My Last Duchess Essay Example

My Last Duchess Essay My Last Duchess When reading My Last Duchess at first it was quite confusing. The narrator doesnt finish his thoughts at the ending of every line which kept me guessing and trying to piece it all together. After reading it the third time I finally came to understand exactly what he was trying to say. The narrator was a troubled powerful man who was showing Offa piece of art to another man, but little did he know at first what exactly that painting meant. First, I would like to describe a little bit about the poem. The narrator was a Duke, and his last duchess was a beautiful young woman, but she as too intrigued by everything she saw. She was also, too nice in his eyes, because the smile she always gave him for his brilliance, he could see she would also give it to the world. In the beginning of the poem the narrator is already speaking toa man and showing off his painting on the wall done by Fra Pandolf. He makes sure he states the artist name because he know he will soon be asked the question of how he captured such a wonderful painting. The Duke goes on to say: How such a glance came there; so, not the first Are you to turn and ask thus. We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Sir, twas not Her husbands presence only, called that spot Of Joy into the Duchess cheek: perhaps Fra Pandolf chanced to say Her mantle laps Over my ladys wrist too much, or Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies along her throat: such stuff Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough For calling up that spot of Joy. (12-21) The Duke is there stating how he knows his duchess was so naive and so delighted by such flirting and by a man Just simply being nice enough to give her a compliment that she would suddenly blush and smile. You can then come to see that the narrator is a Jealous man and probably insecure as well. He did not like to share, nor did he like to be belittled or made a fool. I wouldnt say that he was a bad man, but more of a complicated soul. Why? He says: Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt, Wheneer I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? (43-45) Those words are clearly stating his trouble with Jealousy. He needs to be in control and the one and only. Possession even comes to mind. Because of such Jealousy, and such pride he let it all get the best of him. He is a moral man and in high command. Such high command that he knows of what his powers allow him to do. Which such power shows that he is unsympathetic. I believe his biggest conflict throughout the poem was him coming to realize what exactly he had done, and why exactly he had done it. By saying the words out loud and hearing them being spoken he could see what kind of man he truly was, or at least I could. He didnt know how to control his duchess of being such an intrigued naive beauty, nor did he know how to deal with it emotionally and mentally. Which leads me to the ending of the poem, while the duke and explaining how he lost the first one. I quote, Robert Brownings states in the following lines, This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. (45-46) Here he shows his power and his Jealousy. He says how he gave commands to have her killed so that her beautiful smile which she gave to all who intrigued her would no longer be. This was his way of keeping himself sane and at peace and to know he had the last say, he control over her. I guess you could call this man in love, and one who is troubled in his own green monster of Jealousy. Up until that last part, which I stated above, I thought of him as a troubled man, in love, and confused on how to handle his Jealousy. I didnt think of his as cruel or crazy, Just a little thoughtless, which is ironic because clearly he gave a lot of thought in his last commands. The part of the poem which made me think of his being a little crazy was the ending of the poem, where he switches off like a light. Stating: There she stands As if alive. Willt please you rise? Well meet The company below, then Nay, well go Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! (46-56) He is there, reminiscing almost, about his old beautiful wife, in front of the man who is negotiating his new marriage to another young girl, and you can see how he pours his old life out to this man and then completely Just stops and starts to talk about a meaning sculpture as if nothing has happened, as if he didnt have his last wife killed. That is what made be believe he is almost heartless. My Last Duchess Essay Example My Last Duchess Paper Robert Browning’s â€Å"My Last Duchess† Published 1842 Our world is changing and evolving at an astounding rate. Within the last 200 years, we have seen two World Wars and countless disputes over false borders created by colonialists, slavery, and every horrid form of human suffering imaginable!! Human lifestyles and cultures are changing every minute. While our grandparents and ancestors were growing up, do you ever think they imagined the world we live in today? What is to come is almost inconceivable to us now. In this world, the only thing we can be sure of is that things will change. With all of these transformations occurring, it is a wonder that a great poet like Robert Browning may write words so many years ago, that are still relevant to you and I in todays modern society. Browning’s first dramatic monologue â€Å"My last duchess† was written during the Italian Renaissance when egotism, marriage and aristocracy influenced the society. The monologue is loosely based on historical events involving Alfonso, the Duke of Ferrara, who lived in the 16th century. The Duke is the reciter of the monologue, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family. As he shows the visitor through his palace, he stops before a portrait of the late Duchess, apparently a young and lovely girl. The Duke begins reminiscing about the portrait sessions, then about the Duchess herself. We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on My Last Duchess specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer His musings give way to a diatribe on her disgraceful behaviour: he claims she flirted with everyone and did not appreciate his â€Å"gift of a nine-hundred-years- old name. † As his monologue continues, the reader realizes with ever-more chilling certainty that the Duke in fact caused the Duchess’s early demise: when her behaviour escalated, â€Å"[he] gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together. † But Browning has more in mind than simply creating a colourful character and placing him in a picturesque historical scene. Rather, the specific historical setting of the poem harbours much significance: the Italian Renaissance held a particular fascination for Browning and his contemporaries, for it represented the flowering of the aesthetic and the human alongside, or in some cases in the place of, the religious and the moral. Thus the temporal setting allows Browning to again explore sex, violence, and aesthetics as all entangled, complicating and confusing each other: the lushness of the language belies the fact that the Duchess was punished for her natural sexuality. The Duke’s ravings suggest that most of the supposed transgressions took place only in his mind. Like some of Browning’s fellow Victorians, the Duke sees sin lurking in every corner. The reason the speaker here gives for killing the Duchess ostensibly differs from that given by the speaker of â€Å"Porphyria’s Lover† for murder Porphyria; however, both women are nevertheless victims of a male desire to inscribe and fix female sexuality. The desperate need to do this mirrors the efforts of Victorian society to mould the behaviour—sexual and otherwise—of individuals. For people confronted with an increasingly complex and anonymous modern world, this impulse comes naturally: to control would seem to be to conserve and stabilize. The Renaissance was a time when morally dissolute men like the Duke exercised absolute power, and as such it is a fascinating study for the Victorians: works like this imply that, surely, a time that produced magnificen t art like the Duchess’s portrait couldn’t have been entirely evil in its allocation of societal control—even though it put men like the Duke in power.