My Last Duchess SAQ
My Last Duchess – A Dramatic Monologue of the Soul
Subtitle – Ferrara
Source – Bells and Pomegranates No. III : Dramatic Lyrics [1842]
Robert Browning [1812-1889]
SAQ – 2 Marks
1. What type of poem ‘My Last Duchess’ is?
👉Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue which is not a drama of the outer world, but of the inner world of the soul. The speaker, the Duke speaks in a critical moment of his life. This monologue is a superb study in soul dissection that helps to bring out the inner character of the Duke.
Related Question
What sort of poem Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ is? What do you find in this poem?
👉Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue in which the speaker has presented the Duke at a specific situation and critical moment of his life. The Duke speaks the entire story in such a manner that his possessive character has been fully unravelled or explored. The poem is a superb study in self-exploration or introspection.
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2. Why do you consider ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue?
👉A dramatic monologue is generally a poem delivered by an imaginary character to a silent audience.
In this poem the Duke speaks a lot but the words of other characters are not opened. So, it is called a dramatic monologue.
Related Question
Would you consider Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ a dramatic monologue? If so then give reasons.
👉The dramatic monologue is a poem in which a single character addresses to someone who keeps silent all the time. It is essentially a study of character of mental states, of mental crises made from the insight. It is predominantly psychological, analytical, meditative and argumentative.
The analysis of Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ reveals the fact that the Duke of Ferrara is the single character and his speech exposes his own character and own situation. The envoy of the count to whom it is addressed keeps silent all the time. So, the poem ‘My Last Duchess’ is a dramatic monologue.
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3. Sketch the character of the Duke as revealed in Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’.
👉Browning portrays the Duke of Ferrara as unscrupulous, self-dignified, selfish, tyrannical, shrewd, mercenary and arrogant in an empty manner. He is a lover of fine art as well as a typical noble man of the Italian Renaissance.
Related Question
What do you know about Duke’s character after reading Browning’s dramatic monologue ‘My Last Duchess’?
👉Browning in his dramatic monologue ‘My Last Duchess’ presents the Duke in a very poor light indeed. He is egotistical and extremely selfish and possessive by temperament. Being narrow minded or snob himself, he strongly disapproves of his last Duchess’ gay, expansive and innocent nature. He is a lover of art and artefacts as well as a typical noble man of the Italian Renaissance.
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4. “—————————-Sir, ’twas not /Her husband’s presence only, called that spot /Of joy into the Dutchess’ cheek :” — What was the cause of ‘that spot of joy’?
👉The painter might have said to the Duchess that her clock was covering too great a part of her wrist suggesting thereby that her beauty was hidden, or he might have happened to say that he could never portray the rosy blush of her throat. Such trivial compliments is the cause of ‘that spot of joy’.
5. “That piece a wonder,——-“ Why is the piece called ‘a wonder’?
👉As a true lover of art the Duke calls the painting of his wife ‘a wonder’ because it is the passionate look in the painting that he admires even more than the lady whom it presents. Besides it feeds his vanity that a famous artist like Fra Pandolf has portrayed his wife’s picture.
Related Question
“That piece a wonder,——-“ Why did the Duke call his dead Duchess’ painting ‘a wonder’?
👉The Duke called the painting of his dead Duchess a wonder because of two reasons. Firstly, it was the passionate look in the painting that he admired it even more than the lady whom it represents. Secondly, it feeds his vanity that a celebrated artist like Fra Pandolf has agreed to paint his significant wife’s picture.
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6. “This grew; I gave commands; /Then all smiles stopped together.” — Why did the speaker give such commands?
👉The Duke had a great sense of dignity. He did not like his wife’s habit of smiling and showing appreciation to all. Therefore he gave such commands, and as a result of which all her smiles stopped forever.
Related Question
“This grew; I gave commands; /Then all smiles stopped together.” — Explain in brief with reference to the context.
👉The extremely gay and expansive nature of the Duchess irritated the Duke who nursed a grudge against her for not giving him any special favour. He thought that his wife was overstepping the bounds of modesty and decorum, so he ordered her to be killed.
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7. “Notice Neptune, though, /Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,” — What do you think Neptune ‘taming a sea horse’ symbolise?
👉At the end of his talk, the Duke draws the attention of the visitor to the bronze cast of Neptune, the sea-god taming a sea-horse. By referring it, the poet actually symbolizes the true character of the Duke who believes in taming wives. This is supposed rather to be an indirect warning, communicate to the count’s daughter, through the envoy.
Related Question
[I] What characteristic trait of the Duke’s character can be discerned when he refers to the bronze statue of Neptune? [WBCHSE Sample Question]
[II] “Notice Neptune, though, /Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,” — What is indicated here?
👉At the end of his talk, the Duke shows the visitor a rare antic piece of a bronze statue of Neptune trying to tame a sea-horse. It actually implies the true character of the Duke who believes in taming wives. By showing the statue, the Duke indicates that the dowry from the count must be consummated to his high status that promoted a great sculptor to make a masterpiece of Neptune.
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8. “I know not how — as if she ranked /My gift of a nine-hundred-years old name /With anybody’s gift.” — What light do the above lines throw on the character of the person spoken about?
👉The Duke says that his wife made no distinction between the gifts of his name and the petty gifts of others. She seemed to consider his great family name on an equal level with ordinary things. So, in reality, she was innocent and good natured, but to the Duke she had no sense of taste and proprietary.
9. “Fra Pandolf’s hands /Worked busily a day, and there she stands.” What does the speaker want to tell?
👉Here the speaker tells that the painting of the last Duchess is a tremendous work of art done by the celebrated painter Fra Pandolf who delineated the life like picture by working only for a single day. Through his speech we can say that he has a critical taste in art.
Related Question
“Fra Pandolf’s hands /Worked busily a day, and there she stands.” When does the Duke in Browning’s poem ‘My Last Duchess’ utter this? What does he want to say here?
👉Here the Duke utters this when he was showing the portrait of his last Duchess to the ambassador of a count whose daughter will be his next Duchess.
The Duke tells that the portrait of his last Duchess is a stupendous work of art done by the eminent painter, Fra Pandolf who delineated the life-like picture of the last Duchess by working only for a single day.
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10. Who are Fra Pandolf and Claus of Innsbruck?
👉They are no real, historically known figures, but the inventors of the poet. Fra Pandolf is represented by the poet as a celebrated painter. Claus of Innsbruck is a sculptor who made for the Duke the bronze statue of the sea-god Neptune taming the sea-horse.
Related Question
Who is Fra Pandolf?
Fra Pandolf is the name of some fictitious Italian painter who painted the life-like portrait of the last Duchess–the portrait that the Duke shows to the ambassador.
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11. What is the Duke’s request to the convoy?
👉After his monologue about last Duchess, the Duke reminds the convoy of a count whose daughter he proposes to marry, of his expectations of a handsome dowry. He even indirectly threatens that no pretext for the refusal of the said dowry will be entertained by him.
12. What is the poet’s objective in the poem?
👉The poet’s objective is to oppose the thoughtless vehemence of sexual jealousy of a vain egoist. The Duke could not bear his innocent Duchess’s liberal and frank attitude to all. Haunted with his proud possessive instinct, he therefore, commanded or wanted to kill her.
13. What does the expression ”I gave commands;” Signify?
👉The Duke says that his last Duchess was in the habit of smiling and showing appreciation to all which incurred the displeasure and disgust of the Duke who failed to discipline her. Actually he was spiritually deaf who could not understand the Duchess’s child like nobility and gave such commands to stop her smiles forever.
14. What are the restrictions imposed upon the Duchess by the Duke?
👉The Duke never liked the Duchess’s habit of smiling and showing appreciation to all or everything. So, he gave commands to stop her smiles forever and imposing this restriction the Duchess became became fully changed.
Related Question
How did the Duchess incur the displeasure of the Duke?
👉The Duke was displeased with the Duchess as the latter did not show any special favour to him; she equated the Duke’s loving gift with those of others and above all her gay, ever expansive nature made the Duke angry.
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15. Sketch the character of the Duke as revealed in the poem ‘My Last Duchess’.
👉Browning in his dramatic monologue ‘My Last Duchess’ shows an arrogant Renaissance Duke who has a great sense of dignity that prevents him from praising goodness and simplicity of the Duchess. The poet portrays the Duke as unscrupulous, self-dignified, selfish, tyrannical and mercenary. But in spite of such the Duke presents himself as a lover of art.
16. Who is Ferrara? What was he proud of?
👉In Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ Ferrara is the arrogant Renaissance Duke of Italy. He was proud of his royal name which was a nine-hundred year old princely reputation attached to it and his art collection.
Related Question
Give a brief identification of Ferrara.
👉Ferrara is an ancient city in Italy. It was the capital of a city dukedom during the Middle Age and the Renaissance period in Italy. Once it was ruled by a jealous and extremely cruel Duke.
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17. Sketch the character of the last Duchess.
👉The Duchess was, no doubt, a lady of beauty and grace. She was good natured, simple and frank. She had no aristocratic ego of her husband. Indeed, she was not what her husband is and so she became a helpless victim of her cruel husband. The first very two lines in “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning show that the Duke orders to paint a portrait of his last Duchess and the love is that of the sincere admiration of a genuine lover of art. The painter Fra Pandolf paints a life-like picture. The qualities of Last Duchess are goodness and sense of joy.
Related Question
What type of a lady was the Duchess? [WBCHSE Sample Question]
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18. Who is the last Duchess in Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess”? What does the story tell us about her fate?
👉The Duchess was the wife of the Duke of Ferrara. The Duchess was a woman of gay, expansive natured woman who did not hesitate to lay bare her heart even to strangers. This was what the Duke did not approve of. But he could not prevail over her and in sheer disgust the Duke got her killed.
19. “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, /Looking as if she were alive.” — Explain.
👉The first two lines of the poem, “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning shows that the Duke orders to paint a portrait of his last Duchess and the love is that of the sincere admiration of a feminine lover of art. The painter Fra Pandolf paints a life-like picture. The qualities of last Duchess are goodness and sense of joy.
20. What is the concluding image of “My Last Duchess”? What does it signify?
👉The concluding image of Neptune taming a sea-horse is indicative of the way the Duke expects of taming his future wife. The image is thus loaded with sinister implication.
