MY LAST DUCHESS
Robert Browning published "My Last Duchess" in
1842. Underneath the title is the name Ferrara,
and the poem's sole speaker is the Duke of
Ferrara, a character based in part on Alfonso II,
Duke of Ferrara in sixteenth century Italy.
Alfonso's wife died in 1561, and he used an agent
to negotiate a second marriage to the niece of the
Count of Tyrol.
In this poem, the Duke of Ferrara speaks to an
agent representing the count. The duke begins by
referring to "My Last Duchess," his first wife, as
he draws open a curtain to display a portrait of her
which hangs on a wall. She looks "alive," and the
duke attributes this to the skill of the Painter.
After saying that he opens the curtain, the duke
promptly begins a catalogue of complaints about
the way his wife behaved.
The joyous blush on her cheeks can be seen in the
portrait which was the result of her reaction to
the painter's compliments regarding her beauty.
The duke blames his late wife for :
 smiling back at the painter,
 for being courteous to everyone she
encountered,
 for enjoying life too much.
 She failed to appreciate his name, which can
be traced back nine hundred years,
 and she failed to view him as superior to
others.
The duke would not condescend to correct her
attitude. She should know better, he says, and "I
choose/Never to stoop."
The final characterization the duke gives of his former duchess reveals his
obsessive possessiveness and jealousy. He acknowledges that she smiled
when she saw him, but complains that she gave the same smile to anyone. His
next statement reveals that he caused her to be killed: "I gave
commands;/Then all smiles stopped together." He does not elaborate
further. There is her portrait, he says, looking as if alive. The duke tells the
agent that they will next go downstairs to meet others. Then, in about five
lines, the duke refers directly to the proposed marriage arrangement. In the
same suave tone he used throughout, he suggest that the because the count
is so wealthy there should be no question about his providing an "ample"
dowry for his daughter to bring to the marriage. The duke adds, however,
that it is "his fair daughter's self" that he wants.
As the duke and the count's agent start down the stairs, the duke points out
a bronze statue of Neptune taming a seahorse and notes that it was made
especially for him by Claus of Innsbruck. Although this appears to be a
change in subject, it summarizes the duke's clear message to the agent. In
addition to the wealth she must bring, the second wife, like the seahorse,
must be "tamed" to her role as his duchess. The clear implication is that if
she does not meet his requirements, she may well end up like the last
duchess, "alive" only in a portrait.
Forms and Devices:
The poem is a dramatic monologue, a form that Browning used and perfected.
In a monologue, one person is the sole speaker, and often there is a specific
listener; here, the listener is the count's agent, through whom the Duke of
Ferrara is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess.
The reader must work through the words of the speaker to discover his true
character and attitude of the poet towards the character. The poem is
"dramatic" in the sense that it is like a drama, a play, in which one character
speaks to another, and there is a sense of action and movement as on stage.
The duke claims that he does not have skill in speech, but his monologue is a
masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedly entertaining the count's
agent as his guest by showing him the portrait, the duke by implication
explains his requirements for his new wife. His last duchess, according to his
version of her, had a heart "too soon made glad" by such things as watching a
sunset or riding her white mule around the terrace, and she should not
responded with pleasure to anything or anyone but the duke himself.
Browning allows the reader to infer what kind of man the duke is by piecing
together the past and present situation. A basic device used throughout the
poem is irony. Instead of seeing an unfaithful wife as the duke pictures her,
the reader sees the jealous and egotistical mind of the duke himself. The
duke seems to assume that the agent will follow the logic of why he
commanded that his duchess be eliminated, and he lets the agent know how
easily it is within the duke's power to issue such commands.
The poem is written in rhymed iambic pentameter lines. A striking aspect of
form in the poem is the repeated use of enjambment, in which a line's sense
and meaning runs on into the following line, so that the rhymed couplets are
"open" rather than closed. This technique, in which the syntactical pauses
rarely coincide with line endings, creates a tension in the rhythm and places
emphasis on the horrors the duke reveals as the sentences end in mid-line,
caesura. Thus, the lines appear irregular, an in formalizing of a formal
pattern, as though the duke is relaxing his proud formality and speaking
casually.
The lines are concentrated. Not a single word is wasted. Throughout the
poem there is a chilling meiosis, the words imparting more than they express.
The apparent pauses, shown by dashes, indicate a hesitation as the duke
considers what to say, but they really suggest his consummate arrogance and
manipulative control of the situation. Twice the agent starts to question or
interrupt, but the duke deflects the interruptions and continues speaking.
He is in control of the situation, however casual he may be.
When the duke finally refers to the marriage arrangement directly, he
summarizes the situation succinctly. First, he mentions the money he
expects, then mentions the count's daughter. At first, it seems to confirm
the duke's emphasis on money. Yet since he had clearly stated his solution
for ending his first marriage, the words "his fair daughter's self ... is my
object" become sinister. Unless he can possess the next duchess as he
possesses the portrait and statue, she too may become only an artifact on
the wall, as nameless as the first duchess.
The pace of the poem builds toward the revelation that the duke ordered his
wife killed, then to the quick summation of his terms for the next marriage
arrangement. The factual tone that he uses throughout the poem reflects
the duke's attitude of total justification, and he remains unrepentant and
secure in his sense of power.
Themes and Meanings:
"My Last Duchess" portrays the corrupt power of a tyrant. The monologue
reveals more to the reader than the speaker intends, but this arrogant
aristocrat does so without hesitation. The Duke of Ferrara considers
himself superior to others and above the laws of morality. Clearly, he states
that he gave the command that stopped his wife's smiles altogether. He
tells the agent, "she liked whate'er/She looked on, and her looks went
everywhere." The duke was irritated by her behavior and had her eliminated.
His power is used to get others to commit his will, including, the agent.
Others eliminated his wife, and the painter and sculptor create objects of
arts to his specification. Thus, he presumes that the agent will provide a
duchess that he so desires. He seems unconcerned about any hesitations a
potential second wife might have about how his first marriage ended. He
appears confident his demands will be met, both the ample dowry, and a wife
who is subservient.
The jealousy and possessiveness seem to accompany the duke's assertion of
power which suggest that he will be suspicious of any living wife, and the
portrait of his last duchess is more satisfactory to him than was the
duchess. He may open or close the curtain at his will; he exerts complete
control.
Browning's genius created a character whose own words condemn him and
show him to be a ruthless, corrupt man who abuses his power.
The Duke of Ferrara is especially horrifying because he feels no repentance
and no need for repentance.
There are no checks on his abuses of power, and there is nothing to
suggest that he will not continue his egotistical and tyrannical manners.