A grade 9 answer comparing My Last Duchess and Ozymandias for AQA GCSE English Literature.
This is not guaranteed a full mark answer as it is written by a student but has grade 9 ideas, context, interpretations, which may help as a source for knowing what a grade 9 essay looks like.
My Last Duchess and Ozymandias In the poems My Last Duchess’ and
‘Ozymandias’, both poems depict a speaker full of self-love and hubris where they
exert control however both portray a mockery of it, as nature and time transcends
human power. My Last Duchess depicts a man speaking about his deceased past
wife whom he preserves via a painting on the wall hidden behind a curtain, as a
possession. Similarly, ‘Ozymandias’ uses art to immortalise their power and wealth,
in which both poets essentially mock the desire for longing power, which both
speakers think will transcend death.
In ‘My Last Duchess’, Browning utilises dramatic monologue, portraying the Duke’s
stream of consciousness as the reader is opened to the Duke’s developing feelings
of pride to anger; the reader is overwhelmed by this long and volatile stream of
emotions. The use of dramatic monologue also signifies the Duke’s domineering
presence as he chooses to soliloquise on his own thoughts only neglecting the
Duchess- female- side of view the reader is exposed to a male-biased narrative
which is reflective of Victorian society, females were politically silenced due to the
Patriarchy, in favour of the male perspective, thus reinforcing that human power is
flawed. Similarly in ‘Ozymandias’ Shelley uses form and structure to suggest human
power is flawed however, Shelley utilises a blend between a Shakespearean and
Petrarchan sonnet form, which is ironic because sonnets often depicted love
therefore perhaps represents tyrants’ love for themselves- their hubris. Furthermore,
Shelley’s use of irregular rhyme schemes such as defeats the traditional sonnet form
enabling Shelley to imply that human power is transient, nothing will remain forever:
not even the traditional form of a sonnet. This is the literary attitude of the new rise of
the romantic poets who defied traditional structures to criticise traditional society
which propagates hubristic tyrants to own control.
In My last duchess, the speaker abuses his power as a result of his insecure and
paranoid nature over the Duchess-emphasised by “her looks went everywhere”;
implying flirtatiousness of Duchess- which culminates him, driving him to eventually
commit murder, implied by the line “I gave commands; then all smiles stopped
altogether”. The use of caesura echoes the abrupt stop to the Duchess’ happiness,
as well emphasizing the violent act committed against the Duchess, however is also
dampened by the euphemistic language to make paint himself less of an antagonist.
Furthermore, the confession to murder insinuates the Duke believes he is above the
law. Browning does this to criticise the aristocracy whom commit immoral acts simply
because they have the power to do so, however sets this in a different country (Italy)
and era to disguise this criticism of society and make it more accepted by readers.
Similarly in ‘Ozymandias’, Shelley portrays Ozymandias as remorseless to those
below him, highlighted by “sneer of cold command”. – Expand on Ozymandias
comparison
Moreover, In ‘My Last Duchess’, Browning conveys male desire and the aristocracy
as toxic and corrupt. Browning discusses how upper-class privileged males are
devoid of moral vision as the Duke believes that his “gift of nine-hundred-years-old
name”-an established name from the aristocracy-should surpass the value of simple
joys around nature thus he is so perplexed at the sight of her “spot of joy” when
receiving “a bough of cherries” or a “white mule” from some exemplifying the
Duchess’ virtue but coincides with highlighting the Duke’s abuse of power. The
aristocracy has conditioned the upper class into thinking the only joy in life is wealth
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