My Last Duchess Close Reading

Sarah Rogers

Ms. E. Totter

English 1102

 6 February 2014

“My Last Duchess”

        In Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess”, there is a thinly veiled story hidden beneath the elegant language of the Duke. The Duke’s diatribe illustrates the story of the last Duchess. The poem is all about power, the power over another person, power over natural reactions, and the political power of the Duke’s standing in society. The dialogue in Browning’s poem enhances the reader’s opinion of the Duke as a cruel and arrogant man. The story is left to interpretation on the specifics of the Duchess’ death, yet there is a sense of softness that envelopes her character. Browning uses diction in the dated speaking, the dialogue of the Duke and the servant of nobility, and conveys a chilling tone to juxtapose the cruel Duke and gentle Duchess.

        The use of diction in the poem gives many clues about the underlying meaning of the poem as a whole. When the Duke uses language like, “…’twas not…” (13) and “Will’t please you rise…” (47) it suggests the temporal setting of the poem. This type of language keys in that the poem takes place in a time of nobility and a time where the husband held power over the wife. This power has led the Duke to become arrogant and self-important. The problem the Duke had with the Duchess is simply the way she would communicate with everyone: “…all and each / Would draw from her alike the approving speech / Or blush, at least” (29-31). The Duke believes that the Duchess gives everyone the same friendly greeting. Since he is the man in the relationship and by societies standing the head of the relationship, the Duchess should only treat him with that kindness. Whether this is true or not cannot be seen since the poem is exclusively from the Duke’s point of view. The Duchess’s exchange with people could be completely innocent, but the Duke perceives her interactions as flirting. The Duke proclaims that the late Duchess, “looked on, and her looks went everywhere” (24), though many of his late Duchess’s transgressions were fabricated. The Duke believes that the Duchess was too easily pleased and that she should have only been interested in pleasing him. Throughout the poem the Duke complains that the Duchess would blush or smile, expressions which could have been out of her control. These weaknesses were things that the Duke could not control and that angered him. When the Duke does not feel in control he is too arrogant to bring up the problem. Instead, the Duke tries to give excuses as to why he did not confront the Duchess on her way of speech. He does so by saying, “Even had you skill / In speech-which I have not-to make your will / Quite clear to such a one…” (35-7). This quote shows the Duke saying that he did not have the language skills to confront the Duchess about his feelings, yet he skillfully is talking to the servant for the whole poem. The Duke’s justification of not speaking to the Duchess about their problems parallels to a justification of the Duchess’s murder at the Duke’s hand. The pushing force of the diction mirrors the force of how the Duke ruled his house, “and if she let / Herself be lessened so, nor plainly set / Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse” (39-41).