My Last Duchess

"My Last Duchess" is a poem by Robert Browning, frequently anthologised as an example of the dramatic monologue. It first appeared in 1842 in Browning's Dramatic Lyrics.

Poem structure and historical background

The poem is written in 28 rhymed couplets of iambic pentameter.

The poem is preceded by the word Ferrara:, indicating that the speaker is most likely Alfonso II, fifth Duke of Ferrara (1533–1598) who, at the age of 25, married the 14-year-old Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, the daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo.

Lucrezia was not well educated, and the Medicis' status could be termed "nouveau riche" in comparison with that of the venerable and distinguished Este family. The Duke's remark regarding his gift of a "nine-hundred-years-old name" clearly indicates that he considered his bride beneath him socially. She came, however, with a sizeable dowry. The couple married in 1558. He then abandoned her for two years before she died on April 21, 1561, at age 17. There was a strong suspicion of poisoning. The Duke then sought the hand of Barbara, eighth daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary and the niece of the Count of Tyrol. The count was in charge of arranging the marriage; the chief of his entourage, Nikolaus Mardruz, a native of Innsbruck, was his courier. Mardruz is presumably the silent listener in the poem.

The other characters named in the poem, painter Frà Pandolf and sculptor Claus of Innsbruck, are fictional.

Story

The poem is set during the late Italian Renaissance. The narrator (presumably the Duke of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of his prospective second wife a tour of the artworks in his home. He draws a curtain to reveal a painting of a woman, explaining that it is a portrait of his late wife; he invites his guest to sit and look at the painting. As they look at the portrait of the late Duchess, the Duke describes her happy, cheerful and flirtatious nature, which had displeased him. He says, "She had a heart -- how shall I say? -- too soon made glad..." He goes on to say that his complaint of her was that "'twas not her husband's presence only" that made her happy. Eventually, "I gave commands; then all smiles stopped together." He now keeps her painting hidden behind a curtain that only he is allowed to draw back, meaning that now she only smiles for him. The Duke then resumes an earlier conversation regarding wedding arrangements, and in passing points out another work of art, a bronze statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse.

In an interview, Browning said, "I meant that the commands were that she should be put to death . . . Or he might have had her shut up in a convent."

Modern Adaptations

• Shahd Al-Shemmari adapted the poem into a play titled "The Duke of Ferrara" (2007). It was performed in Kuwait University. The play examined the Duke's murder of the Last Duchess, Lucrezia, by highlighting his egocentricism. Two other duchesses were introduced as Lucrezia's predecessors.

Citations

• Friedland, Louis S. "Ferrara and My Last Duchess." Studies in Philology, 33 (1936): 656-84.

See also

• Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara

External links

• My Last Duchess - the text of the poem
• Audio - hear the poem