My Last Duchess Essay

Dramatic monologue, also known as a persona poem, is a type of poetry written in the form of speech of an individual character. Dramatic monologue can be used to implicate the audience in moral judgement, expressing the views of a character and offering the audience greater insight into that character 's feelings. Typically, in a dramatic monologue, the speaker exposes himself negatively to the silent listener and to the readers as revealed in Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.” The duke’s comments and criticism about his late wife portray him as an envious and crude man. The duke self-righteously speaks about past events, explaining of his disappointment it would have been for him to talk openly with his wife about his feelings of jealousy.

The duke’s rude behavior is shown when he states, “Would draw from her alike the approving speech, or blush, at least, She thanked men, - good; but thanked Somehow- I know not how- as if she ranked.” The duke talks about his wife as if she was a slut. He is disrespectful and angry because he was too arrogant to communicate with her what displeased him. Another example of his crude behavior comes from, “Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together, there she stands as if alive.” The duke’s true crude personality is revealed at the quote because he is showing off how at his command the Duchess’s life was extinguished, then he turns back to the portrait to admire all things. From the reader’s assumptions, we can assume that the crude and envious duke killed his own wife. In conclusion, the characteristics of the duke in Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess” are envious and crude. He is envious by her promiscuous ways and he is crude for his lack of sympathy. In the end, Robert Browning uses direct monologue to implicate the reader in moral judgement and a greater insight in the character’s feelings. “My Last Duchess” historical background can also help achieve a better understanding to the reader’s moral judgement of the envious duke and his friendly