The mysterious death of Lucrezia, wife of the Duke Alfonso II, inspired the poem, "My Last Duchess”. Robert Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess”, is a monologue given by the Duke of Ferrara about the portrait of his late wife. The Duke is a widow and wishes to marry again. The Duke 's main intent is for a noble family to see him as a man with power and wealth but fails and reveals his true nature. There are three characteristics that the Duke reveals throughout the poem. These are traits of being materialistic, controlling, and arrogant. The Duke’s introduction of the portrait reveals his unhealthy need for control. As the Duke of Ferrara begins to talk about his late wife in the portrait, he unveils his greed an excessive pride. In the beginning of the poem, the Duke portrays himself as a wealthy man and is giving an emissary a tour of his gallery. The motive of this tour was to show his vast wealth and influence. As the Duke stops and shows off his late wife’s portrait, he unknowingly reveals his need for control. This trait is evident as he describes the portrait: "Frà Pandolf" by design, for never read Strangers like you that pictured countenance, The depth and passion of its earnest glance, But to myself they turned (since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but I) (Lines 6-10) The Duke states that Fra Pandolf was the painter and explains the need to introduce the painter. Since only he lifts the curtain off the portrait, only he can explain the depth and
Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon.” The paradox between “rich” and “poor” emphasizes that he is available to appreciate the insight of situations. The contrast between these two decisions made by Burgundy, who thrives for power and wealth and the King of France, highlights the theme of sight and insight, as the power-driven character makes the wrong
Revenge: A Narrative and Scientific Perspective Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Browning’s “My Last Duchess” both revolve around revenge. We are introduced to men who swear vengeance on other characters. Yet, the mindsets of these men are, in some aspects, very different. To truly comprehend a story, we have to understand why authors make their characters behave the way they do in addition to the message being presented. In the case of “The Cask of Amontillado” and “My Last Duchess,” why do both narrators believe murder is totally necessary?
The duke chose to imitate the laughable situation of Don Quijote because he was attempting to reinforce his control and power over his momentary loss of high status. Ironically, his effort to reorganize and reclaim his position ultimately resulted in lowering himself to a position that was ridiculed by even his own servants. However, his endeavors to fully cajole Don Quijote in this situation seems to be contradictory and extraneous. Throughout the book, the Don Quijote is seen to accept the most absurd situations and interpret most events in his favor. Even if the duke had refused to be washed in the same way, Don
‘Ozymandias’ and ‘My Last Duchess’ are both poems about the pride of men and how it always leads to ruin. ‘Ozymandias’ looks at the pride of men as opposed to Nature, and declares it a foolish notion, mocking humanity as whole. ‘My Last Duchess’ looks at the pride of men in contrast to emotions and portrays it as a dangerous force, describing pride as an insinuating sickness of the mind. The initial imagery in ‘Ozymandias’ emphasizes the broken remnants of the monument as the aftereffects of pride.
How is Catherine unique? In the book, Rules by Cynthia Lord, Catherine was the main character who faced many challenges throughout the book. She has a mom who does not really understand her problems. Her dad does not really play a big role in the story. These challenges often include his little brother, David, messing up things.
However, an interesting detail is noted when Norris writes that McTeague “ranged [the chairs] against the wall with military precision underneath a steel engraving of the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici.” At first, this seems to be an irreverent detail that suggests McTeague was perhaps interested in the deceased statesman and his previous affairs. Upon further inspection of this detail, it is noted that McTeague purchased this piece of art “because where were a great many figures in it for the money.” There was also a “rifle manufacturer’s advertisement which he never used.” Norris mentions these two minor details to reveal that McTeague decorated his office with seemingly interesting and unique objects, particularly impressive for their historical and “masculine” appeals.
Miss Strangeworth, a kind old lady in a small town where everybody knows each other. Living all by herself, known for her attracting roses in front of her house. Turns out she isn’t the lady everybody had in their mind, she was more than just an old lady. She is a bully, hurting other people by sending letters anonymously. Miss Strangeworth hurt other people with her colored paper letter that she sent all around town.
Throughout “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy, the main character John Grady Cole is submitted to many evils as he tries to find his own place in the world. In his own personal quest for a happy ending, John represents the idealized cowboy of the Old Wild West uncovering the truth of the violent and deadly landscape he encounters. John Grady attempts to mesh together his romanticised cowboy honor code into a land that concedes nothing to nobility and the only winner is the one who survives. Only through his many trials and beatings does John Grady begin to accept the world for what it is, a place that does not contain only pretty horses; however, he still manages to remain true to himself and what he believes in. From the beginning of “All the Pretty Horses,” John Grady Cole faces threats from the modern world towards the cowboy life he admires so much.
In comparison to the rigid patriarchal society portrayed in “My Last Duchess”, Keats’ “La Belle Dame sans Merci” illustrates how the freedom of individual expression in the romantic period affects people’s perspective on love. While the narrative persona in “My Last Duchess” demands his wife to devote her love to him, the protagonist of “La Belle Dame sans Merci” devotes to the woman he loves even though the love is unrequited. This is evident through the repetition of the line “On the cold hill side.” throughout the poem. The noun phrase “cold hill” suggests that the knight is lonely and depressed when he waits for the woman solely, however unlike the narrative persona of “My Last Duchess”, he would not demand the woman to love him instead he would wait patiently until the day his affection towards her is accepted.
In contrast, the speaker in the “My Last Duchess” is flippant, jealous and manipulative, which argues that the speaker is complaining about his wife reflect how some powerful men cannot accept their own failure and place
What genre is the musical? 42nd street is a musical about a musical. It is a comedy that focuses on what happens on stage and off. When and where is it set?
The Red Queen, a scientific book written by British journalist Matt Ridley, is a 405-page marathon leaving the reader struggling to press onward that breaks down why sex is of the utmost importance to humanity. Throughout the book, Ridley explores from a zoologist’s eye just what “human nature” truly means to the world in which humans have thrived in for the previous two hundred thousand years. Ridley creates the Red Queen theory based upon the famous character in Lewis Carroll’s novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. This theory pursues to explain how one organism or species seeks to gain the upper hand through sexual reproduction. Taking the reader on a journey through the intricate dance that is asexual reproduction through the importance
The reader gets the impression that the portrait is a representation of Dorian 's inner self, and how it becomes uglier and more disgraceful as time gradually passes and with every horrific crime that he commits, as can be seen in the following quote: “The picture had to be concealed. There was no help for it.” (Wilde 113). The portrait serves as an image of Dorian 's true nature and the relationship between how his soul progressively becomes more nefarious, and how the evil of his soul becomes visible on the painted surface of the canvas. The way Wilde uses the portrait as a motif throughout the story helps the reader to see and understand how Dorian himself is not yet entirely unfettered by the influence of the portrait.
In the painting, the group of men seated around a table all seem to be sharing the activity of a dinner gather. The Dutch influence is shown through the passive nature of the figures. While they are all centered around a single gathering, each figure seems to have a soulful, inward gaze. The attentiveness shown by Barendsz in his figures is important to how we are viewing the painting. The Italians were concerned with representing the human body so that it was responding to a single act of will, but here, the figures seem frozen in a state of self reflection.
The Duke is speaking to an agent negotiating the marriage of another wife. During the negotiations, the Duke accompanies the servant upstairs into his private art gallery and shows him the painted picture of his now dead wife, painted directly on the walls of the gallery by a great artist at the time, called Pandolf. The painting is kept behind a curtain that only the he can draw to reveal the painting to a visitor. The Duke comments on the painting and recounts the circumstances in which it was painted, and what became of his unfortunate last wife. He is drawing the agent’s attention, in particular, to his former wife’s beautiful facial features - her glance and smile, which mirror immense happiness.