Abstract
The paper relates that in "My Last Duchess," we are introduced to four characters through the monologue that is the singular voice of the Duke. The paper describes how the duke, speaking to an agent (there to negotiate new marriage arrangements), speaks of his late wife and of the father of his next bride-to-be, the Count. The paper asserts that it is the corrupt aristocratical power of the Renaissance that sets the stage for the duke to casually detail, for his listener, his murder of the duchess.

From the Paper
"The Renaissance is implied at the opening of "My Last Duchess" with one word, Ferrara. This is thought to refer to the Duke of Ferrara (1533-1598) who lived during the late Italian Renaissance. Additionally, the Duke had a young wife Lucrezia, the daughter of Cosmo de'Medici, who died after only two years of marriage and was rumored to have been poisoned. The setting for the poem is further with imbued with references to titles, dowries, and to a bronze of Neptune, all contemporary facets of the Renaissance period (Dubois 1, 3). The appearance of Neptune is significant as the Renaissance artists..."

Tags:browning, foucault, duchess

Abstract
The paper examines the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, specifically looking at the relationship of the narrator, the Duke Ferrara, to his previous wife. The paper describes how the Duke is discussing a painting of his wife and her faults and misdemeanors that led to him putting her to death. The paper discusses that the Duke makes his expectations of his next wife as a beautiful, thankful object clear to the listener.

From the Paper
"In the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, the author ostensibly depicts a man discussing a painting with another observer. While this may appear to be the case on the surface level, there is much more going on in this poem. In discussing the painting, the narrator, Ferrara, provides the reader with a much more gruesome portrait than just that of his previous wife. From various details in the poem, we will see that the narrator provides evidence that he thinks of women as merely objects and that his previous wife died by the narrator's command. The elements in the text that will be discussed are the "spot of joy" captured in the painting, the last Duchess' smile, the gifts her husband mentions and the statue of Neptune the Duke points out at the end of the poem."

Tags:browning, last, duchess

Abstract
This paper examines Robert Browning's long monologue poem, "My Last Duchess" and analyzes the character of Duke Alfonso. The paper examines how the Duke's speech reveals a soul devoid of human feeling.

From the Paper
"In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the duke gives a chilling speech that reveals a soul devoid of love, tenderness or any human feeling at all. His only concerns are related to how he feels, how he appears to others and whether or not he is in control. The title "My Last Duchess" implies that he has had a succession of wives and that this is the most recent."

Tags:Robert Browning, My Last Duchess, insanity, control

Abstract
This paper discusses how the ideas presented in "The Duchess of Malfi" are inequality, injustice, and corruption, which were in fact commentaries on the England of the Elizabethan-Jacobean era. The paper looks at how the tragedy of "The Duchess of Malfi "ends with the death of the members of the ruling class: Duchess, Cardinal and Duke Ferdinand; as well as the poor Antonio and Bosola. While the Duchess's soul lives through the voice Echo, her son from Antonio remains the only descendant. At the end of the play, Delio announces that the Duchess and Antonio's son will be the duke. The paper contends that this is the cultural materialist view that one day 'the lower' can win; even rule the state.

From the Paper
" When Ferdinand pretends to forgive the Duchess and offers his sister a dead man's hand instead of his own, and shows her wax figures that she mistakes for her murdered husband and children, it becomes a real psychological torture. Being a mother and a wife, the Duchess is shocked to see their death figures. Just after that moment, Ferdinand's calling Bosola marks the Duchess's torture being worse. She has lost his family and now, she is made to feel that she has lost her name too: When she asks Bosola "Who am I?", he replies, "Thou art a box of worm seed" (The Duchess of Malfi IV.ii.122-23). However, Duchess the sad mother is still strong and marks the Jacobean theatre as a rebellious woman in her lines: "I am Duchess of Malfi still" (The Duchess of Malfi IV.ii.139). "

Tags:ferdinand, patriarchy, malcontent, bosolo

Abstract
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."

Abstract
Concentrating specifically on the Duchess herself in "The Duchess of Malfi", this paper explores both her social and political transgressions that ultimately cause her tragic death. The author of the paper challenges Bartel's assertion that there is 'no escape for those subjects who show remarkable autonomy before they go', by concentrating specifically on the events surrounding the death of the Duchess. The author further attempts to demonstrate how the Duchess' 'remarkable autonomy' continues, even at the time of her death, leaving her the most powerful figure in the play.

From the Paper
"The Duchess of Malfi has been compared to the real lives of Arbella Stuart, and Catherine of Valois. All were noble women in socially isolated environments, each was at the mercy of more powerful male relative(s), and all three wanted to remarry but were forbidden to do so, yet each insisted on marrying anyway. Further to this, each married not only the man of her choice, but also someone beneath her on the social scale, resulting in each being persecuted."

Tags:arbella, stuart, catherine, of, valois, noble, women, socially, isolated, environments

Abstract
This paper explains that Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess"
is a dramatic monologue spoken by the Duke of Ferrara. The author points out that, given the title, the poem appears to be about the late wife of the Duke, whose portrait is being shown to a visitor, as the Duke negotiates for his next Duchess; however, the Duke reveals much more about himself and his role as a husband than he does about his late wife. The paper relates that "My Last Duchess", typical of this type of poetry, overtly is about a painting but the covert meaning is confessional. The author underscores that, in the lack of distinction between the portrait and the woman, the Duke reveals his feelings, that women are the possessions of men and are only good for their beauty.

From the Paper
"The speaker makes a shift in the poem and goes from discussing the qualities of the painting itself, to making jealous hypotheses about why the woman in the painting is blushing. He also says to his listener "not the first / are you to turn and ask thus" (12-13), but the listener did not ask. This implies that the Duke has been suppressing this jealous rant and has been waiting for an opportunity to let the beast out for a high-spirited run. The fact that he says the listener is not the first to ask is probably more likely to mean that the listener is not the first person the Duke has revealed this to."

Tags:domineering, confessional, hypotheses, arrogant, trivial

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess" illustrates the attitude toward women in the sixteenth century. The writer points out that the setting in Browning's poem demonstrates how men could control their wives, one way or another, in this backward-thinking society. The writer demonstrates how women are treated as objects in this poem. Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess" in an interesting look into the many ways that women have been viewed over the centuries. Even in an aristocratic family, a woman still had to please her husband as seen here with the flighty Duchess. The writer concludes that in a sense, the Duke is experiencing the best of both worlds, thanks to the antiquated thinking of society and their misguided perceptions of women.

From the Paper
"Now her depth and passion are controlled in an environment where the Duke cannot be embarrassed. Her excuses need not worry him anymore and her unwillingness to bend to his rule need not be an issue. The fact that this conversation can be had, with another man undoubtedly, illustrates how women were perceived as nothing less than things that men could own and do with as they pleased with no regard for the woman's feelings or her life. That he was not the reason that her cheeks were glowing might have been something for him to investigate and improve their marriage; however, she was just a woman and why would he bother himself with such trifles.
"In short, the duke can commit murder if he feels that his wife does live up to his expectations. Obviously, there are no ramifications for his behavior as he brags about the event and is very pleased to display the new and improved version of his wife that is under his complete control. "

Tags:Duke, aristocratic, society, wife, control

Abstract
In this essay, the writer explains that Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess," is a monologue delivered by the Duke to someone who turns out to be part of a party arranging a new marriage to a new young lady for the Duke. The writer discusses Browning's use of irony throughout the poem. The writer points out that Browning uses irony to chilling effectiveness as he illustrates the Duke's quiet tyranny over his last young wife. The writer concludes that in the greatest irony of all in the poem, it seems that the Duke has caused the careful, measured responses in his Duchess that angered him to the point of murder.

From the Paper
"It is a likeness of her. His last Duchess is dead, and he has apparently killed her. He is displaying her picture as part of his shopping expedition for a replacement. In addition, the fact that her likeness hangs on the wall reminds the reader of the practice of hunters who hang the heads of the animals they have killed on the wall for display. The Duke feels very special about this particular prey; most of the time her likeness is concealed behind curtains, which he rarely opens for others. It reminds the reader of modern-day serial killers, who often keep some object as a trophy of their acts."
"The Duke calmly explains why his last Duchess had to die, although he never states the crime itself. His reasons, however, ironically reflect on him and not on his young wife, and suggest a completely egocentric person with a severe case of paranoia."

Tags:Duke, wife, monologue, spouse

Abstract
The writer analyzes the drama, in particular the title character of the duchess. According to the paper, the duchess learns only at her death that the perils of life cannot be masked by deceit. The writer notes that Webster has the ability to create characters evocative of pathos in a way that is similar to Shakespeare.

From the Paper
"Following the Duchess's self-deception that an ideal existence for her and her lover is possible is the aforementioned deception of her brothers, the act which leads to her downfall at their merciless hands. In addition to her marriage to Antonio, she must conceal the births of her children from Ferdinand and the Cardinal (She must go so far as to accuse her husband of being a thief!), all the while refusing to acknowledge the danger involved in her actions (Mahaney 167). In response to Antonio's asking "But for your brothers?" (Abrams 1254), the Duchess says, "Do not think of them./All discord without this circumference/Is only to be pitied, and not feared;/Yet, should they know it, time will easily/Scatter the tempest" (1254). Such a reply gives evidence both to her lack of perception of her brothers' intentions, as well as to her lack of introspection in recognizing her own impossible ideals. Only when she is confronted by Bosola, who harshly denies all she believes herself to be (Whitman 154), does the Duchess realize her fallacies of life. She asks Bosola, "Dost know me? Who am I?" (Abrams 1294)."

Tags:character, drama, survival, perception, fallacy