Discuss one of Robert Browning's better known poems, "My Last Duchess."
In this essay, I would like to discuss one of Robert Browning's better known poems, "My Last Duchess." While some readers may be put off by Browning's language which now seems archaic, his poem is every bit as relevant today as when he wrote it almost two hundred years ago. It is as relevant in the twenty first century as it was in the sixteenth century which serves as the setting for the poet's history lesson. The poem focuses on a sixteenth century Italian duke who is regaling his guest with tales of his deceased wife from which the poem's title is derived. The Duke's guest is the envoy of a count whose daughter the Duke intends to make his next duchess. The poem takes the form of a dramatic monologue. Browning was one of the pioneers of the dramatic monologue in which a speaker's character is revealed to an implied audience through his words alone. Through his speech, the Duke is revealed to be a villain lacking remorse who ordered the murder of his former wife because she did not live up to his expectations. That he can allude to his wife's murder with impunity is testimony to the power held by such despots. Of course, he would not be beyond the reach of the law should he confess to the Count's envoy, which explains why the Duke speaks in ambiguities. As the poem begins, the Duke is discussing a portrait of the deceased Duchess with the Count's envoy who is invited to
"when we have finished reading the poem, it is the images of the albatross and the water creatures that remain with us and not the moral message of the work" in response to this comment write about Coleridge(TM)s use of natural imagery in the po
"when we have finished reading the poem, it is the images of the albatross and the water creatures that remain with us and not the moral message of the work" in response to this comment write about Coleridge's use of natural imagery in the poem. you should begin with a detailed analysis of the following extract : lines 277-291 Life in death wins the dice game for the ship's crew and subsequently the two hundred sailors on the boat die. After telling the wedding guest about all the crew dying, he fears that the Mariner is a ghost himself, however the Mariner quickly assures him that he survived, "this body fell not down" almost as if it was a punishment not to die and join his crew. Separation from society, isolation. The moon rises and seems to bring a drastic change with it, a more calming and soothing environment and a one which the Mariner seems to be comfortable in. In the moon lit sea he watches the water snakes and blesses them unaware, resulting in the albatross falling from his neck like lead into the sea. When he shot the albatross it showed a lack of care for nature and it stayed with him as a constant reminder, when he blesses the water creatures and appreciates nature and their vivid colours the albatross falls of his neck and the spell is broken. The fact that he blesses them unaware shows that it's genuine. He perceives the water creatures as being
How far do you agree with Dr Johnson that Miltons work lacks human interest?
How far do you agree with Dr Johnson that Milton's work lacks human interest? Samuel Johnson, or Dr Johnson as he was sometimes referred as, was a great English author who made enduring contributions to English literature. Being such a distinguished and renowned author, his views on literature were and still are today, stern and well-known. However, I have views both agreeing with and opposing Dr Johnson's view that Milton's work lacks human interest. Firstly, human interest strictly speaking, is about everyday people just like us, being able to relate to a story, and possibly learn something from it and put it into practise in our own lives. The epic poem Paradise Lost concerns the Christian story of the Fall of Man, while dealing with more present topics such a marriage and politics. Milton's purpose, as stated in book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men." This is a good base to start my argument on, which is that I do not agree with Dr Johnson, and believe that Milton's work does hold human interest. By involving politics and marriage into his works, this is surely of human interest, as people will be curious and inquisitive about how things worked back then, and it is therefore of human interest if people want to learn about it. Milton states the purpose of his epic poem, and it is obvious that he intended Paradise Lost to educate people about God. If anything,
Satans symbolic meaning in Paradise Lost
Satan's symbolic meaning in Paradise Lost Satan is often called a sympathetic character in Paradise Lost, despite being the source of all evil, and in the first chapter the reader is presented with some of Satan's frustration. Satan tells his army that they were tricked, that it wasn't until they were at battle that God showed the true extent of his almightiness. If they had been shown this force previously, not only would the rebel angels not have declared war on heaven, but Satan, also, would never have presumed that he himself was better than God. Now they have been irreversibly punished for all eternity, but, rather than feel sorry for themselves or repent, Satan pushes his army to be strong, to make "a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." Hell reflecting heaven and, later, earth reflecting both, will be a common theme throughout the work. Satan chooses twelve close friends: all of them drawn from pagan mythology or from foreign kings in the Hebrew Bible: to echo and mimic Christ's twelve apostles. Satan's angels build a large a glorious temple and call a council, both of which will be echoed in heaven. In fact, Satan uses the same architect as heaven, now called Mammon in hell. Many of the structures and symbols are similar. In heaven and hell there is a king and a military hierarchy of angels. In most cases, however, they the reverse of each other. In Book I, we are
'My Last Duchess'
AMDG Andrew Baird L5- 'My Last Duchess' 'My Last Duchess' by Robert Browning is a dramatic monologue in which the Duke of Ferrara is discussing the matter of a dowry with an emissary sent by a Count. The use of dramatic monologue allows the poet to subtly reveal the personality of the persona to the reader. The language used by the speaker allows the poet to evoke strong emotions in the reader, something I intend to prove. The reader is given an early insight into the personality of the Duke in the very first line of the monologue: 'That's my last Duchess painted on the wall' This early impression portrays the Duke as a very sophisticated man with a wealth of knowledge in art. This impression is continued when he mentions the very artist who painted the Duchess, 'Fra Pandolf'. However, even at this early stage there are some hints that the Duke may not be all that he claims to be- the use of the word 'My' is very possessive, perhaps suggesting that the duke sees the Duchess as no more than an object. Furthermore the use of the word 'Last' implies that there have been many Duchesses and that the eponymous individual is just the most recent, suggesting that the Duke may be dishonest. This aspect of the persona's character is confirmed later in the monologue, when the Duke says: 'She liked whate'er she looked on And her looks went everywhere' Here the Duke is challenging
Can the devil be an epic hero? This seems to be the case in John Miltons Paradise Lost
Is satan hero? Can the devil be an epic hero? This seems to be the case in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, the great epic from the English Renaissance. Milton’s Satan is brave, resourceful and powerful and an excellent leader as well. Milton’s introduction of Satan shows the reader how significant Satan is to Paradise Lost. He uses Satan’s heroic qualities to his followers, and his ability to corrupt to show the thin line between good and evil. Satan was one of the highest angels in Heaven, Milton makes the reader see him as a leader and a strong influence to all in his presence. He best describes Satan’s ways when stating, “His pride/ had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host. / Of rebel angels, by whose aspiring/ To set himself in glory above his peers” (Milton Book I). Satan’s pride was the main reason that God banned him from heaven. Some readers consider Satan to be the hero, or protagonist, of the story, because he struggles to overcome his own doubts and weaknesses and accomplishes his goal of corrupting humankind. Satan is far from being the story’s object of admiration. But there are some qualities that make him heroic and intrigued . Satan’s fascination for us is that he is very complex. Heroes are more complex, Aristotle argued, than the classical archetype permits. They are good, appealing people who make mistakes; they are people
Dante's Inferno: Dante As Poet And Character And Application
Dante's Inferno: Dante As Poet And Character And Application Dante Alighieri is an Italian poet who was admired for his profound view of the spiritual and the range of his intellect. He was known for his works such as La Vita Nuova (The New Life), Convivio (Banquet) and De Vulgari Eloquentia (Concerning the Common Speech). The most interesting perhaps is Dante's epic masterpiece, The Divine Comedy, an allegorical narrative, symbolic of a particular fault or virtue and the punishments or rewards imposed on the personas to illustrate a much deeper sense of truth and universality. But most interesting for me is the fact that Dante used himself as the main character of his greatest work thus resulting to a central implication of the Comedy; Dante's involvement in "The Comedy" can be seen in two dimensions, Dante as the Poet and Dante as the Character. What I will attempt to do in this paper is to explain the parallels of these two dimensions to more practical aspects of life and to justify why it was essential that Dante incorporates himself inside the world of The Comedy. Often times, speeches of Dante the poet and Dante the character would coincide but each these two clearly has functions of their own. We would often think that Dante the poet was more of a narrative voice, meaning if the lines push the story forward, then most likely these lines are from Dante the poet such as
How does Pope present 18th century society in Canto I-III?
How does Pope present 18th century society in Canto I-III? Alexander Pope quite clearly conveys 18th century society as quite a trivial, yet majestic place. Pope satirises the high class society throughout Cantos I-III, outlining their conceited and lazy nature to much amusement. We are first introduced to Belinda in Canto I where Pope immediately begins to outline how trivial the high class society of the 18th century really is. Belinda is part of the high class society; therefore we should take Belinda's nature as a symbol of all the women of the high class society. This notion is enforced by the Sylph's insistence of Belinda knowing her "own importance" (Canto I) for this elevates her nature and person above all the women of her society. If the best of the society - the best being Belinda - can have "all the Vision vanish'd from thy head" by a mere "Billet-doux", it is clear that she is quite child-like and trivial in her needs and wants. Moreover, the laziness of the high class society is conveyed through Belinda's waking at midday. Their vanity is conveyed through the description of "toilet" as if she "puts on all its arms". Pope's description of the "toilet" as if Belinda is off to battle satirises high class society because we realise all she is doing is putting on make-up, yet Pope describes it as something honourable, brave and sacred - as . But even this Belinda
Robert Browning - 'The Last Duchess' - 'Write a letter to the count whether or not he should let his daughter marry the Duke'.
RASHID ZAMIR RESPONSE TO LITERATURE- POETRY (PRE-1900) ROBERT BROWNING- 'THE LAST DUCHESS' 'Write a letter to the count whether or not he should let his daughter marry the Duke' Dear Count I have visited the duke at his home and have come to a conclusion. I don't think you should give your daughter to him. When I visited him he sounded happy and joyful. I thought he was a nice guy and a perfect match for your daughter. But all things changed. Whilst touring around his home, he took me downstairs to a dark room. When he turned the lights on, all I saw was loads of amazing pictures surrounding the room. Whilst looking at the pictures one specific picture caught my eye. It was covered in a red distinctive curtain. I wondered what was behind it and before I knew it the duke dragged me across the room towards the painting. He then took off the red curtain and revealed to me a portrait of a beautiful woman. He said 'That's my last duchess painted on the wall, looking as if she was were alive.' When I heard this quote I was quite surprised, because he said that she was looking, as she was alive, which makes me assume that she is dead. I then started to compliment the portrait because the woman was amazing in it, I couldn't get my eyes off it. When the duke saw me staring at the picture he quickly dropped the curtain and started to talk about the artist who painted it. He
"My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning - review.
The first time one reads the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning, one would most likely not understand much of what is being said by the speaker. I, for one, did not. What makes this poem harder to understand at first, is the style it is written in, namely as a monologue. But not just a simple monologue, but a monologue that also incorporates some dialogue, however strange that might seem. As much as I could understand it, the poem is set in renaissance times and incorporates the "Duke" who is the speaker, talking to somebody, possibly an agent who is negotiating a marriage between the Duke and a "Count" whose "fair daughter's self ... / is [his] object". As they sit around a painting of the Duchess, the Duke begins reminiscing about the portrait sessions and telling the person about the "spot / Of joy on the Duchess' cheek", that it was not "her husband's presence only" that called the spot onto her cheek, but "perhaps Fra Pandolf [the painter] chanced to say" something that "Was courtesy, she thought", "For she had a heart ... too soon made glad". From the portrait sessions, the Duke, in what seems like a wave of emotion and rising bitterness moves on to describe the Duchess herself. His reflections give way to a tirade on her 'disgraceful' behaviour. "She liked whate'er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere", this meant that the duchess was susceptible to