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Anonymous,
2 yr 181 days ago
I wonder if you will read this two years later. A very good analysis, but you missed one subtle thing:
I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together
That's when he had her killed.
Anonymous,
2 yr 38 days ago
Throughout My Last Duchess, the Duke tries to depict himself as the poor, abused husband whose wife didn't love him and was possibly cheating on him. He reveals much more than he intended, showing his controlling and manipulative side. He tries to convincethe reader that the duchess left him no alternative but to kill her. The Duke was unable to control her in life, unable to make her realize the great gift he had bestowed on her just by marrying her and giving his "900 year old name," but in death (the duchess captured in a portrait forever) he is able to control her and her smiles. The bough of cherries, the white mule, the daylight in the west are all things that made the duchess happy, things that are viewed as not worth while by the duke. Because Fra Pandolf, the painter, was able to capture the essence of her smile, now the duke can control what and who she smiles upon for he is the only one who can lift the curtain that covers her portrait.
Anonymous,
1 yr 248 days ago
i think he got her killed.
i doubt he abused her.
Anonymous,
347 days ago
- the husband is very arrogant of himself - thought his wife cheated on him - he was very possessive - he is jealous of her for looking at other men - very controlling - irony - "Even had you skill in speech which i have not" - he's the one controlling the situation
Anonymous,
321 days ago
I think the Duke fails to have acontrol over the painting that's because he draws a curtian over it he is afraid from it he does't even put it in the hall I think possession here is a fallacy He can't possess the duke's feeling when she was living and even after her death trought the painting. Nanna
Anonymous,
321 days ago
i think that this is a very good analysis however i would add, my personal view, that she cheated on him. ' The bough of cherries some officious fool Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule She rode with round the terrace" suggest she had sex "the white mule she rode with round the terrace" cheeries also being assotated with love. hope this helps
Anonymous,
267 days ago
I believe that Browning used many sexual entendres throughtout the poem "spot of joy" and "the bough of cherries" being just two, I believe that the reference to cherries was an insult to the Duchess' virtue as in that she was not a virgin when she married the Duke (or so he claims! but can we really trust the man who sees doubt and disloyalty in all that his wife does) The entendre comes in as the Duke appears to be describing the Duchess' love of life (the sunset "dropping of the daylight", horse riding "the white mule she rode around the terrance") yet actually is describing her sexual expoits with other men.
Although I think that deep down the Duke was a coward in that he did not discuss his fears with the Duchess "even if you had skill in speech - (which I have not) - to make your will quite clear" It appears that the Duke never told her how he expected her to behave.
I do not think that the Duchess cheated on the Duke I believe that it was all in his head. I think that it is possible that the Duke was in it for the money of the dowry that he recieved when he married her, and when this money ran out he got rid of her in order to marry another and gain more money, as possessions are obviously very important to him "my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name". (I have also had to write an essay comparing this poem with another for my GCSE's - thanks everyone for the comments that I have read on this page for they were very helpful although my essay was almost done by the time I discovered this)
Also I dont know if anyone mentioned that the poem was set in renassence (cant spell) Italy, Browning was out to challenge the domineering male minds of his time through his poetry and through exploring that of the Duke.
Anonymous,
255 days ago
"Last Duchess" clearly states that she is no longer with him and "gave commands" hints that he gave orders to kill her. what is interesting about "Last" also is that it doesn't say first so could suggest a stream of previous wives in which he simply disposed of. the duke's character clearly says to us that he is egotistical and very jealous. He is angered due to the fact that his own wife rates his gift of a nine hundred year old name the same as gifts of less value. The way in which he suggests that he killed her is brought on very casually and its not really the type of thing we would bring up in conversation and if he killed her it shows his callousness but also pettyness like a child who doesnt get what he wants simply throws a tantrum. Due to his power as a duke however he has the power to turn his tantrum into an execution. the way he refers to the painting as a "piece" depersonalises his wife making her sound more like art work than a person who was living.
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