An Overview of the Poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning Year

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

An overview of the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning Year of publication: The poem first appeared in the year 1842 in the volume titled Dramatic Lyrics. Historical context: the speaker of the poem is ‘Ferrara’ whose character is most likely loosely based on the historical figure of the Alfonso II d’Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara. The character of the deceased Duchess is probably based on the Duke of Ferrara’s first wife Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici. The twenty five years old Alfonso married fourteen years old Lucrezia in the year 1558 but she died after three years in the year 1561. The cause of her death was subject to much speculation. There was a rumor that the seventeen years old Duchess died of poisoning though there was no irrefutable proof. After Lucrezia’s death, the Duke married Barbara, the sister of the count of Tyrol. The poem, shows the Duke negotiating the terms of his marriage most probably with the emissary of the Count of Tyrol, who was in charge of arranging the marriage. Setting: the poem is set in Italy during the Renaissance. Dramatic Monologue : dramatic monologue is a type of lyric poetry, in which, an imaginary speaker addresses an imaginary audience. According to M. H. Abrams, in a dramatic monologue the following features can be found- i) ‘ A single person who is patently not the poet, utters the speech that makes up the whole of the poem, in a specific situation at a critical moment.’ ii) ‘This person addresses and interacts with one or more other people ; but we know of the auditor’s presence, and what they say and do, only from clues in the discourse of the single speaker.’ iii) ‘ The main principle controlling the poet’s choice and formulation of what the lyric speaker says is to reveal to the reader, in a way that enhances its interest, the speaker’s temperament and character.’ Though the roots of this poetic form can be traced back to the Classical times, Dramatic monologue fully developed and became widely popular only during the Victorian era. Robert Browning and Lord Tennyson are the two most prolific practitioners of this particular form. Romantic and Modernist poets also often exploited this poetic form. “My Last Duchess”, “ The Bishop Orders His Tomb”, “Andrea del Sarto” by Browning, “Ulysses” by Tennyson, “ The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot are a few famous examples of dramatic monologue. Themes: womens’ place in the then society, social status, art, hypocrisy and elitism of the upper class etc. Form: The poem is written in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is aabbccdd. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

To the EDITOR of the CLASSICAL REVIEW
THE CLASSICAL REVIEW. 61 then a few of the by-ways. Mr. Browning ling of Admetus's story, and Ixion (Jocoseria), used to know every inch of one highway with its conversion of the transgressor with all its associated by-ways, and never into a newer and more human Prometheus. set his foot on any other highway in the But also there is a word in Gerard de Loiresse same region. If he had been a zoologist, he {Parleyings) for those who might think that would have known all about lions and no- we must go back to myths for all our poetry. thing about tigers. Of course, this is no dis- Outlying stories that he found in his great paragement to his greatness. His true field researches are worked up in EcJietlos and was not learning but life. Only, why could Pfieidippides. He is still constant to the he not have read some Plato ? Our wistful Aeschylus of his youth, and especially to fancy cannot help framing some shadow of the PrometJieus, and to these he adds Pindar the transformed Republic and interpreted and Homer, quoting all three in Roman P/taedrus, for which we could have spared, letters in the midst of his verse. From perhaps, the refutation of Bubb Doding- Homer he is led to consider the ' Homeric ton and the divagations of the Famille question,' and uses it characteristically to Miranda. show forth in allegory the religious edu- Besides interpreting Greek tragedy, he cation of mankind (Asolando, Developments). translated it. The translations of the Alceslis In this period, for the first time in his life, (in Balaustion) and the Hercules Furens (in he begins to add Latin to Greek.
[Show full text]
The Tomb of the Author in Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologues
Előd Pál Csirmaz The Tomb of the Author in Robert Browning’s Dramatic Monologues MA Thesis (for MA in English Language and Literature) Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary, 2006 Supervisor: Péter Dávidházi, Habil. Docent, DSc. Abstract Even after the death of the Author, its remains, its tomb appears to mark a text it cre- ated. Various readings and my analyses of Robert Browning’s six dramatic mono- logues, My Last Duchess, The Bishop Orders His Tomb at Saint Praxed’s Church, Andrea del Sarto, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came,” Caliban upon Setebos and Rabbi Ben Ezra, suggest that it is not only possible to trace Authorial presence in dramatic monologues, where the Author is generally supposed to be hidden behind a mask, but often it even appears to be inevitable to consider an Authorial entity. This, while problematizes traditional anti-authorial arguments, do not entail the dreaded consequences of introducing an Author, as various functions of the Author and vari- ous Author-related entities are considered in isolation. This way, the domain of metanarrative-like Authorial control can be limited and the Author is turned from a threat into a useful tool in analyses. My readings are done with the help of notions and suggestions derived from two frameworks I introduce in the course of the argument. They not only help in tracing and investigating the Author and related entities, like the Inscriber or the Speaker, but they also provide an alternative description of the genre of the dramatic monologue. Előd P Csirmaz The Tomb of the Author ii Contents 1 INTRODUCTION 1 2 THE THEORY OF THE AUTHOR 1 2.1 A History of the Death of the Author 2 2.2 From the Methodological to the Ontological and Back: The Functions of the Author and its Death 3 A.
[Show full text]
University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting Template
THE IDEAL OF THE REAL: MID-VICTORIAN REPRESENTATIONS OF THE ARTIST AND THE INVENTION OF REALISM By DANIEL SCHULTZ BROWN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2012 1 © 2012 Daniel Schultz Brown 2 To my advisor, Pamela Gilbert: for tireless patience, steadfast support and gentle guidance 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS page LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 6 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 11 History of Realism ................................................................................................... 14 Overview of Critical Literature ................................................................................. 21 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................... 34 2 “LESS EASILY DEFINED THAN APPREHENDED”: MID-VICTORAIN THEORIES OF REALISM ....................................................................................... 41 John Ruskin ............................................................................................................ 45 George Henry Lewes .............................................................................................
[Show full text]
Critical Survey of Poetry: British, Irish, & Commonwealth Poets
More Critical Survey of Poetry: British, Irish, & Commonwealth Poets Robert Browning by Todd K. Bender Other literary forms TABLE OF Robert Browning wrote letters copiously. Published volumes of his CONTENTS correspondence include The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Other literary forms Barrett, 1845-1846 (1926, 2 volumes; Robert B. Browning, editor), as well as Achievements volumes of correspondence between Browning and Alfred Domett, Isa Biography Blagden, and George Barrett. Baylor University holds extensive manuscript Analysis and document collections concerning Browning from which Intimate Glimpses “Porphyria’s Lover” from Browning’s Letter File: Selected from Letters in the Baylor University “My Last Duchess” Browning Collection was published in 1934. An additional collection of about “The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed’s four hundred New Letters of Robert Browning has also been published (1950; Church” W. C. DeVane and Kenneth L. Knickerbocker, editors). “Bishop Blougram’s Apology” Robert Browning “Andrea del Sarto” (Library of Congress) “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” The Ring and the Book Bibliography For a short time, Browning also attempted to write plays. Unfortunately, the impracticality of performing his particular dramas on stage doomed them to failure. The majority of these works can be found in the Bells and Pomegranates series, published between 1841 and 1846. Achievements Robert Browning is, with Alfred, Lord Tennyson, one of the two leading Victorian poets. Although Browning did not invent the dramatic monologue, he expanded its possibilities for serious psychological and philosophical expression, and he will always be considered a master of the dramatic poem. Browning’s best poetry appears in three volumes: Men and Women, Dramatis Personae, and The Ring and the Book.
[Show full text]
UNIT 17 ROBERT BROWNING Alfred, Lord Tennyson
UNIT 17 ROBERT BROWNING Alfred, Lord Tennyson Structure 17.0 Objectives 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Robert Browning: Life and Works 17.3 Poem: Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister 17.3.1 Glossary 17.3.2 Discussion 17.3.3 Appreciation 17.4 Poem: Andrea del Sarto 17.4.1 Glossary 17.4.2 Discussion 17.4.3 Appreciation 17.5 Let Us Sum Up 17.6 Suggested Reading 17.7 Answers to Self-Check Exercises 17.0 OBJECTIVES In this unit you will be reading two well-known poems of Robert Browning. These poems will give you an understanding of Browning’s poetry which holds a distinguished place because of its optimistic note. On reading this Unit you will be able to: • appreciate the distinctive qualities of Browning’s poetry and art; • understand dramatic monologue which Browning exploited to portray the tensions within a character’s psyche; • understand the differences between Tennyson and Browning, the poets who were products of the same age. 17.1 INTRODUCTION Robert Browning was only three years younger than Tennyson. And yet the differences between the two poets are so big that they seem to be writing in two different ages. Tennyson, you must have seen, is basically an emotional poet, responding to the beauty and pain of life. His involvement with the polemics of his times was also deep: he was as much concerned with politics of democracy as with scientific researches of his time that had begun to instil doubts into the minds of the people. Robert Browning’s concerns were never so comprehensive.
[Show full text]
Andrea Del Sarto: the Renaissance Workshop in Action
ANDREA DEL SARTO: THE RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP IN ACTION FIRST MAJOR U.S. MONOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION ON THE ARTIST October 7, 2015, through January 10, 2016 Andrea d’Agnolo (1486–1530), called Andrea del Sarto after his father’s profession as a tailor (sarto), transformed sixteenth-century Florence through his art and influence. Through his large and prolific workshop, one of the most significant of the age, he enriched his native city with portraits, altarpieces, and fresco paintings. Drawings were at the core of his working process. Produced primarily in red and black chalks, his vibrant figure studies, energetic compositional drawings, and masterful head studies display the range of his talents as a draftsman and the complex roles that drawing played in developing his paintings. This autumn, The Frick Collection celebrates the Italian master with Andrea del Sarto: The Renaissance Workshop in Action, Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530), Study for the Head of Julius the first major U.S. monographic exhibition devoted Caesar, ca. 1520, red chalk, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, partial and promised gift of Mr. and Mrs. David M. Tobey; © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Image source: Art to his art, centering on his creative process. This Resource, NY exhibition was organized with the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, where it has run as a summer show. In New York, the presentation will feature forty-five drawings and three paintings from international collections and will offer an unprecedented look inside the creative production of one of the most influential figures in Italian Renaissance art. To be shown in the Oval Room and in the lower-level galleries, the exhibition was coordinated at the Frick by Associate Curator Aimee Ng and is Portrait of a Young Man, ca.
[Show full text]
The Influence Op Vasari Upon the Art Poems of Robert
The influence of Vasari upon the art poems of Robert Browning Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Northrup, Frederick Willis, 1916- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 23/09/2021 13:24:58 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/553517 THE INFLUENCE OP VASARI UPON THE ART POEMS OF ROBERT BROWNING by Frederick Willis Northrop A Thesis submitted to $he faculty of the Department of English in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In the Graduate College University of Arizona 1940 ■io gMaroi m n lEt tmy lommMK ^fXWiOflB T^SO.'- fd CXirfTi- "'TC'-r i H C.t^ jfcit'I ^ f? JtB Ati T A J - ' - R) 4/ * E A Pv #e ■ j wte"*’t eild t ie t £cf! » i E.vbs < *f€* 9fW A ;os • . Jt. 7^ '*-%*/" l .-. _ > » - > . rftwertfrnr* ^yaf^iTTot^r • - .— ■ f K sr ^ <6? 7?/ /?& o p . * - TABLE OP 00STENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. INTRODUCTION.............................. 1 II. DISCUSSION OF MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCES TO VASARI ARTISTS........................ 26 III. ANALYSIS OF "FRA LIPPO L I P P I " ............ 41 IV. ANALYSIS OF "ANDREA DEL SARTO"............ 78 V. ANALYSIS OF "OLD PICTURES IN FLORENCE". 96 VI. CONCLUSIONS.............................. 116 s BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................... 123 ±02 9 3 3 THE INFLUENCE OP VASARI UPON THE ART POEMS OF ROBERT BROWING CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION But at any rate I have loved the season Of Art's spring-birth so dim and dewy; My sculptor is HIcolo the Pisan, My painter - who but Citnabue? lor ever was man of them all indeed.
[Show full text]
Presentation of Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea Del Sarto
Lindenwood University Digital Commons@Lindenwood University Theses Theses & Dissertations Summer 7-2020 Painting and Prosody: Robert Browning's (Re)Presentation of Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea Del Sarto Ana Schnellmann Lindenwood University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses Part of the Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons Recommended Citation Schnellmann, Ana, "Painting and Prosody: Robert Browning's (Re)Presentation of Fra Lippo Lippi and Andrea Del Sarto" (2020). Theses. 25. https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/25 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses & Dissertations at Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Lindenwood University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PAINTING AND PROSODY: ROBERT BROWNING’S (RE)PRESENTATION OF FRA LIPPO LIPPI AND ANDREA DEL SARTO A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Art and Design Department in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Art in Art History By Ana Schnellmann Saint Charles, Missouri July, 2020 PAINTING AND PROSODY: ROBERT BRO by Ana Schnellmann Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Art History and Visual Culture at Lindenwood University © July 2020, Ana Schnellmann The author hereby grants Lindenwood University permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic thesis copies of document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Ana Schnellmann 7/15/20 Author's Name Date Digitally signed by Ana Schnellmann, PhD Ana Schnellmann, PhD Date: 2020.07.15 07:24:03 -05'00' Author's Signature Committee Chair Date Digitally signed by Steven J.
[Show full text]
26 3. Andrea Del Sarto: a Slave to the Soul
"Is Not Outside Seeming Real as Substance Inside": A Bakhtinian Reading of the Relationship Between Art and Life in Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologues Karolle Lynn Wall B .A., Simon Fraser University, 1991 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of English O Karolle Lyrm Wall Simon Fraser University November, 1995 All rights reserved. Thls work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL NAME: Karolle Lynn Wall DEGREE: Master of Arts TITLE OF THESIS: "Is Not Outside Seeming Real as Substance Inside:" A Bakhtinian Reading of the Relationship Between Art and Life in Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologues Examining Committee: Chair: June Sturrock \ - Assistant Professor of English I Janet Giltrow Assdciate Professor of English , Y Pamela Dalziel External Examiner Assistant Professor of English University of British Columbia r Date Approved: (~~WIXY6 15 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser Universi the right to lend my thesis, pro'ect or extended essay (the title oB which is shown below) to users of" the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission.
[Show full text]
Robert Browning As a Philosophical Poet
ROBERT BROWNING AS A PHILOSOPHICAL POET DR. RAJKUMAR M. LAKHADIVE Head, Department of English, Mahatma Basweshwar College, Latur – 413 512. (MS) INDIA Robert Browning is not merely a poet but a prophet. We can seek in him, as in Isaiah or Aeschylus, a solution, or a help to the solution, of the problems that press upon us when we reflect upon man, his place in the world and his destiny. He has given us indirectly, and as a poet gives, a philosophy of life. He has interpreted the world anew in the light of a dominant idea. Browning had certain definite opinions about the spiritual function of love. This opinion was striking and solid, as was everything which came out of Browning's mind. One of his great theories of the universe was what may be called the hope which lies in the imperfection of man. Browning expresses the idea that some hope may always be based on deficiency itself; in other words, that in so far as man is a one-legged or a one-eyed creature, there is something about his appearance which indicates that he should have another leg and another eye. INTRODUCTION Robert Browning is popular for his philosophy of life and especially for his optimism. He was gifted with an almost unlimited power of imagination which was always exerted upon real things, visible or invisible; that is to say on everything that a human being can think and feel; he is realistic because he is never visionary. He treats of visible realities- the experiences of men and women- and this makes him a philosophic poet.
[Show full text]
Robert Browning's Aesthetic Philosophy and Epiphanic
ROBERT BROWNING'S AESTHETIC PHILOSOPHY AND EPIPHANIC VISION IN SELECTED POEMS A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY ANGELIQUE McMATH JORDAN DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ATLANTA, GEORGIA MAY 1981 CONTENTS Chapter I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. THE RELATIONSHIP OF ART TO MAN’S IMPERFECTION 22 III. AN UNKNOWN PAINTER'S VISION OF HIMSELF AND HIS ART 34 IV. ANDREA DEL SARTO’S RATIONALIZATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF HIS FAILURE AS AN ARTIST AND A MAN 48 V. FRA LIPPO LIPPI'S DEFENSE OF REALISM IN ART 70 CONCLUSION 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY 94 ii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Robert Browning1s aesthetic philosophy is inextricably bound up with his philosophy of art and its relation to the artist, to his audience and to God. Browning's theory of art is summarized in his "Essay on Shelley," in which he asserts that "the whole poet" has the ability to integrate the roles of the fashioner and the seer. Thus, while discounting the artist's power to encom¬ pass an "absolute vision" in his work, Browning contends that a true artist does bring into harmony the "raw material" of reality, which is the proper sphere of the maker, and the "spiritual comprehension" of the seer. Unity through the fusion of dualities is the principle of Browning's aesthetic theory. Understanding how this unity can be achieved is important in Browning's poetry written from 1833-1851.'*' ^Thomas J. Collins, Robert Browning's Moral Aes¬ thetic Theory (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967), p.
[Show full text]
Robert Browning: Separating Author from Narrator Brian C
E.H. Butler Library at Buffalo State College Digital Commons at Buffalo State English Education Theses English 12-2012 Robert Browning: Separating Author from Narrator Brian C. Rich [email protected] Advisor Dr. Angela B. Fulk First Reader Dr. Angela B. Fulk Second Reader Dr. Mark K. Fulk Department Chair Dr. Ralph L. Wahlstrom To learn more about the English Department and its educational programs, research, and resources, go to http://english.buffalostate.edu/english-education. Recommended Citation Rich, Brian C., "Robert Browning: Separating Author from Narrator" (2012). English Education Theses. Paper 2. Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/engeducation_theses Part of the English Language and Literature Commons i Abstract In 1833, John Stuart Mill criticized Browning’s very first poem, Pauline: A Fragment of a Confession , because he claimed that it overexposed the author. What Mill meant by this was that he thought Browning was self-obsessed and depressed. This criticism affected Browning’s writings throughout the middle of his career by provoking him to formulate dramatic monologues in an attempt to distance himself from the narrators he created. But even though Browning was careful not to overexpose himself, his self-consciousness still made its way through to the reader. Browning exposes himself through his narrators in “My Last Duchess,” “Porphyria’s Lover,” and “Andrea del Sarto.” In each of these works, Browning shows growing comfort with writing in a more personal voice and exposing his social views. By 1887, when Parleyings with Certain People of Importance in Their Day was published, Browning had come to terms with Mill’s criticism.
[Show full text]