke invites the messenger to see his picture gallery that is on the second floor of his castle, so space is an indoor space. The Duke stops in front of a wall , covered by a curtain. Behind the curtain there's a beautiful fresco, a portrait of his last duchess. The Duke assure to the messenger that nobody is allowed to see the fresco so the intelligent reader become curious to know why nobody is allowed to see the picture, and the duke decided to show it to a simply messenger. It's the Duke that want to show the picture to messenger.  Besides the reader understand that the fresco, made by Fra Pandolf, is very well done, because it reproduces well the duchess, and that the duke love art.

The Duke informs the messenger that the Duchess smiles to everybody in the same way. But she was not expected to smile in the same way to a common person and to her husband. In this way the Duke reveals his jealous and possessive nature. The Duke speaks about the Duchess, but the reader understand more about his personality than about his ex wife. Browning's ability is to put the reader in communication with the Duke's personality, feelings and emotions, in a different multiple prospective.

The structure of the poem is very interesting. The intelligent reader realizes that some parts of the text is just juxtaposed, without any logical connection. Besides the Duke never admits that he has killed the Duchess, the reader has only the presumption.

All considering, I think that My Last Duchess is the best dramatic monologue I have ever read. Alfred Tennyson's one is good, because you understand all Ulysses' feelings, emotions but in Browning's the reader can understand the Duke's personality in an indirect way. The Duke talks about his wife, bur the reader knows more about his personality.