The essential key points you need to understand the poem and build-up a great essay for the exam. It includes methods and explanations as well as context. It is easy to learn and you can easily turn these into flashcards .
Poem basics : My
last duchess by
Browning .
GCSE English Literature: AQA power and conflict
These are the basic facts that you need to know in order to understand the poem, as well
as some of the methods used and finally , authorial intent. But don't forget to offer your
own interpretation as well as the ones you read about.
It is a DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE written in iambic
pentameter. This reinforces the idea that the Duke
Form of the poem
is speaking with ( or at ) his visitor. The rhyming
couplets show the Duke’s desire for complete
control, but the enjambment suggests he gets
carried away with his passions and anger.
This creates a picture of an incredibly unstable ,
insecure character whose obsession with power is
unsettling.
The poem starts off with the duke boasting and
pointing out the portrait of his former duchess to a
what is the poem about ?
visitor.
The duke was angered by the Duchess' behaviour -
there are suggestions that she was friendly towards
everyone (including other men) and he was
annoyed that he wasn't given 'special treatment' as
such.
He acted out in order to stop her flirtatious
behaviour, and although it isn't explicit how he does
this , it is suggested or implied that he was violent
towards her → '' the half-flush that dies along her
throat''. Hinting towards her murder.
The duke and the visitor walk away from the
painting , towards the end, and the duke continues
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