Browning, My Last Duchess

1271 Words6 Pages
It is easy to state that the most enduring contribution to Victorian poetry is the form of the dramatic monologue. None other than English poet Robert Browning made this type of poetry famous in the mid 1800s. During this era, harsher themes such as male dominance and the permanence of art were incorporated into poetry as demonstrated in Browning’s many compositions. He is world renown due to his legendary dramatic monologue entitled My Last Duchess, which in turn displays Browning’s unique writing style, the concept of Victorian masculinity alongside the permanence of art throughout the 1800s. As mentioned above, Robert Browning is well known in the world of poetry due to his contribution of the dramatic monologue. According to the Britannica Encyclopedia, a dramatic monologue can be defined as “a poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character; it compresses into a single vivid scene a narrative sense of the speaker's history and psychological insight into his character”. Written in the first person, the dramatic monologue includes a listener, an acute focus on dramatics as well as the use of props, all of which are presented in a symbolic setting. In most cases this type of monologue creates a feeling of sympathy and a deep form of dramatic understanding within the reader towards the speaker. Browning incorporates all of these elements in an intriguing manner in his poetic masterpiece My Last Duchess. For example, the writer clearly presents both a speaker and a listener; in this poem the Duke is known as the speaker as he recounts the tragedy of his last duchess’ death to his listener known as the Count. Browning also sets the conversation in a very symbolic setting that was inspired by the history of a Renaissance duke, Alfonso II of Ferrare whose young wealthy wife Lucrezia died suspiciously. In addition, Browning’s masterpiece includes the use

More about Browning, My Last Duchess

Open Document