My Last Duchess

Caesura is a literary device where a pause or break occurs within a line of a poem. “My Last Duchess” effectively uses caesura to create rhythmic emphasis, convey meaning, and add a dramatic effect to the duke’s monologue. An example of this occurs in lines 13–14:

“Sir, ’twas not

Her husband’s presence only, called that spot”

In this line, the caesura occurs after the word “not,” creating a pause that emphasizes the duke’s assertion. The break serves to draw attention to the duke’s denial of his own jealousy, as he suggests that factors other than his presence may have caused the “spot of joy” on the duchess’s cheek. The caesura accentuates the duke’s attempt to distance himself from any responsibility or wrongdoing, enhancing the manipulative tone of his speech.

Again, in lines 26–27:

“The dropping of the daylight in the West,

The bough of cherries some officious fool”

Here, the caesura appears after “West,” creating a pause that separates two distinct images—the fading daylight and the bough of cherries. This break serves to highlight the duke’s abrupt shift in conversation from the natural landscape to a trivial incident involving the duchess. The juxtaposition of these images through the caesura underscores the duke’s callousness and his tendency to dismiss significant matters in favor of petty grievances, adding depth to his character portrayal.

“The curtain I have drawn for you, but I

Have drawn it like a cloud”

In this metaphor, the duke compares the curtain he has drawn over the portrait of the duchess to a cloud. This comparison serves to convey the duke’s desire to control access to the portrait and obscure the duchess’s memory, much like a cloud obscures the sun. The metaphorical use of “cloud” evokes a sense of mystery and concealment, highlighting the duke’s manipulative and possessive nature.

“The depth and passion of its earnest glance”

In this line, Browning personifies the duchess’s portrait by attributing it to the ability to gaze earnestly. By describing the portrait’s “glance” as possessing depth and passion, Browning infuses the painting with human-like qualities, suggesting that it reflects the duchess’s inner emotions and personality. This personification underscores the duke’s fixation on the portrait and the projection of his own interpretations onto it, revealing his possessive and controlling nature.

Browning employs the literary device of sibilance in “My Last Duchess” to create a sense of intimacy and tension and to emphasize certain sounds or words within the poem. Sibilance refers to the repetition of sibilant consonant sounds, such as “s,” “sh,” or “z.” Take, for instance, lines 21–24:

“She had

A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad,

Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er

She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.”

In this excerpt, the repetition of the “s” sound in “she,” “say,” “soon,” “impressed,” “whate’er,” and “her” creates a soft and whisper-like effect. The repeated “s” sounds also contribute to the rhythm and flow of the passage, enhancing its poetic quality.

“Notice Neptune, though,

Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,”

In this excerpt, the repetition of the ‘t” sound in “Notice,” “Neptune,” “though,” and “Taming” creates an alliterative effect. This alliteration draws attention to the image of Neptune taming a seahorse, emphasizing its significance within the duke’s collection of art. The repeated “t” sound also contributes to the poem’s rhythmic quality, enhancing its musicality and adding to the overall atmosphere.