Poetry Analysis of "My Last Duchess"

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Poetry Essay An anonymous quote once stated, “ Jealousy is nothing more than the fear of abandonment.” I believe that this truly represents the strong theme of jealousy that is present in Robert Browning's poem, “My Last Duchess.” The narrator, the Duke of Ferrara is a wealthy noble man with strong feelings of jealousy toward the over friendly attitude of his late wife, his “last duchess.” I believe that in this poem, jealousy plays a large part in the theme and the out come. The Duchess's flirtatious manner would soon end her life, as the Duke gives commands for her to murdered, perhaps for his fear of abandonment and blinded by his sheer jealousy. This poem is about the sometimes horrifying effect that jealousy can have in a relationship and is a huge theme in Robert Browning's mysterious poem, “My Last Duchess.” The poem, “My Last Duchess,” is the story of the Duke of Ferrara, a wealthy noble man who let jealousy and mistrust get the better of him in his relationship with his wife, a flirtatious and vivacious woman. The poem begins as the Duke is showing some important guests a portrait of his late wife, “a Fra Pandolf by design.” He then tells them the story of her: how he believed that she was “too easily impressed, liked whatever she looked at, and her looks went everywhere.” He also thought that she thanked other men too kindly, and “ranked his gift of a nine hundred year old name with any body's gift.” His strong jealousy got the better of him, and with the striking line “I gave commands and all smiles stopped together,” we come to believe that he ordered her to be killed. An overpowering theme in this poem is jealousy, and it contributes not only to his “unfaithful” wife's untimely death, but reflects brilliantly in how the narrator tells the story of his last Duchess and her attitude toward other men. The character who is showing strong
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