My Last Duchess

The Duke describes his last Duchess as overly friendly, undifferentiating in her affections, and too easily impressed. He complains that she does not treat him with more reverence than others,...

The duke in Browning's "My Last Duchess" arrogantly complains that his former wife appreciated everything and everyone in her life, rather than only appreciating him. He is angry that she was easily...

The Duke in Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is controlling and authoritative, viewing his late wife as a possession. In contrast, the Duchess is portrayed as joyful and kind-hearted, valuing...

One of the flaws the duke identifies in his last duchess is her being too appreciative of every small gift given to her. He says that she thanked everyone for everything, but the duke wanted the...

The duke talks about his first wife to the envoy because she did not value him above all else, as he would have liked her to.

The Duke is trying to convey to the listener, who has come to broker a new marriage for the Duke, that his deceased wife was disloyal to him. He blames her for not bestowing her love, affection,...

In "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, the Duke describes a portrait of his late wife, revealing his controlling and jealous nature. He criticizes her for being too friendly and easily pleased,...

In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the Duchess's fate is implied to be death at the hands of her husband, the Duke. The Duke's monologue reveals his jealousy and controlling nature, suggesting...

There is some truth in each of the four statements. The assertion in the first statement that the eponymous Duchess's "loyalty was questionable" is true in as much as it was questionable from the...

The speaker in the poem "My Last Duchess" is presumably the Duke, her husband. Throughout the poem, he expresses his displeasure at the young lady's joy.  She finds joy in things like a sunset...

It is clear from the extract that the Duchess had no prejudice and that she treated everyone equally. She would compliment anyone and everyone she felt deserved praise for doing her a kindness. Her...

Everything make the duchess happy, from the smallest of compliments to the most significant and valuable of gifts. She seems to be the kind of person who delights in even the smallest of gifts, like...

At first, it seems that the duke responded to the duchess's behavior by taking note of everything that seemed to make her happy: a cherry tree branch, a white mule, a sunset, the duke himself....

The duke effectively controls his conversation with the Count's emissary completely, just as he attempted to control his last duchess. He talks and talks, and his auditor never has a chance to get...

The narrator/Duke is obsessed with his title, his self-importance.  He does not think that his “last” duchess gave his station enough importance; he is disdainful of her indiscrimant joy, and...

This is a good question. Most readers assume that the Duke is an unreliable narrator and that his negative insinuations about his dead wife are false. It is also normally assumed that the...

"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning reflects the Victorian Age's patriarchal norms and societal expectations of women. The Duke's treatment of his wife as property highlights the lack of women's...

In Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the Duke of Ferrara is depicted as a narcissistic and controlling figure, displaying arrogance and a lack of empathy. He reveals through his monologue that he...