Browning's "My Last Duchess"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how, in "My Last Duchess", Robert Browning presents a complex picture of his two main characters, the Duke and the Duchess. The paper discusses how the poem's representations show that the Duke is far more concerned with controlling the Duchess' behavior than she is with controlling his. The paper also explains that by remaining unaffected by the Duke's strenuous efforts to alter her behavior, the Duchess forces the Duke to take more and more drastic measures like killing her, and she eats away at his ability to even keep control of himself.

From the Paper:

"In his poem "My Last Duchess", Robert Browning gives his readers a complex picture of his two main characters. The Duke, who narrates the poem, is the most immediately present but Browning sets him up to ultimately lose the reader's trust. The Duchess becomes the sympathetic character, a victim of foul play. It is through the various representations of the Duchess within the poem that we come to know both characters. The representations of the Duchess, which focus on her ever-present smile and easily satisfied nature, come in sharp contrast with the desperate, sputtering language of the Duke as he tries to tell their story on his own terms. This contrast is a manifestation of the Duke's frustration with his inability to control the Duchess and her nonchalant but near-total control over him."

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