'My Last Duchess' by Robert Browning - Context and Final Thoughts

Hi,

Lucrezia de' Medici, generally believed to be My Last Duchess

In this post, I'm going to go over a bit of historical context, recap the story of the poem, and discuss the ending, which was rushed at the end of last lesson.

Context:

The speaker is most likely Alfonso II d'Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara (1533–1598), who, at the age of 25, married Lucrezia di Cosimo de' Medici, the 14-year-old daughter of Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Eleonora di Toledo.
 
Lucrezia was not well educated, and the Medicis could be considered "nouveau riche" in comparison to 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 with a sizeable dowry, and the couple married in 1558. He then abandoned her for two years before she died on 21 April 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 sister of the Count of Tyrol, Ferdinand II. The count was in charge of arranging the marriage; the chief of his entourage, Nikolaus Madruz, a native of Innsbruck, was his courier. Madruz 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.

The poem

The poem is set during the late Italian Renaissance. The speaker (presumably the Duke of Ferrara) is giving the emissary of the family of his prospective new wife (presumably a third or fourth since Browning could have easily written 'second' but did not do so) 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 - just as we wanted it. 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. Throughout the whole poem you get the sense that the Duke owns his wife.

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."

Structure - the importance of the ending


In terms of structure, the ending of the poem is vital because we don't realise the true purpose of this meeting until the end. It completely changes the tone and meaning of the entire poem from casual conversation into pointed warning. The words 'looking as if she were alive' at the start now seem like cruel mockery. Here are my notes on the ending:

We learn that the whole conversation about the painting is planned. The Duke is sending a message to the Count's daughter to not make the same mistakes as the last duchess.

It is obvious from this ending that they had previously been discussing the 'object' of this meeting (the daughter) and, perhaps more importantly, the dowry. His point about the dowry here is basically this: Everyone knows the count is rich and generous, so I know you won't mess me about over the large dowry I'll be demanding.

Is the dowry the real 'object' of his desires?

The final image is hugely significant. He killed his wife because he couldn't tame her. He likes to think of himself as having the power of Neptune in the statue.
    
This is a very famous poem which has a long critical history. There's plenty of information about this poem online. Here's GCSE Revision's YouTube translation and analysis of the poem:



This is a great poem to write about in the exam; it compares well to poems such as Ozymandias, The River God, Les Grands Seigneurs etc. However, it is tricky to get your head round at first. Get to know it inside out, and there's a good chance you'll get to use that expertise in the exam.

If you feel like you need more help with this or any other poem, please comment, email or catch me in school.


Mr M