6.1.2
Characterisation & Themes
Characterisation of the Duke: Dominant
Characterisation of the Duke: Dominant
One of the main ways we see the Duke's obsessive pursuit of control is how he treats his wife. He repeatedly asserts his power over her through the following techniques:
Possessive pronoun
Possessive pronoun
- The use of the possessive pronoun “my” throughout links to the Duke’s view that his wife belonged to him.
Symbolism
Symbolism
- “Since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”.
- Even in death, the Duke still controls his wife.
- The way he treats the portrait is symbolic of the way he treated her when she was alive.
Hinting
Hinting
- “This grew; I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together.”
- This is one of the most famous lines in the poem – it implies that he had her killed.
- The use of caesura (break in the line) and short phrases highlights the swiftness, coldness and ruthlessness with which he disposed of her life.
Characterisation of the Duke: Proud and Arrogant
Characterisation of the Duke: Proud and Arrogant
Browning portrays the Duke as arrogant, self-entitled and obsessed with gaining power through the following techniques:
Name-dropping
Name-dropping
- "Fra Pandolf”.
- The Duke is name-dropping here.
- He is reminding the emissary he is a wealthy man who can afford an expensive painter.
Rhetorical question
Rhetorical question
- “Will't please you sit and look at her?".
- The Duke is posing this as a question, but it is really a command.
- This emphasises his power and his pride.
Aside
Aside
- The use of the aside (a comment to the audience not heard by the characters), “If they durst”, establishes that people fear the Duke.
- The fact that he mentions it to the emissary (messenger) shows that he wants people to know of his reputation.
Boastful language
Boastful language
- The poem finishes with the Duke referencing money and using boastful language.
- “The Count, your master’s known munificence / Is ample warrant”.
- “Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, / Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me”.
- Because the poem ends this way, this is our lasting impression of the Duke.
Jealousy and Irony
Jealousy and Irony
There is some irony in the poem. Although the Duke is trying to impress the emissary (messenger) and give the impression that he has ultimate power, the way he speaks about his wife shows him to be jealous and insecure. Browning uses these techniques to explore these ideas:
Listing
Listing
- The Duke lists all the things that made the Duchess smile as if to emphasise how easily pleased she was and put her down:
- “Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast, / The dropping of the daylight in the West, / The bough of cherries some officious fool / Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule / She rode with round the terrace”.
Broken syntax
Broken syntax
- The Duke’s language indicates his jealousy.
- E.g. “She thanked men, – good! But thanked / somehow – I know not how – as if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody’s gift.”
- The Duke is horrified that she did not appreciate his name and the status that came with that.
- His fragmented (broken) syntax here and exclamation convey his anger and frustration at her lack of gratitude.
Irony
Irony
- Reputation and honour were of huge importance to the Duke.
- This fact is very ironic as the poem seems to mock him and his pompousness.
- The poem points to the fact that wealth and status do not equate to good morals.
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
Jump to other topics
1Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)
2London - William Blake (1757-1827)
3Storm on the Island - Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)
3.1Storm on the Island Analysis
4Exposure - Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)
5War Photographer - Carol Ann Duffy (born 1955)
5.1War Photographer Analysis
6My Last Duchess - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
7The Prelude - William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
7.1Extract from The Prelude Analysis
8Charge of the Light Brigade - Alfred Tennyson
9Bayonet Charge - Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
10Poppies - Jane Weir (Born 1963)
11Tissue - Imtiaz Dharker (Born 1954)
12The Emigree - Carol Rumens (Born 1944)
13Kamikaze - Beatrice Garland (Born 1938)
14Checking Out Me History - John Agard (Born 1949)
14.1Checking Out Me History Analysis
15Remains - Simon Armitage (Born 1963)
16Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
16.1Grade 9 - Themes & Comparisons
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