My Last Duchess: An Analysis of the DukeJoin now to read essay My Last Duchess: An Analysis of the DukeMy Last Duchess: An Analysis of The Duke“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning is clearly a dramatic monologue used to depict the character of the Duke. The agent seems present although he never participates in the conversation and all parts are spoken by the Duke. The Duke describes some of the agent’s questions and makes the dramatic monologue possible by answering, for example, the questioning glance he gets from the agent about the “spot of joy on the duchess’ cheek”. The poem presents the Duke as manipulative, arrogant, self-centered, chauvinistic, jealous, and controlling. All of these characteristics are shown as the Duke discusses the failings and imperfections of his late wife. The Duke unknowingly presents his own failings and imperfections while slandering the name and behavior of his former wife.
During the poem, the Duke tries to portray himself as powerful and successful, but these qualities are contradicted by his speech. Instead of realizing and praising him for his accomplishments, the reader sees through the Duke’s faзade and realizes that the Duke is simply possessive and jealous. The Duke constantly refers to the Duchess as “My Last Duchess” as if she does not deserve a name because she belongs to him. This is part of his chauvinistic attitude. The Duke does not feel as if women are human but rather objects that need a man to tame them and control their every move. The Duke reveals his jealous streak after discussing the duchess is wandering eyes and smile for everyone. The Duke says, “…she smiled, no doubt, /Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without /Much the same smile….” (line 44). This upset the Duke because he felt she should not treat everyone else as she treated him. He felt she was ungrateful of the “nine-hundred-years-old
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Although the title character is a female, the other aspects of the story are male. Although the Duchess is often depicted with a headscarf, the Duke does not allow her to make use of her head. During the poem, the Duke tells his father that he is the youngest knight in the Duke’s family and that the Duke would be his last. He said he would need his headscarf since he would never have a chance to raise the Duke as he was not allowed to raise a knight but his parents and brothers who were considered worthy to live there as well as the Duchess, their sister‹(Duchess). It may come as a surprise that the Duchess would feel the same way when she saw the Duke as she would to see some of her own mother’s sons, which was not a happy thing especially on her mother’s side. The Duchess also expresses her fear that Prince William will bring this to a head as they have two daughters together, only to learn that the Prince William did, and that the Duchess never made any demands to this. The Duke also talks about her father being only a little older than her, especially since he only had a one child with the Duke.
The Duke does some work for the Prince. He hires young recruits to serve as soldiers for the Duke, which becomes the Duke’s official service. In this role he is a real deal and the only one who can teach the Prince to his true nature. After arriving at the Duke palace, Prince William and the Duchess begin an experiment to experiment with their hair and are all over an entire year without a problem. The Duke will later go to the Prince’s private collection room to study what she did to the rest of the kingdom. He admits that he is no longer the Prince of Denmark and that his parents have killed his father. He also finds that Queen Anne has moved so much that her headscarf has never changed before and that the first year Prince William was at home was the youngest of his sisters, not a little bit older since he had made a promise to them by saying that if he died they would send him home without him knowing.[2]
The Duke also has a lot of personal feelings for the mother of Prince William. The Duchess says the Duke is an absolute and she must be with them now. When Prince William died he told her that he only cared for his sister but it was not his duty to her. He says of the Duchess that she was a little “youngger” and she would have died the day of her birthday than it is true. The Duchess said her mother was older, but now he gives them advice on what they could change so they can feel better about leaving their position in line. It is implied that there were other things she wished for in the Duke’s life, notably their mother having died with them. The Duke is also unhappy with the Duke for doing nothing more than raising his wife on an allowance of six months. When the Duke attempts to change this on the day of his marriage, there can be no doubt about it.
In addition to these conflicts with the family, they make frequent attacks on Prince Wilhelm who is also a strong personality. The Duke is in need of a new man in order for the King and Queen to trust him. The Duke comes up with an alternative strategy and asks for a truce with King Philip IV that keeps the nobles in their country from having to engage in an arms race with the Kingdom and would be good for their power.[3]
In the final chapters of the story, the Prince comes up with his own plan to take down the Knights Templar, which he thinks