In
Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," a portrait of the egocentric and
power loving Duke of Ferrara is painted for us. Although the duke's monologue
appears on the surface to be about his late wife, a close reading will show
that the mention of his last duchess is merely a side note in his
self-important speech. Browning uses the dramatic monologue form very
skillfully to show us the controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits the duke
possessed without ever mentioning them explicitly.
The
first two lines of the poem introduce us to the main topic of the duke's
speech, a painting of his late wife: "That's my last Duchess painted on
the wall,/Looking as if she were alive." We immediately begin to suspect
that the duchess is no longer alive, but are not sure. The clever language Browning
chose suggested that something was wrong, but left enough ambiguity to quickly
capture our attention as readers. Also in these lines, we are given our first
hint that the duchess really not all that important to the duke; he speaks of
the painting as if it was the duchess, suggesting that his late wife was
nothing more than her external appearance. Instead of the painting looking as
if it were alive, the duchess looks as if she were alive. Again, this seemingly
small detail gives a significant hint about what lies ahead in the poem.
