My Last Duchess
Ferrara
That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
Will't please you sit and look at her? I said
"Fra 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)
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first
Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, 'twas not
Her husband's presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess' cheek; perhaps
Fra Pandolf chanced to say, "Her mantle laps
Over my lady's wrist too much," or "Paint
Must never hope to reproduce the faint
Half-flush that dies along her throat": such stuff
Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough
For calling up that spot of joy. She had
A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed: she liked whate'er
She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.
Sir, 'twas all one! My favour at her breast,
The dropping of the daylight in the West,
The bough of cherries some officious fool
Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule
She rode with round the terrace—all and each
Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
Or blush, at least. She thanked men,—good! but
thanked
Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody's gift. Who'd stoop to blame
This sort of trifling? Even had you skill
In speech—(which I have not)—to make your will
Quite clear to such an one, and say, "Just this
Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,
Or there exceed the mark"—and if she let
Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set
Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse,
—E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose
Never to stoop. Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave
commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive. Will't please you rise? We'll meet
The company below, then. I repeat,
The Count your master's known munificence
Is ample warrant that no just pretence
Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;
Though his fair daughter's self, as I avowed
At starting, is my object. Nay, we'll go
Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!
I will write about some lines of the poem.
ReplyDelete....she thanked men, good! but thanked
somehow-I not know how-as if she ranked
my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
with anybody's gift...
we understand from the lines that the duchess had the habit of thanking men. she is not interested only in the duke but also the other men. however the duke wanted a special attention by her. he says that he gave her his noble surname which is the most important gift, so she must only be with me.
Elif Kılıç
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good example of obsessive love and its damage. Duke is very powerful, jealous and controlling man.
'none puts the curtain I have drawn for you, but I'
This line explains us how controlling man he is. Duke thinks that he is very powerful so he can control everything. When he saw his failure about not controlling his wife, he kills her and gets rid of that problem. In my opinion he has some disorders and it causes some unhealty situations.
GULNOZA NURULLAEVA
ReplyDeleteHello everyone, to take a look at the picture of the duchess and listen to Robert browning recite the poem you can follow the link :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Irb-P1nDAE
TülayÖrücü
ReplyDeleteOh sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.
He reached a point of rage where he couldn’t handle that smile, one of courtesy not of true love, he gave commands, he beat her, both their smiles stopped.
Jiyan:
ReplyDeleteThe speaker in this poem is the Duke, and he tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the Duke’s marriage to the daughter of another powerful family. As he shows the visitor though his palace. He stops before a portrait of the late Duchess, apparently a young and lovely girl.
It seems that he couldn’t control her and by killing her and putting her portrait to wall only he would control her smiling. He claims that she was immoral and she doesn’t show respect to him. then he show another portrait “Notice Neptune, though/Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,” which is the sea God. According to him, he is the sea horse and others are his wives. They are nothing and they should act according to their expectations.
We can say that this poem related that period’s society, in which the women don’t have a right. They should controlled by men. And at that time according to men what they criticize in women is humanity.
I think the poet has very possessive behaviors. For example in the first line he says 'That's MY last Duchess painted on the wall.' This expression shows his possessive behaviour. Because 'my' means something belong to him. And he is overpossessive that,as elif said, he wants to control over his wife and when he cannot do this, he kills her. So this shows that Duke is not in love with his wife. he only possess her.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the duke was unable to control the duchess when she was alive, after her death he is in complete control of her or he thinks so. The duke says "none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I," revealing that now he is able to control both the duchess's countenance and who views the portrait by a curtain covering the portrait.Moreover,the duke wants to appear as a hurt and abused husband whose disrespectful wife left him no alternative but to kill her nonetheless how he manages to give the image of his intent is up to our prospective.In the end it is the duke's loss of control that causes him to kill her.And while he is saying 'Than all smiles stopped together'there is an irony...
ReplyDeleteMelek Özer
ReplyDeleteIn this poem the duke views his wife as being beatiful woman. He thinks that she is beautiful, kind-hearted and easy to please, but he understands that he cannot actually win over her love. He believes his nine-hundred-years-old name is his greatest present given to her, but she does not appreciate his gift at all.We can understand from this thought how arrogant the duke is. He claims that she flirted with everyone and she gave no special smile to him. Because of this he thinks that he is not special for her. From this point, his anger starts to stream out. He gave commands and beat her to control, but this abuse did not work and he had her killed finally. Now he captured her special smile in a piece of picture.
I think the duke did not give any importance to the woman's thoughts. He just wanted her and thought that he could be able to buy her love with his money, but his uncontrolled power and arrogance produced harm.
Öznur Öztürk
ReplyDelete''I call
That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.'
These lines tell us that the beautiful one is the painting but not the speaker's(duke) wife.We can understand this from the words
''worked busily a day''.
''Much the same smile?''With these words the speaker says that she did not put him in a superior position.She smiled him in the same way she smiles others.
''At starting, is my object.''He thinks that women are the objects which can be possessed.The men control the women and women must obey the rules
Fatma Kaya
ReplyDeleteSomehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody’s gift.
In these line we actually see the victorian power. As you all know the speaker of the poem is a duke and he is powerful and controlling man of his time but he did not control his wife. As we understand the whole poem the dushess is interested not only the duke but also some other men. However the duke does not accept this. He feels that his wife’s actions reflect on him and that her seductiveness was not acceptable.He wanted to be treated differenty than other men, he wanted her to preserve her smile only for him, he wanted to control her. However he didn’t .He says that her wife sees him as ordinary as other men. But he has a nine-hundred-years-old name, he is powerful, he actually is a duke. However it doesn’t work on her wife.
This poem is an example of dramatic monologue. the speaker describes his wife in two ways: eith her immorality and aesthethics. When we look at the poem as a whole we see that his wife is so beautiful but she gives harm him and his power. And he is so angry about that. He thinks his wife treats him as she does the other men. This make duke humiliate and he wants to be terated differntly. He criticizes her very harshly. And in this poem we also see the references to victorian era and the religion of that time( ortodox is general tendency).
ReplyDeleteAs all of my friend said Duke grew up with the feeling of having authority over all of the people around him but this authority had nothing to do with the duchess because she had relationship and she smiles to every men not only duke. For duke it is more important to have authority than duchess so he killed her.
ReplyDeleteIn his poem, "My Last Duchess," Robert Browning establishes the character of its speaker indirectly but distinctly through conversation alone. Without relying on additional description of his person, the reader can draw conclusions not only as to the nature of the speaker, but also of all the other characters in the piece. Through the inferences the reader makes of the characters and their interactions, Browning conveys his perspective not only on the speaker, but also on all members of the upper stratum of society, and the abuse of their inherent power.
ReplyDelete“My Last Duchess” is a great example of dramatic dialogue, a poetic form used to narrate and dramatize Victorian concerns.
ReplyDeleteIt is based on incidents in the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara in Italy.
The duke's first wife, Lucrezia, died in 1561 — after they'd been married for 3 years.
The background of the poem is interesting, but the text can be difficult to understand.
The use of dramatic monologue works to separate the speaker from the poet, which forces the reader to work hard to understand the words of the speaker and by his words get a grasp on what the poet is saying.
It is based on incidents in the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara in Italy.
The duke's first wife, Lucrezia, died in 1561 — after they'd been married for 3 years.
The background of the poem is interesting, but the text can be difficult to understand.
The use of dramatic monologue works to separate the speaker from the poet, which forces the reader to work hard to understand the words of the speaker and by his words get a grasp on what the poet is saying.
It is based on incidents in the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara in Italy.
The duke's first wife, Lucrezia, died in 1561 — after they'd been married for 3 years.
The background of the poem is interesting, but the text can be difficult to understand.
The use of dramatic monologue works to separate the speaker from the poet, which forces the reader to work hard to understand the words of the speaker and by his words get a grasp on what the poet is saying.
It is based on incidents in the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara in Italy.
The duke's first wife, Lucrezia, died in 1561 — after they'd been married for 3 years.
The background of the poem is interesting, but the text can be difficult to understand.
The use of dramatic monologue works to separate the speaker from the poet, which forces the reader to work hard to understand the words of the speaker and by his words get a grasp on what the poet is saying.
We learn about the Duke by what he says and how he says it.
ReplyDeleteThrough him, we also learn about his wife, the last Duchess. We see how their relationship stood, what his expectations and how she responded.
The Duke is manipulative and filled with family pride.
He feels ownership over even the memory of his deceased wife.Though the poem shows the Duke’s love for his last wife it also shows his love for power and control. The Duke is arrogant, he has exaggerated sense of his own importance and feels his name holds power:
“My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name.” he feels that the actions of his wife reflect on him and that her seductiveness was not acceptable. He wanted to be treated differently than other men, he wanted her to preserve her smile for him, he wanted control over her. However he did not tell her this.
It seems that the Duke valued his pride above the life of his wife and felt that only in death she would be only his own.
From the lines which say:
“I gave commands then all similes stopped together.”
We get the impression that the Duke has involved in his wife’s dead.
Ultimately, we see what money and power can buy but not love.
This poem objectivized the Duchess. Firstly th Duke sees her as an object of art. The Duchess was so beautiful to be portrayed and the Duke appreciated the aesthetic look of her. But the Duchess as an object of life was seen an immoral crature. Her biological sexuality and her relationship with men were perceived as immorality. The Duchess was not appropriate the Victorian image of class mannerism.
ReplyDeletein this poem, writer and narrator are different. poet talks about his wife. she is distributing smiles to eveyone.
ReplyDeletehe sees that behaviour as an immoral thing. also, that kind of behaviour is giving harm to his reputation, his honorable name. he uses freewords, dramatic monologue.
its theme is sexual sin.
thoroughout the poem, there is an irony.
irony lets us commen about the poem easily.
because we can learn the narrator's true feelings.
This is one of my favourite poems.. Its all about relationship, power, treachery and cruelty. He highlights the obsessive character of a duke who kills his young and beautiful wife for he suspects that she is frivolous. The potrait of the duchess made my Fra Pandolf is an epitome of beauty, grace and purity. The duke invites an envoy from a neighbourhood and subtly warns him that if he marries the new the new duchess from the envoy's kingdom, she too will meet the same fate unless she resigns herself completely to the duke. The sarcasm uttered by the duke at the end of the poem aptly portrays his character.. 'Notice Neptune taming a sea horse'
ReplyDeleteIn Browning's great poem, he introduces to the Duke of Ferrara who is a totally controlling, proud and jealous person whose wife has died suspiciously. Through the poem we see that the Duchess' smiling to every single thing makes the Duke angry, because according to him, maybe the only thing she must be happy about is his "gift" to her: his last name. An interesting fact about this poem is that the enjambed lines (which does not end in one line) give the feeling of a rush, especially when he is talking about the death of his wife. And the caesuras (the stops) give the feeling that he is stopping to think something, just like he is nervous about something. This fact raises the suspicion that maybe he was the one who was involved in her death. He only cherishes his Dutchess as an object of art, and now he is content because he can control her smiles, which is only existent in her painting hidden behind a curtain.
ReplyDeletethe author wrote this poem by looking his wife's painting. but there is an interesting point that as far as I understand the author killed his wife himself because he says women are good when they are not alive and standing calmly.
ReplyDeletei'm not sure if anyone realized when reading this, but many people are saying that, in the poem, he doesn't say that the duchess was killed but he does. Near the end it says "Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands' Then all smiles stopped together." He's saying, he didn't feel as special to her as he'd like, she didn't treat him like he meant EVERYTHING to her, it grew on him, so he gave commands for her to be killed, she then stopped smiling altogether.
ReplyDeleteGULNOZA
ReplyDeleteThe reason the speaker here gives for killing the Duchess ostensibly differs from that given by the speaker of “Porphyria’s Lover” for murder Porphyria; however, both women are nevertheless victims of a male desire to inscribe and fix female sexuality. The desperate need to do this mirrors the efforts of Victorian society to mold the behavior—gsexual and otherwise—gof individuals. For people confronted with an increasingly complex and anonymous modern world, this impulse comes naturally: to control would seem to be to conserve and stabilize. The Renaissance was a time when morally dissolute men like the Duke exercised absolute power, and as such it is a fascinating study for the Victorians: works like this imply that, surely, a time that produced magnificent art like the Duchess’s portrait couldn’t have been entirely evil in its allocation of societal control—even though it put men like the Duke in power.