Paraphrased and Unified Text:
The poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue in which a duke shows a servant the portrait of his deceased first wife, the duchess. Through this form of speech, the speaker unintentionally exposes his own personality traits, such as self-centeredness, arrogance, control, chauvinism, and extreme jealousy. Despite the duke’s attempt to hide these qualities, they become increasingly evident to readers. This creates situational irony as the duke remains unaware of how he truly appears to others, thinking of himself as a powerful and noble aristocrat. The poet, Browning, uses iambic pentameter and employs rhyming patterns in every two lines. In addition to its dramatic monologue form, the poem is also considered lyric poetry as it evokes emotions without telling a story. The speaker shares his perspective on his first duchess, as indicated by the title “The Last Duchess.” The setting plays a significant role in reflecting the societal treatment of women during that era. The main theme of the poem revolves around the duke’s possessive love and his contemplation of his past life with the duchess, which ultimately leads to her murder and showcases his lack of conscience or remorse.
The speaker, in the first eight lines of the poem, addresses an unknown listener, using only the pronoun “you”. The listener’s identity is not revealed until the end. The speaker starts by mentioning a portrait of his late Duchess on the wall, noting that she looks alive. This implies that the Duchess is deceased. However, the speaker doesn’t dwell on this fact and instead boasts about the skill of the painter, repeatedly mentioning his name (Fra Pandolf). This reveals both the speaker’s indifference and arrogance. Furthermore, the speaker claims that he is the only one who can draw back the curtain covering the portrait, implying that only privileged individuals are allowed to view it. This demonstrates the speaker’s controlling nature and desire to possess power over his wife even in her depiction.
As the Duke proceeds (11-21), it becomes evident that he was infuriated by the attention others paid to the Duchess, believing she should only exist for him. He states, “Sir, it wasn’t just her husband’s presence that brought joy to the Duchess’ cheek.” Furthermore, he points out various remarks made by the artist Fra Pandolf who painted her portrait, such as, “Her mantle hangs too heavily on my lady’s wrist,” and “No painter could ever capture the delicacy of her flushed throat.” The Duke expresses his dissatisfaction because the Duchess was easily pleased with simple joys, whether it be admiring a sunset, receiving cherries, or riding her white mule around the terrace and receiving compliments. He is particularly disappointed that she failed to value the prestigious title he bestowed upon her, treating it no differently from any other gift she received (22-34). In the subsequent stanza, the Duke mentions that even if he possessed the skill (which he indeed did – an ironic twist) to confront the Duchess about his disgust towards her behavior, he would not stoop down to her level. He declares, “Who would lower themselves to blame such trivial matters? Even if you had the skill in speech – which I lack – to express your desires… Even then it would be an act beneath me; and I choose never to compromise my integrity.”(35-43) In the past, it was commonly believed that women were inferior to men, hence they were not worthy of having conversations on certain topics. This viewpoint stemmed from the fear that a woman might respond and challenge the man’s authority, potentially embarrassing him. The expectation was for the man to issue instructions, and for the woman to unquestioningly comply.
“This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.” It is clear that the situation deteriorated. He was surely filled with anger — he could not tolerate the idea of her no longer worshiping only him, so he was willing to annihilate her. While he does not explicitly mention it, one can only assume that he issued instructions to have her murdered, which serves as yet another indication of his controlling and dictatorial disposition. (Some might believe that he lost control, though, when he had her killed — yet another potential irony).
The Duke, as described in lines 47-53, gazes at the portrait once more and acknowledges the listener as a servant of the Count, the father of his future bride. He mentions the considerable dowry he would gladly receive, indicating negotiations for a new marital agreement. Moving away from the portrait to rejoin the others present, the duke casually draws attention to another possession, a bronze statue featuring Neptune taming a sea-horse (54-56). Once again, he mentions the sculptor’s name in an attempt to leave an impression. The duke’s fondness for this sculpture is evident as he compares its power and influence to his desire to project authority and dominance over women.
Upon reading this poem, it becomes evident that the Duke was indeed a cruel and heartless man. It is assumed that he orchestrated the killing of his first wife without any remorse. Instead, he moved forward in his unyielding pursuit of another woman whom he could manipulate and control. In fact, he even exerted his influence to inform the servant about his intentions to marry the Count’s daughter. Rather than grieving over the loss of his first wife, he took pleasure in the notion that he could now exercise dominion over her beauty through a portrait, which he only revealed to those he invited when he unveiled its curtain. Such a sensation of power must have been overwhelming for him! However, in the 20th century, I believe this poem would have been written differently to acknowledge the freedom and agency women possess today. No woman would have tolerated his actions! Perhaps the Duke himself would have reconsidered how he mistreated his exquisite Duchess.
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