Dramatic Monologue In My Last Duchess By Robert Browning

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Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues made him one of the most famous poets around his Era; Victorian Era. One of his most famous pieces, “My Last Duchess,” was set back all the way to the 16th century; however, Browning wrote the piece in 1842. The importance of the poem relates to its stretching from one era all the way to the next. “My Last Duchess” is a dramatic monologue due to the speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, having a specific person to whom he speaks to throughout the whole theatrical conversation. The duke starts off by pointing out his last Duchess painted on a wall. The Duchess was picture with a passionate glance and the duke states, “Sit, twas not her husband’s presence only, called that sport of joy in to the Duchess’ cheek” (Browning 14). The tone of the speaker begins to grow a harsh tone because his once wife could not have a special favor for the dukes “gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name” apart from any other gift that would have potentially been given to her. The duke is evidently seen as a rich man that treats women as objects and with just a smile to anyone else, it is wrong. The arrogant duke “gave commands” to kill her. The demand for control is reflected throughout the whole poem. The dramatic monologue is entirely a controlled theatrical flair. The speaker of the poem is evidently only caring for male superiority because he is completely stuck over himself and his own personal benefits. The dramatic

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