Blog Post #6- My Last Duchess


Aubree Monares

Literature

22 October 2017

Blog Post #6- My Last Duchess

It is revealed in the poem “My Last Duchess,” that the speaker, the Duke of Ferrara, is arrogant and controlling. According to the poem, we can infer that he cares a lot about money, and he is prideful and thinks he is superior. The Duke’s arrogance and jealousy is shown in his attitude towards his social status and family name. It seems as though the Duke of Ferrara is jealous that his Duchess found pleasure and happiness in other people and things. This behavior is controlling and resentful because a woman should be able to find joy and delight in people and nature without worrying about offending her partner. It is obvious that the Duke believes that the Duchess had not respected him to the level that he deserved. The Duke is also prideful, because despite his feelings of resentment towards his wife, he would never “stoop” to express how he felt. Instead, it is implied that the Duke ordered the Duchess to be killed. The Duke is very cruel, egotistical, and cold. We do not know much about the Duchess, other than how the Duke describes her; disrespectful, unfaithful, and ungrateful. The reader does not get a pure, honest representation of the Duchess’s character, because she is described through the lens of jealousy, pride, and resentment. We can infer, however, that the Duchess was beautiful and caught the attention of other men. Lastly, we can infer that the relationship between the Duke and Duchess was not healthy.

Three questions that I have about this poem are; Who is Fra Pandolf and what is his significance? Why does the Duke not discuss with the Duchess what is making him upset, rather than killing her? Why is the Duke describing the Duchess in so much detail to the man whose daughter he is going to marry?

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 23, 2017 at 9:34 AM

    Your analysis of this poem is very well thought out and in depth. I think your second question is interesting. In my opinion, the reason the Duke did not discuss what was upsetting him with the Duchess goes back to him being prideful and feeling superior. He thinks he is important and that the Duchess was lucky to marry him, so he probably feels that he does not need to talk with her about this. He should have things the way he wants them and not have to have a discussion to get it. He has a clear view on how his wife should act and he thinks that she should conform to this to make him happy. He believes that discussing it is below him and since he is unhappy, he will just do away with the whole situation and try again with a new wife. It really emphasizes what you said about him being egoistical. How do you think he will act with his new wife and will this marriage will be any different than the last?

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