(2011:97) Dramatic Monologue is a device whereby the poet invents a character to provide the voice and opinion represented in the text. Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess”, addresses a rather complex character commonly found in the Victorian Era. The persona in this case, is the Duke of Ferrara. The poem, being a Dramatic Monologue, features a second character, the messenger, which the Duke addresses. Browning’s use of this Dramatic Monologue involves the reader in the process of assimilating and deconstructing the story of the Duke of Ferrara’s relationship with his ‘last duchess’ through his diction, style, structure and rhythmic pattern.
Along with the frequent use of rhyming couplets and enjambment, this makes it clear that the Duke was a suspicious and dominant man to his dead wife and also shows his control. The first evidence in the poem to support this is “Will’t please you sit and look at her?” and also “Sir, twas not her husband’s presence only, called that spot of joy into the Duchess’ cheek!” Both are said in reference to his wife to the Count’s envoy. These are effective as we are presented with the subjective viewpoint of the Duke. Like Shakespeare, Browning wrote plays as well as poetry which is evident as we see how he combined the techniques of play writing and poetry. Again, as the Duke talks about the Duchess
He presents the conflicting perspective of his inability to recall many components of their meeting in contrast to his detailed and vivid memories of her deceptive nature. Employing sarcasm and disdain extensively in the recount, Hughes is quick to enforce his correctness and often returns to the criticism of the reliability and validity of memory through the effect usage of paradoxes and rhetorical questions to incite confusion over the true events, “Just arriving – Or arrived … Then I forget, Yet I remember.” After deconstructing the initial situation of their meeting, slyly manipulating the opinion of the reader to accept his case, Hughes intelligently shifts the overriding notion of the poem from innocence to experience through the introduction of Plath and the detailed delineation of her apparent deceptive nature. He makes an allusion to a glamourous 1950s celebrity, Veronica Lake, a
Mr Bennet purposefully asks such a question in order to satirise Mr Collins and due to this, it shows that Mr Collins prepares compliments and tries to not make it known that it is rehearsed, portraying his pretentious nature. Whenever Mr Collins is present, the reader is made aware that he will say or do things that will show how superficial and pompous he is. When recounting that he told Lady Catherine “her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that of the most elevated rank”, he told the Bennets that “these are the kind of little things which please her ladyship” and that he is “happy on every occasion to offer those little delicate compliments” that “are always acceptable to ladies”. Through saying this, it is made clear that Mr Collins may not always be complimenting Lady Catherine, because he truly believes in what he says, but because that is what Lady Catherine wishes to hear; this illustrates to the reader how pretentious he is. Again, through Elizabeth and Mr Bennet, the reader is made to realise the insensible and pompous nature of Mr Collins.
His attitude makes the reader start to question himself/herself and, instead of having sympathy for the Duke, the reader is also pulled to a point where you don’t know whether you should believe him. His jealousy and arrogance is demonstrated through his use of derogatory language to describe others. The Duke’s personality is further progressed through the use of dramatic irony. “This grew; I gave commands. Then all smiles stopped together.” What sort of commands did he give?
Her use of “good” is bias since she states he is not common. In the end, the grandmother’s classification of “good man” states that “good” doesn’t imply “moral” or “courteous”. For her, a man is a “good man” if his values are coordinated with her own. Red Sammy is “good” because he trusts people at random and greatly remembers more innocent times with which the grandmother also remembers. The Misfit is “good” because she believes he wouldn’t shoot a lady.
The dramatic monologue exposes the speaker’s true personality and his situation more than he aims to say both to the agent and the reader The Duke of Ferrara seems to be controlling in nature; he tries to control everyone he is comes to term with, like he controls the actions of the agent : “Will’t please you sit and look at her”, “Will’t please you rise?” and “Nay, we’ll go/ Together down, sir” . He succeeded in controlling Fra Pandolf’s works of art but failed to control his wife when she was still alive. When the Duchess dies he fully gains power over her, his possessiveness surfaces in the lines 9 to 10: “since non puts by/ the curtain I have drawn for you, but I”. The Duke tries to put his wife in the bad light, giving the reader the impression that she is flirtatious, false and disrespectful, while he appears to be the abused but caring husband. His previous wife’s actions leave him no choice but to kill her.
Having made this disclosure, the Duke returns to the business at hand: arranging for another marriage, with another young girl. As the Duke and the emissary walk leave the painting behind, the Duke points out other notable artworks in his collection. Form “My Last Duchess” comprises rhyming pentameter lines. Consequently, the rhymes do not create a sense of closure when they come, but rather remain a subtle driving force behind the Duke’s compulsive revelations. The Duke is quite a performer: he mimics others’ voices, creates hypothetical situations, and uses the force of his personality to make horrifying information seem merely colorful.
In fact, he does have gratitude to Mrs. Jones for not calling the police. He also has gratitude to her for showing him love and care that a mother figure could give. Moreover, he felt appreciation to Mrs. Jones for giving him a chance to change. As Roger says in the story, “He did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.” I think,
The messenger wasn’t the first person to talk about the duchesses face and whenever people ask about the face he replies in a very intimidating manner. The duke is also seen as a possessive person as seen in the quote “the curtain I have drawn for you”. This shows that he wants to be possessive over the duchess' lasting remains by keeping it behind a curtain where he can open and close as he pleases. In the quote “sir twas not her husband's presence only that created the spot of joy” The spot of joy represents blushing which the duchess always did. This made the duke irate as he thought he should be the only one to make the duchess blush.