What is the summary of "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning?

Here is a brief summary taken from Wikipedia:

In the poem, a young messenger has been sent by a Count to see the Duke, who is seeking to marry the young daughter of the Count. The Duke elaborates on the whimsical, giddy nature of his late wife, which certainly displeased him. Thus, he,"gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together," and the implication is that he killed her in an extremely jealous rage. He now keeps her painting hidden behind a curtain that only he is allowed to draw back so now she only smiles her smile for him. The Duke then begins to cordially discuss wedding arrangements with the messenger and then changes the subject to point out a brass statue of Neptune taming a seahorse.

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Provide a character sketch of The Duchess in Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess."

Since the duke is in the process of negotiating for his next wife by speaking with the emissary of a wealthy man whose daughter may soon become the next duchess, the reader can safely assume that the "last duchess was also young and wealthy."  That "My Last Duchess" was beautiful is certainly evident in the fact that the duke proudly displays her.  There is "depth and passion" in her eyes, her "earnest glance" and a flush upon her cheek that runs to the throat, but the paint does not quite capture this:  "Paint/Must never hope toreproduce the faint/Half-flush that dies along her throat (that the duke probably slit).

The duchess had eyes for other men, and smiles, too.  This flirtation is what disturbed the duke who had given his "nine-hundred-years-old name to her." 

Who passed without/Much the smile/  This grew; I gave commands;/Then all smiles stopped together.

Jealous and insulted that one who probably does not have such an honorable and pretigious name should betray him, the duke finishes with this wife:  "There she stands/As if alive."  As the duke descends the stairs with the emissary, he points to a bronze of Neptune taming a seahorse, implying that this new wife must be tame, unlike the former duchess who blushes at the attentions of Fra Pandolf who has painted her.

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

The duke in the poem "My Last Duchess" has many of the classic traits of a narcissistic personality, including an inflated sense of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, problems with interpersonal relationships, and a lack of empathy.

The duke tells the story of the late, deceased duchess, oblivious to how it makes him sound. With an inflated sense of self importance, he assumes that whatever he thinks and does is right, not seeming to comprehend that others might be critical of his behavior. He finds intolerable that his young wife behaved in ways most people would find perfectly reasonable and generous. For instance, she takes pleasure in the small gifts, like cherries, that others give her, a sunset, and a compliment from the artist painting her portrait. The duke deeply resents this as he wants all her attention and admiration to be focused exclusively on him.

The duke's intolerance of his wife's very normal behavior leads him to have a relationship problem with her. He shows his lack of empathy in how he treats her, implying he had her killed:

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

In "My Last Duchess," Browning presents the reader with a true "Renaissance man," in a sense quite different from the one in which this expression is generally used today. The duke is typical of his class in the Renaissance in that he is arrogant and haughty, and has never experienced any restraint on his power. His position means that he can simply kill any man or woman who annoys him since there is no temporal authority above him to prevent him from doing as he wishes.

This position, combined with naturally a jealous and imperious temperament, has driven the duke insane. The only restraints on his power are those he imposes on himself, and he chooses "never to stoop." He will not speak to his wife about his feelings, or reveal them to anyone else. Instead, he acts decisively and cruelly based on emotions he hides from all those around him.

The poem shows the duke's lack of mental equilibrium through his desire for confession. He does not need to explain himself to anyone, certainly not to the ambassador of a neighboring country. However, he feels a need to justify his actions at the same time as he protests that there is no such need. The duke is afraid that he will one day have to answer for his crimes before the only authority to which he is subject, that of God. His explanation of his jealousy here reads like a rehearsal for the Day of Judgment.

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

In this dramatic monolog, the Duke shows a portrait of his late wife to a visitor. As he talks of her, demeaning her character, he reveals that she in actuality had been a lovely, sensitive woman, full of joy, while he himself is cruel, jealous, proud, and arrogant.

He felt great jealousy because the duchess found joy all around her and favored others besides himself with her smiles:

. . . . Sir, 'twas not

Her husband's presence only, called that spot

Of joy into the Duchess' cheek;

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

. . . . She had

A heart--how shall I say?--too soon made glad,

Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er

Whe looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

The Duke's jealousy and his arrogance are shown in his attitude toward his family name, representative of his social station. He resents that the duchess appreciated a sunset or a cherry bough as much as she valued taking his name:

. . . as if she ranked

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name

With anybody's gift.

The Duke clearly believed that his wife had not given him the respect he deserved simply for being who he was; his sense of superiority and his haughty attitude are obvious.

Although his wife displeased him, the Duke explains, he would never "stoop" to express his feelings in order to correct her behavior. Ruled by pride, he chooses another way of dealing with her imperfections:

Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt,

Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without

Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands

As if alive.

When the Duke's jealousy and wounded pride became unbearable, he "gave commands" stopping "all smiles," strongly implying he ordered the duchess be killed. He is both cold and cruel.

An interesting passage concludes the poem. As he shows his visitor downstairs, the Duke directs his attention to a sculpture of Neptune taming a seahorse. It is an ironic metaphor for the Duke's relationship with the duchess. Like the seahorse, his duchess had evinced a free spirit; rather than lower himself to "tame" her, he simply had her destroyed.

He resented that the duchess

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

“My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning comes from an actual historical incident.  In the sixteenth century Italy, Duke Ferrara married fourteen year-old Lucrezia, who died within two years.  The Duke courted and soon married someone else. The Duke is believed to have poisoned his wife so that he could marry the other girl. 

Point-of–view

The speaker in the poem is the Duke himself.  His speech is highly structured. Control is a part of his personality, so as he speaks, it is obvious that Browning makes the reader believe that the Duke chooses his words carefully.  He would be considered an unreliable narrator.  He tells only his side of the story.  As the poem progresses, it becomes obvious that the Duke has lost touch with reality.

 Setting

The setting for the poem is Italy in the sixteenth century.  The specific setting is the palace of the Duke in a gallery which contains his private collection. 

 Form

Browning described this poem as a “dramatic lyric.”  Today, the poem would be called a dramatic monologue because the Duke does all of the speaking.  The poem is written with rhymed couplets.  The rhyme scheme would be AABBCCDD, and so on.  With this pattern, Browning demonstrated the control of the Duke over and his viciousness towards his late wife.

 Themes

The primary themes of the story connect together through the personality of the Duke.  Browning intended to illustrate the power that was available to the Duke in the time period.  His control included the complete dominance of his wife.  She was his possession as much as his lands were.  

To add to this theme, the duke is controlled by his jealousy concerning his wife’s attention to anyone other than himself.  He does not like the artist giving his wife such a smile with a blush. He wonders about the person that she is looking at and giving attention to. Every smile and blush unless it is for him drives him to distraction.  He is so upset by her behavior that the only way to fix the situation was to murder his Duchess.

Summary

The Duke brings a servant of a Count up to his private gallery to show him the picture of his last Duchess. The picture portrays a beautiful young woman with a smile and blush on her face. The Duke was told that the artist asked for her to smile for the picture.

• The Duke begins to criticize his wife.
• She smiles for someone else in the picture.
• She was too easily made happy and looked around too much.
• She thanked people for gifts much the same as she thanked her husband.
• She did not appreciate the respected aristocratic name that he had given her by marrying her.
• She did not respond to his lessons in behavior nor listen to his commands to stop smiling.

The Duke continues on to say that he stopped the smiling.  In her picture, she looks as if she were alive. 

And if she let

Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set

Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse…

He asks the man to accompany him back downstairs. On the way out, he brags to the man about a statue that was built for him.  The reader learns that the Duke is courting the Count’s daughter, hoping to marry her. He does not care about the dowry, just the daughter.

This is an interesting poem which illustrates the strange behavior of the Duke who has obviously had his wife killed for insane reasons.  The overall effect of the poem comes from the man who does not hesitate to kill his wife because she displayed her joy of life.

Analyze the character of the duke in Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess."

The duke is a terrible narcissist, who excessively admires himself and cares little or not at all for the feelings or lives of others. Of the duchess, he reveals that

'twas not
Her husband's presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess' cheek [...].

Just about everything, it seems, brought the duchess joy: his love, the sunset, fresh fruit, a pretty mule, and so forth. The duke feels that she was "too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed." She failed to rank his gift, the gift of being his wife and taking his name, above all other gifts, and her failure to recognize the superiority of this gift to everyone and everything else irritated and angered him. He says that it's true that he could have spoken to her about her error and made her see it his way, but, he says,

E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose
Never to stoop.

He feels it would be beneath him to have to explain why she ought to be more appreciative of his gifts than anyone else's, why she ought to be more affected by his presence than anyone else's. The duke will not "stoop" to explain this to her. Instead, he determined, simply, to get rid of her and start afresh with a new duchess. He says,

I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.

Almost worse than the fact that he, apparently, had her murdered is the fact that he seems to feel that he was well within his rights to do so, that it was justified by her behavior. Because of his position and power, he can simply "g[i]ve commands," and his status seems to justify his behavior, at least to himself. Now, she is merely another one of his possessions, her portrait hung behind a curtain that "none puts by" but he, equivalent in his mind to his sculpture of "Neptune [...] / Taming a sea-horse" by another famous artist.

The duke only recognizes his own desires, and he never considers the duchess's. Rather than be grateful for her joyful spirit, he condemns her for being so easily pleased because he wants to be the thing that pleases her the most. Because she does not acknowledge his superiority in all things, he gets rid of her so that he can find someone else who will.

Analyze the character of the duke in Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess."

The duke is a very proud, vain and egotistical lord who views his ex-wife as an object or "trophy" rather than as a person. Super-macho and so blasé as to not even be aware of it, he takes pride in showing his house guest various family heirlooms, among them being her portrait done by a reputed artist named Fra Pandolf. The duke evidently wants to show off his wealth, his acquisitions, and his elitism, flounting the fact of having rubbed elbows with such famous people. In the same breath he "dumbs down" his first wife and decrees her as unworthy - as if her banishment reinforces his own superiority:

There is no need to think that the Duke is conscious of his implications: given his excessive pride, his refusal ever to stoop, he could hardly tolerate allowing another to believe his Duchess unfaithful to him, especially through his own revelation, however subtle.

Through his comments, the guest (the reader) also takes a guided tour through the duke's twisted soul and warped value system. For instance, he avows having taken offense at the first duchess's simple joy of living and a blush appearing when she posed for the portrait ("a spot of joy on her cheek"), suspected infidelity and "treason" when no real justification or proof of it was there. Dispensing with her, he moves on to take another conquest, a new wife who will supply the obsessive fawning demanded by his super ego:

As he believes is only his right, the Duke attempts to acquire another Duchess who will respond solely to him, and to that end he tells his last Duchess's story. In so doing he reveals a colossal ego. But through his very skill in speech he betrays that ego, for his subtle and unconscious slander of his last victim exposes at bottom an instinctive self-justifier, or at least a man predictably insecure behind a tyrant's swagger.

The final "crunch" comes when he turns abruptly from this subject to admire a statue another artist has recently cast for him, am image of Neptune taming a sea-horse. In truth, the statue embodies his own concept of domination, especially over women. He finishes as he starts, contemplating his own power, his refined artistic taste, his superiority.

In short, a V.I.P. to be venerated and admired!

Analyze the character of the duke in Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess."

The Duke is obviously proud and very concerned with his own importance and nobility.  It is the Duchess' friendly behavior that really irritates him because it elevates others to his equal footing:

"as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody's gift. Who'd stoop to blame
This sort of trifling?"

The Duke says that he is not a good speaker  --- "Even had you skill/In speech—(which I have not)" --- but he speech to the emissary shows he clearly does have very good speaking skills.  This lets us know that he can lie easily when it suits his will, and that he is not a man to be trusted.

The Duke also show his pride, and even more so, his need to absolutely control every situation.   He speaks of how he might have handled the situation with her, suggesting he could have talked to her.  However, to have talked to her would have been to let go of some control, and he refuses to.  See the lines below.

However—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.

Finally, the Duke shows that he is vindicative and tyrranical.  He will get his own revenge to make sure it is clear who has the power.  He says:

I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together.

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

In Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess," the speaker describes his last wife—a lovely woman to whom he was once married—while exposing how arrogant and dangerous he is.

The man in question is the Duke Ferrara. He is showing a lovely portrait of his "late" wife. Note that it does not say my "first" duchess, but my "last." The Duke is speaking to a member of his future fiancée’s family. He identifies who painted the picture, and then shares the fact that no one sees this painting unless he wishes it so. And when he opens the curtain, her gaze looks only at him:

The depth and passion of its earnest glance,

But to myself they turned (since none puts by

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)...

Even after her death, he seems jealous of her attention.

He notes that the look on her face was easily come by...it was not, unfortunately for her, a look that she guarded only for her husband. A casual remark by the artist that made note of her "mantle" falling too far down on her wrist, though only "courtesy," would make her blush with "that spot of joy." The Duke goes on to note that this was a failing:

She had


A heart---how shall I say?---too soon made glad,


Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er


She looked on…

This does not mean she flirted or was unfaithful: she was simply very easy to please and found joy in countless things. Mere jealousy does not convey the Duke's depth of feeling; he catalogs her many insufficiencies. Upon reading the poem, one is left to wonder if the speaker is not just a pompous fool. However, further reading makes the reader wonder if he is not simply a dangerous and insane man.

She found pleasure, he notes, in a sunset, "[t]he bough of cherries some officious fool / Broke in the orchard for her," and even the white mule she rode on around the estate. His censorship is clearly tied to his enormous ego and sense of entitlement. He points out that he deigned to bestow upon her his "nine-hundred-years-old name," and she thanked people as if anything they could do could measure up to his social standing—which he believes impossible. 

Even though he thinks on the things she does with displeasure, he never says anything to her. Consider that he wanted to say he found things...

…that in you disgusts me...

However, he declares he would not "stoop"—that having to explain himself was beneath him.

E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose


Never to stoop.

He could not control her in life. The speaker notes that she smiled as she passed him, as everyone did, but her smiles were not only for him alone. And so, he insinuates that he took steps to stop her behavior. However, make note of several things: he gave commands; "all smiles stopped together;" and, he notes that "...she stands / As if alive." Her smiles stopped after he gave commands. And she is now dead, as he prepares to marry again. It's possible she died of a broken heart. However, the Duke hardly seems a man who would wait that long. His "commands" may well have assured her death (perhaps by "assassination"). He seems mad to go about speaking of it so casually—but he is demonstrating his power.

In the last few lines, the Duke further emphasizes his supremacy by making a comparison related to Neptune dominating a seahorse:

The image of the powerful god taking control over a creature like a sea-horse demonstrates the relationship between the Duke...and the last Duchess.

This also sends a message to his future bride.

What does the Duke and his character traits represent in the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning?

In "My Last Duchess," by Robert Browning, I think it is safe to say that the Duke is amoral with regard to his own behavior. He crassly draws aside the curtain revealing for his visitor his "last duchess" and then continues to explain to his guest her suspected infidelity. The very things that probably attracted him to her--her rosy complexion, her smile, and etc. are replicated by the artist, but the Duke suspects some untoward behavior on the duchess’s part. He is acquisitive by nature as we learn both from his marriage to the beautiful duchess and the bronze statue of Neptune. The fact that he can casually dismiss the last duchess "then the smiles stopped" indicates that he has no compunction about divesting himself of those assets he no longer considers valuable before moving on to his next acquisition this case his "next Duchess" who happens to be waiting downstairs.

the following e-note link might be useful

http://www.enotes.com/jax/index.php/enotes/gsearch?m=co&q=the+last+duchess

Describe the Duke's character in Browning's "My Last Duchess."

The Duke is showing a visitor a portrait of his recently deceased wife. During this dramatic monologue we get a vivid impression of his character. His outstanding characteristic is that he is extremely proud of his noble rank and his old family. He thinks of himself as a connoisseur of art, but it seems clear that he just enjoys owning things and being able to show them off. He is cruel. He is incapable of love. He didn't appreciate his former wife, who was kind and affectionate. He appreciates her portrait more than he appreciated the living woman. Towards the end of the poem we realize that he actually had his "last duchess" murdered because he disapproved of her behavior. He wanted her to be proud, supercilious, arrogant, and cold like himself. Now he is looking for a new wife, and we feel sorry for whatever poor girl he marries because he will be just as demanding and just as unloving with her. He cares a great deal about money and shows some concern about the dowry he expects to get with his new bride. "My Last Duchess" is the most frequently anthologized of Browning's dramatic monologues.

What is the character sketch of "The Duke" in "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning?

The Duke is used to being catered to and almost worshipped  for who he is and for his very old and respected family name. He speaks to the Count's representative in an authoratative, almost condescending tone, and hints that he will not tolerate anyone who does not treat him with the respect he feels he deserves. He speaks of the look on his last duchess' face:

Sir, 'twas not
Her husband's presence only, called that spot Of joy into the Duchess' cheek; ...She had
A heart—how shall I say?—too soon made glad, Too easily impressed: she liked whate'er She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

This quote indicates that he perhaps thought she was cheating on him, or that she found joy in many things--simple things in life--which didn't deserve the same joyful look she gave him.  He demands to be treated in a special way.

Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody's gift. Who'd stoop to blame
This sort of trifling? 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.

He can not understand how she treated everyone as she treated him...her husband with an old and respected family name.  How could she be so dense?  He says, "Of course, I could have taught her; told her how she offended me, but that would be stooping beneath my stature."  The Duke expects others to know how he expects to be treated, and he doesn't care enough about them to correct mistakes or direct them so that they could behave more to his liking.  He just..."stops smiles altogether." 

Notice Neptune, though,
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

The last lines in the poem follow his intent to marry the Count's fair daughter.  All of this poem and the discussion of his last duchess' mistakes are fair warning for the next duchess--she had better act accordingly or her smiles will be stopped altogether, also.  The Duke is an unforgiving, intolerant, and belligerent man.  He bullies others into doing his bidding.  He treats people as objects to own and admire (this is why he mentions the rare statue of Neptune cast in bronze just for him by Claus of Innsbruck)--remember that his last duchess is behind the curtain, standing "as if alive" (he had her murdered?), only for his eyes to see. He shows it to the Count's representative to open the conversation about the next duchess and his expectations for her. 

If you were the Count's representative, would you recommend allowing the girl to become the Duke's next Duchess?  Why or why not?