Categories: Education

An Explanation of “My Last Duchess,” a Robert Browning Poem

“My Last Duchess” is not an easy poem to understand. This is partly because it was written in the 16th century, but mostly because Browning intentionally makes the speaker cryptic. In order to better understand what is going on in the poem, take a look at the summary and notes on the form and tone of the poem.

Summary: In “My Last Duchess” the 16^th century speaker tells of his late wife and the affection she showed other men. It is suggested that this affection causes the speaker to kill her. The poem begins with discussion of the speakers wife. It is clear the speaker is talking about his late wife as he begins the poem with ‘That’s my last Duchess pained on the wall” (1) and continues to talk about the women in the paining for most of the poem. He subtly hints that she looks at other men as he talks about the joyous look on her face in the painting, a look that was meant for the painter and not for him. He also references how “her looks went everywhere” (24). These hints of at her flirting paint a picture of a women straying.

However, it is clear that the speaker does not know if any real infidelity happened, as he says ” She thanked men,-good! but thanked / Somehow-I know not how” (31-32). The last portion, “I know not how” implies that the speaker is not actually sure if she cheated.

T he speaker meets the situation with controlling anger. The speaker mentions that if he were to stoop to chastising his late wife, he would have said ” that in you disgusts me” (38). This strong language suggests that her actions seriously upset him. However, this upset stems from wounded pride, not from wounded love. The speaker’s pride is clearly the main focus in lines like “as if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody’s gift” (32-34). These ideas make it clear that the speaker feels himself a valuable partner, and was wounded by the fact that his wife did not appreciate that. He is suffering not because he loved her dearly, but because she insulted his standing.

Form: Browning’s poem is written with senseless line breaks. This creates a feeling of disorder that lends itself to the idea that these are not thought out poems in perfect form, but rather an outpouring of emotion.

Tone: There is a very cold tone throughout the entire poem. The speaker discusses his past wife with detachment and treats his search for a new wife like a contest.