Re: Where to find daily conVerSation

Tanit — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 16:13:00 GMT

Hi K.,

I spent a whole year in the UK, doing a postgraduate course. To make things worse, I chose to go to Wales because Cardiff Uni is at the cutting edge in my field. Have you ever heard somebody speaking with a Welsh accent? For the first two months there, I only wanted to cry... In spite of my excellent performances during tests and exams (I had taken the FCE, the CAE and the TOEFL), I could understand very little outside the Uni
You know, most teachers' accents were pretty standard and easy... something like BBC's anchors, and my classmates were mostly international students, each with their own accent (we were a funny bunch!). I simply became accustomed to them... Welsh English (there was a girl who had a nice Swansea accent), Scottish English, Cornish English, Virginia English (AmE), Indian English, but also French-English, Chinese-English, Pakistan-English, Greek-English and lot more! Oh, I really miss them!
However, cashiers in supermarkers and kids playing in the parks were too hard for me... real English, lots of phrasal verbs I had never heard before, lots of contractions, and intonation quite different from the one I am used to!!!
Funnily, for a piece of coursework I had to interview six people. I was quite discouraged when I had to do the write-ups of the interviews (I remember you posted in the thread I created, "Spoken English").

Anyway, what I wanted to say is: formal education (all of the four skills) has helped me a lot to deal with University tasks, or with "formal" situations; it was not of (great) use, though, when it came to "real", daily life. I had often to guess, but people were usually kind, and when I made it clear I hadn't understood, they would repeat slowlier what they had just said, or rephrase it.

Re: Howard's dramatic monologue!

Anonymous — Mon, 15 May 2006 17:40:05 GMT

hey,

well il show you some of the stuff i have but it is all over the place i haven't edited it yet, but there's so much i want to write and so little time to do it in, but i would really like some guidance please.

I have also read Browning's poem, but have yet to really talk on the comparison between the two.

p.s my writing is quite bad at the moment, been writing whilst ill with the flu so please point out any major contradictions or plain nonsense that you see within the text.

thank you

A dramatic monologue has âseven definite characteristics: âspeaker, audience, occasion, revelation of character, interplay between speaker and audience, dramatic action, and action which takes place in the present.â (pg 8)

âThe dramatic monologue is a hybrid form. It has relations with lyric, because it is an expression of thought and feeling; but it is like a speech from a play, in that the character whose speech is represented is speaking out of a specific situation, and usually a problematic one. A dramatic monologue is like a speech from a play taken out of context. Its speaker is a figure other than the poet â in other words it dramatises the speaking subject â and the speaker generally speaks out of a situation that involves or leads towards action, a situation that is problematic or conflicted. It is a monologue because there is only one voice, and that voice is usually presented as speaking.â

Richard Howard has written a brilliant sequel to the Browning poem, My Last Duchess. His "speaker" is the envoy to whom Browning's duke has recently spoken to, and who is now reporting on that interview to his principal, the Count of Tyrol. However, Richard Howard has decided not to write it in the same form as Browning's but has used a letter form instead. The poem does not appear to have a particular rhyme scheme or a specific metre. It does, however, have a rather syllabic stanza form with mainly monosyllabic words, which is different compared to Browningâs rhyming iambic pentameter couplets.

Nikolaus Mardruz is the speaker of the poem. He is a representative of a government, a messenger: âMy Lordship's service, I remain his Envoyâ. It is clear to see that the poet is not the speaker of the poem, thus it abides with the rules of a dramatic monologue. The speakerâs voice is quite individualised. Nikolaus appears to be very loyal and faithful to the count; he travels to Ferrara and patiently waits hours before the Duke attends to him: âseveral hours were to elapseâ¦ before the Envoy.. Be seen to by His Grace.â The messenger tries his best to assure the Count that all will be well if his daughter were to marry the Duke, and also comes up with a proposal so that the Countess need not suffer from the âmurderous temperâ of the Duke. The sentence describing the Dukeâs temper is a clue from Browningâs poem that the Duke murdered his wife. It is a plausible to suggest the poem has the quality of a dramatic monologue. There is a speaker speaking to the Count of Tyrol. The situation described can be considered, to a certain extent, as problematic. Clearly, the Count has certain anxieties regarding the marriage of his daughter to a Duke who has experienced such a complex past.

The speaker does reveal certain thoughts and opinions about his encounter with the Duke. These are more apparent in the side comments separated with brackets. An example of this is when the messenger first arrives on the Dukeâs grounds, and is surprised to see the place âclose to a ruinâ. Nikolaus comments on the fact that âeven my Lordâs most unstinting dowry may not restore this wasted precincts to what their deteriorating state demands.â This shows us that he personally believes that no amount of money can restore the palace to a reasonable standard. It is almost as if the messenger is really picking on the weaknesses of the Duke, and maybe hoping to flatter the Count and appeal to his better nature. The speaker also observes the fact that the Duke is getting very old, âhe is no longer a young manâ. These small revelations of character show that he does have concerns regarding the Dukeâs age. It is not necessarily the case that he does not approve of the Duke being much older than the Countess, but rather that it works in their favour. The Duke will obviously pass away within a few years, therefore leaving the new Duchess with freedom and wealth. The speaker is very cunning; he is able to devise an alternate pre-nuptial agreement so that the Countess has the upper hand. Thus, the Duke will receive the intended dowry in installments instead of a lump sum; therefore the Count will have a guarantee that his daughter will be treated fairly and remain in good health. The speaker is generally hoping that the Duke will pass on as soon as possible, so that the plan goes ahead as planned, âthe long devotion (so long as he lasts)â.

The poem has many attributes which may lead an audience to believe it is a dramatic monologue. However, as a point of definition, âbecause the sense of an individual voice, and often of speech, is fundamental to the form, it is not correct to use the term of a poem written in the form of a letter.â The poem, therefore, can be more appropriately called a dramatic epistle.

The language in âMy Last Duchessâ is calm. It is a drawn out, one sided conversational boast yet the Dukeâs speech is sophisticated and eloquent.
The style contains a gradual build up to the whole story, and the drama takes place slowly with obvious mystery surrounding the fate of the Duchess. The language and actions of the Duke relay his jealous and controlling nature and yet his mannerisms and speech make him affable and admirable to such an extent the reader refrains from casting a moral judgment on him. In both poems Browning demonstrates the ability to detach himself completely and in the former, even offers the insight to a killers psyche using the monologue narrative.

The speakerâs attitude is revealed in his intonation. Upon his arrival in Ferrara, the messenger is quite disappointed by what he sees; he has a high expectation of the quality and extravagance of the palace grounds, but is taken aback when all is not as he had anticipated. This can be seen in lines such as âsuch mirroring was my first dismayâ and âqueasy it made meâ. His first impressions of the palace do not impress him at all as he cannot understand why the Duke would let his âlife in fallen stoneâ remain in such a state,

âin the dingy water that somehow

held them up as if for our surveillance-

ours?â

The speaker refers to this meeting as an âopportunityâ and also emphasises that it is also his âobligationâ. In the second stanza, this opportunity does not change his perception of what he has seen, but instead, the meeting with the Duke enhances his disappointment as he is delayed for hours assessing âa set of cameos just brought from Cairoâ. He sees the Duke caught up in a dull and gloomy state, his âtenebrosityâ. They discuss plans of the pre-nuptial agreement, from the speakerâs point of view, he feels that their negotiations look âpromisingâ. Nevertheless, whatever the outcome is, he realises the Countâs daughter will remain âamong Ferraraâs treasuresâ and refers to her as a âtrophyâ. However, there is a downside to this as a lot of the Dukeâs prized possessions do not appear to be in perfect condition or looked after, so it can be said that the speaker is not too keen on this idea as at the end of this stanza he says that if this is the Countâs wish then âso be itâ.

The speaker feels humiliated when he is confronted with the painting of the Dukeâs late wife. He calls it a âpainted deceitâ and his âembarrassment afforded a cue for audible laughterâ. The speaker is not impressed by the portrait and just sees it as another âchicaneâ or a form of trickery. The speaker himself has a more inferior role to play in society compared to the Duke, yet the speaker has formulated many opinions against the Duke based on appearance and plausibility of the Dukeâs encounters and experiences. In his letter, the speaker talks of the Dukeâs ârodomontadeâ meaning pretentious boasting. The Duke is proud to talk about his âbronze Neptuneâ which was cast in bronze especially for him, however, the messenger states how he must have seen âat least six of them cluttering the summer palace at Innsbruckâ. This is also in relation to Browningâs poem, whereby in the last few lines the Duke draw attention to the same prized possession, âNotice Neptune, though,
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me .â * From the messengerâs point of view, it was all ânonsenseâ. In spite of this, the speaker chooses to give the Duke the benefit of the doubt and proceeds to guarantee the future of the Countess, be it with the Duke, or if he passes on, the âyoung lordlingâ the Countess has had her eye on.

The mood of the poem is quite mischievous and unsupportive towards the Duke. The speaker talks about his encounter with the Duke from a negative perspective. He is not overly impressed with the Dukeâs presence and boastful personality. The speaker comes up with ways in which the Count will have the upper hand on his new relation.

There vocabulary used throughout the poem which bring out and places emphasis on the tone of the poem. Words such as âchicaneâ, ârodomontadeâ and âgloboseâ are all very uncommon and complex terms used for words with a simple meaning behind them. Howardâs purpose for sprinkling words like these throughout the poem is to show that it is a complex situation that that the messenger is involved in.

that's it so far, i have yet to reference my work but they should all be in quoatation marks.

thank you again for all your help

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Re: Where to find daily conVerSation

Re: Howard's dramatic monologue!