Intro:
refer to
Question,
some
reference
to his
personality
MENACE
Para 1:
The FORM of
the poem and
its effect on us
=
DRAMATIC
MONOLOGUE
Para 2:
The
structureof
the poem and
its effect on us
=
Rhyme?
Rhythm?
My last Duchess by Robert Browning is a poem which vividly depicts the
unnatural feelings of a man who is brokering a new marriage whilst seeming
to boast of his former wife’s untimely end. Browning’s dramatic monologue
presents a portrait of a marriage in the words of a man who driven by his
jealous and obsessive behaviour, orders his own wife’s death. Browning
effectively creates a portrait of this twisted marriage as we learn how this
man has been driven to murder by envy, due to the fact that his wife’s loving
nature was extended to other people rather than merely to him, exclusively.
Browing’s use of techniques, such as word choice and imagery throughout the
poem, emphasises the inequalities in this marriage and allows Browning to
comment on the way that male;female relationships at the time were very
unequal, sadly in this case for the poor Duchess.
Browning’s choice of the dramatic monologue as the poetic form helps to
deepen our understanding of this marriage as we are given a very personal
guided tour of their relationship.This poetic form creates the illusion that
the persona is speaking directly to us, enabling us to feel a chill at his lack of
compassion or understanding of his wife. We feel like his confidante and are
genuinely shocked as he relates quite casually the gory details of her death.
The conversational tone of the poem:
“ A heart - how shall I say? – too soon made glad”
as justification for ordering her death increases the sense of menace by
mixing terrifying brutality and callousness with casual everyday details of
their marriage like the ‘bough of cherries’. Using the poetic form of a
dramatic monologue also allows Browning to present us with a full picture of
the Duke’s relationship with the duchess without any moral judgements being
prescribed to us; we are forced to make up our own minds about this unusual
relationship. The use of the dramatic monologue arouses our interest from
the very start and creates a menacing first impression of this marriage of
two mismatched individuals.
As well as choosing an effective poetic form, Browning also uses structure
very skilfully in My Last Duchess in order to create a vivid sense of their
marriage. The simple rhyme scheme which allows us to be carried along by
the content of the poem and the force of the Duke’s personality – making his
observations about the faults of his late wife seem almost reasonable – or at
least they are to him. When he says that she…
Next few paragraphs:

Another technique which Browning uses to paint a vivid portrait of
their marriage is…

As well as this, he also lets the Duke reveal… in order to make us see
just how… their marriage actually was

Finally, Browning shows us the Duke’s callous lack of remorse in ending
their marriage so that we can clearly see…
I t is quite easy to sit here in the twenty first century and mock this
‘outdated’ attitude to marriage and lament at the gender inequalities quite
smugly – but Browning’s poem is sadly still relevant in this day and age. Many
WAGs stay with men who are unfaithful to them – due to delusions about
wealth and status and the idea of what money can buy. Reading this poem has
made me re evaluate my attitude towards the idea that…
CHOOSE A POEM THAT DEALS WITH THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE
DESCRIBE THE TECHNIQUES THAT THE POET USES TO GIVE YOU
AN IMPRESSION OF HIS VIEW OF THE MARRIAGE BEING
DEPICTED, AND CONSIDER HOW HE USES LANGUAGE TO MAKE US
THINK HARDER ABOUT THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE AS AN
INSTITUTION, GENERALLY