Write about and compare the jealous Duke in Browning's 'My Last Duchess' and the female killer in 'The Laboratory'. Then compare 'Education for Leisure' by Carol Ann Duffy with Armitage's 'Hitcher'

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Write about and compare the jealous Duke in Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’ and the female killer in ‘The Laboratory’. Then compare ‘Education for Leisure’ by Carol Ann Duffy with Armitage’s ‘Hitcher’

Browning’s poems ‘My Last Duchess’ and ‘The Laboratory’ both deal with jealous killers. I will examine the characters in both of these poems and note the similarities and differences between them.

Duffy’s ‘Education for Leisure’ and Armitage’s ‘Hitcher’ both have people who are driven to kill because of boredom. I will also look closely at both of these poems and compare them.

This makes and assumption that Frà Pandolf compliments “called that spot of joy”.

He is irritated about the fact the she is pleases with everything that

She had a heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad, too easily impressed.

He disapproves of how she ranked everything equally,

Sir ‘twas all one! My favour at her breast, the dropping of daylight in the west, the bough of cherries some officious fool broke in the orchard for her, the white mule she rode with around the terrace.

You could not distinguish if she was pleased with one thing more than another. He expects her to be more grateful with his gift rather than nature’s gifts.

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He has a strong dislike for the men who flirted with her, he refers to one of them as an ‘officious fool’

He is particularly annoyed that she was equally impressed with his status as with any other gift.

Somehow - I know not how – as if she ranked my gift of a nine-hundred-year-old name with anybody’s gift.

He expects her to appreciate his nine-hundred-year-old name, as to him it is a more valuable gift compared to any other. This also emphasises his pride by the mentioning of his nine-hundred-year-old family name.

The poem does not directly say he ...

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