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   mrs-campbell Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   The Duke probably wants to do two things:  show off his acquisitions (what he considers his late wife), considering he is especially proud of them.  But more importantly,  he wants to send a covert message to his new "acquisition", the new Duchess.  That message is that she had better behave in line, and value his name and rank for its worthy status, or else.  He is looking for a docile, controllable woman who worships him-which his last wife did not, at least not enough-and if she isn't, her probable fate would be fatal.

   He does this by showing the picture of his late wife, telling of his anger that she ranked his "gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name with anybody's gift."  So, because of this, he "gave commands; then all smiles stopped together."  This is clearly a warning:  tell your master the new Duchess better behave unless she wants to end up dead and "immortalized" on my wall behind a creepy curtain.

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/last-duchess/summary

   http://www.enotes.com/last-duchess/text-poem

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   Posted by mrs-campbell on Sunday November 30, 2008 at 7:44 AM