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Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons

English Lit: AQA GCSE Poetry - Power & Conflict, topic 6.1.3

Structure, Form and Voice in My Last Duchess

Browning uses structure and form to enhance his portrayal of the Duke as power hungry and proud. He also uses structure and form to increase our shock at the Duke's actions:

Dramatic monologue

Dramatic monologue

  • The poem is written in the form of a dramatic monologue (a form of poetry where an imagined speaker addresses a silent audience).
  • This heightens the reader's shock at the Duke’s actions because it feels as though he is speaking to us directly.
First person narrative

First person narrative

  • The use of the first person contributes to the conversational style.
  • This suggests the Duke felt his actions were normal and acceptable.
  • This contrasts with the reader's shock.
Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter

  • The poem is written in iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter was often used in Shakespeare’s plays to indicate a character’s wealth and high status.
  • Browning uses it to highlight the Duke’s obsession with his reputation and how he was viewed.
Voice

Voice

  • The form and structure also emphasise the sense of the Duke’s power: his is the only voice in the poem.
  • This suggests he is controlling as he does not allow anyone else to interrupt his narrative.

Key Quotations in My Last Duchess

Here are some quotations you might want to remember for your exam:

“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall”

“That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall”

  • Possessive pronoun.
  • Use of possessive pronoun “my” throughout links to the Duke’s view that his wife belonged to him.
“Will't please you sit and look at her?”

“Will't please you sit and look at her?”

  • Rhetorical question.
  • The Duke is posing this as a question, but it is really a command. Emphasises his power and his pride.
“Since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”

“Since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”

  • Curtain symbol.
  • Shows he controlled her even in death.
“As if she ranked / My gift..."

“As if she ranked / My gift..."

  • “As if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody’s gift.”
  • Irony.
  • Implies the Duke is jealous, despite his arrogance.
“This grew; I gave commands..."

“This grew; I gave commands..."

  • “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 and short phrases highlight the swiftness, coldness and ruthlessness with which he disposed of her life.
“Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse”

“Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse”

  • Boastful language to end the poem.

Key Comparisons: My Last Duchess

Here are some themes that come up in My Last Duchess and other texts.

Human power and the misuse of power

Human power and the misuse of power

  • On the theme of human power and the misuse of power, you might want to compare My Last Duchess to:
  • Ozymandias.
  • London.
Power of memory

Power of memory

  • On the theme of the power of memory, you might want to compare My Last Duchess to:
  • War Photographer.
  • Kamikaze.
  • The Emigree.
  • Remains.

Test yourself on Structure, Key Quotes & Comparisons

  • What is a dramatic monologue?

  • What techniques does Browning use to show the Duke's arrogance and controlling nature?

  • Which of these quotes does NOT suggest that the Duke is controlling?

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