Did the Duke Miss His Last Duchess? Most critics of Robert Browning s My Last Duchess paint the Duke as a cold,

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1 Mulder 1 Fox Mulder Dr. Dana Scully British Literature March 25, 2012 Did the Duke Miss His Last Duchess? Most critics of Robert Browning s My Last Duchess paint the Duke as a cold, calculating aristocrat who tells a representative of a future Duchess what would happen to his next wife if she behaved like his last wife. But his coolness seems ironic when seen in contrast with his warm recollection of his last Duchess virtues. Read from this perspective, the Duke wishes that he had the ability to change the things that bothered him about her and the poem may confess his own weakness in communicating his feelings. But the Duke cannot act too emotionally connected. His position as a ruler means he cannot appear weak. He also has to worry about whether a father of a potential bride would be willing to pay a dowry to someone who might simply kill the next Duchess in order to collect another dowry. Adultery might represent the only excuse for such an action, so he hints at this as an explanation. With all of these conflicts the Duke finds it easier to not dwell on his affections for his last Duchess. He prefers to appear callous instead of showing how he really is wounded. Browning biographies show his specialties lie in the use of poetry that read like dialogue scenes in a play. This method expanded its (poetry s) possibilities as a vehicle of specious philosophical and psychological expression (Magill 334) He is noted as a master of the dramatic poem in the same way that Shakespeare was the master of the drama play. The Duke s casual dialogue conflicts with his words which show much more admiration for his Duchess virtues. Browning uses the technique of a casual conversation to show all of the layers of the

2 Mulder 2 Duke s emotions. A medieval Duke cannot really have his heart on his sleeve, so he acts like he doesn t care. It is simple to see his casual remarks as cruelty, but Duke cannot otherwise convey his underlying affection for his late Duchess. Most criticism of My Last Duchess finds the Duke to be either a cruel demon or a fickle fool. He was a cruel Italian Duke of the Renaissance who, out of unreasonable jealousy, had his last wife put to death. (Langbaum 135) He may also have let her die of neglect. His cold austerity and pride had been the death of his late wife (Edinburgh Review 37) The Duke does not seem to grieve his loss too much, or even talk about how long she has been gone. He casually mentions That s my last Duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she were alive. (1-2) Once they finish talking about the Duchess, he casually goes on to his next piece of work in his gallery: Notice Neptune, though, taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity, which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me! (57-59) This would seem to indicate a casual approach, but the only reason that the two are leaving the gallery is because they are keeping company waiting. With eight lines left in the poem, the Duke snaps out of his memories of his wife. There she stands / As if alive. Will t please you to rise? We ll meet the company below then. (49-51) Maybe the Duke was just a collector. As the poem opens, he is in his sublime role of the collector, pointing out his various acquisitions to his visitor...the Duke has been taking an emissary on rounds of his gallery. (Jerman) He casually name drops the artist who painted the portrait. Fra Pandolph s hands / worked busily a day, (3-4) Jerman thinks the Duke is just showing off. His first mention of the artist is bait. The Duke knows what questions such a man as the envoy would ask. (Jerman) Jerman thinks the Duke is building himself up. But another view of this is that this portrait of the last Duchess is the Duke s prized possession.

3 Mulder 3 The Duke himself praises the subject of the portrait. He says that pictured countenance, / the depth and passion of its earnest glance, (8-9) He notes with some sadness that Oh, she smiled, no doubt, / whene er I passed her; but who passed without / Much the same smile? (47-49) Without accusing her of anything he notes his own jealousy. She had / a heart how shall I say? too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed; she liked whate er she looked on. (25-27) This hurts him. He wants her to be impressed by him, or at least by his 900 year-old name. She ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody s gift. (36-37) his feelings. This could be taken for scorn, but he confesses his own shortcomings in communicating Even had you skill In speech---(which I have not)---to make your will Quite clear to such an one, and say, ``Just this ``Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, ``Or there exceed the mark''---and if she let Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse, ---E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose Never to stoop (37-45) This lengthy passage does not show cruelty or foolishness. It is a regretful explanation of a man who could not communicate the things that pleased or bothered him. He admits that I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together. (48-49) The Duke did not have the skills to communicate. He ordered her around. Their happiness ended. Critics of Browning interpret this poem as a portrait of a medieval aristocrat who got rid of his wife when he grew jealous of her. Changing the context of the poem shows that the Duke could have regretted what happened. He saw that he was not able to communicate his feelings with her and get her to change her behavior. Instead, he childishly ordered her to change her behavior, and while he does not explain what ultimately happens, she now exists only in the

4 Mulder 4 painting. Whatever else happened, the Duke treats the Portrait of My Last Duchess with respect. Perhaps what the Duke meant with My Last Duchess was that there would never be another one for him.

5 Mulder 5 Works Cited Jerman, B. R. "Browning's Witless Duke." The Browning Critics. Ed. Boyd Litzinger and K. L. Knickerbocker. Lexington, Ky.: University of Kentucky Press, Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 97. Detroit: Gale, Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 22 Mar Langbaum, Robert. The Dramatic Monologue: Sympathy Versus Judgment in his Poetry of Experience: The Dramatic Monologue in Modern Literary Tradition: Random House, Magill, Frank N. Critical survey of poetry. English Language. Series A. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, Robert Browning s Poems, Edinburgh Review, Vol. CXX, No CCXLVI, October 1864

Mycroft Lectures. Adapted Transcript for: Robert Browning s My Last Duchess.

Mycroft Lectures. Adapted Transcript for: Robert Browning s My Last Duchess. (Mycroft lectures always provide sentence-by-sentence parsing, paraphrasing and explanation of each poem. However, each lecture