Poems of Robert Browning (1812-1889)

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that Robert Browning's poems "My Last Duchess" and "The Bishop Ordering His Tomb at Saint Praxed's Church", both dramatic monologues that take in the 16th century, portray a large discrepancy between the outer images and the inner character. The author points out that Browning, who was interested in how people lived during the Renaissance, supposedly a period of great artistic and spiritual enlightenment saw that people in the 16th century were just as greedy, egotistical and materialistic as people in the 19th century. The paper reveals that, the dark truth behind both the paintings is, that regardless of their station in life or how good, kind or saintly they portray themselves, a beautiful object may conceal an ugly truth.

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From the Paper:

"In the first poem, My Last Duchess it is believed that Robert Browning based the Duke on a real person who was accused of killing his wife. According to critical experts, My Last Duchess" is Browning's extraordinary portrait of a Renaissance murderer who would have been astonished had anyone called his conduct criminal. In actuality, the person speaking in this poem is the Duke of Ferrara (b. 1533), who, following the death of his first wife, is now seeking the hand of the niece of the Count of Tyrol. The Duke asks his visitor to stop and look at this perfect picture of his Last Duchess, but although the picture is perfect, the Duke really believes that his Last Duchess was a less than perfect wife."

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