Write about the ways Browning tells the story in 'My Last Duchess'

As the poem progresses so does the speed of the poem to highlight the Duke’s anger; explicated through a more frequent use of punctuation and enjambment, as he builds up to the explanation of the murder of his wife. The Duke tries to justify his actions since he’s talking to a messenger with a marriage proposal, however every justification illustrates his ironical hypocrisy. The Duke tries to suggest how the Duchess provoked his actions as ‘her looks went everywhere’, creating the sense that the Duchess was promiscuous and unfaithful when she ‘thanked men’, here Browning is subtly ambiguous in suggesting the Duchess’ possible infidelity. However when the Duke’s anger over her ignorance to his ‘favour’ of a ‘gift of a nine-hundred-years old name’ is evoked it’s obvious that his jealousy makes him perceive the Duchess’ impersonal love as infidelity. The contrast between the Duke’s ‘favour’ and ‘the bough of cherries’ an ‘officious fool’ gave her, was ignored by the Duchess as both gifts were regarded ‘alike.’ This reveals the jealousy and supercilious nature of the Duke; he does not want to be equal with people who are less than him, broadcasting to the reader why the ‘half flush’, which ends her life, ‘dies along her throat’.

The poem is written entirely in iambic pentameter with regular rhyming couplets, which contributes to the rhythm of the poem and shows the reader that the duke is in control. The questions are all rhetorical to exacerbate the power of the Duke as he’s never interrupted through his speech. The use of enjambment ensures the reader is captivated by putting less emphasis on the rhyme scheme and allowing the poem to sound more like prose; as if the Duke is talking directly to us. Furthermore, the use of enjambment and metaphors brings an artistic touch to the poem which successfully illustrates the poem’s connection to the Renaissance era.

Browning reveals the poem in first person through dramatic monologue which adds a lot to the mood and tone of the poem, for it brings out the immensity of the situation. The Duke is speaking to a messanger carrying a marriage proposal when he says he ‘gave commands’ to have her killed, we see that it is a direct threat to his new wife, which fabricates sinister feelings into the poem. Furthermore the dramatic monologue enhances the Duke’s power as he is effectively talking to a servant. Browning allows our interpretation of the Duke’s character to develop through direct speech. The Duke gives a biased account of the events concerning his relationship in which he remains uncondemed, which makes the reader question his actions and character. The diction utilised by Browning also reveals the aristocracy of the Duke ‘who’d stoop to blame this sort of trifiling?’ as ‘stoop’ suggests that this is something too common for the Duke to do, and it’s repeated use illustrates how highly he thinks of himself and his social status. Browning’s use of words such as ‘munificence’ and ‘warrant’ exemplifies the grandure with which he speaks, which is ironic as the duke himself denounces his  ‘skill in speech.’ This language also links to money as he talks about his new wife, as if his relationships are a business. With this a hatred towards the Duke since it’s clear he values wealth and power above love and morality.

The poem is ingraned with imagery which directly reveal the emotion and sinister aspects of the Duke. ‘The depth and passion of its earnest glance’ highlights a vast amount of emotion that the Duke has towards the Duchess, whilst further showing the Duke’s treatment of his wife as an object since ‘its’ refers to the painting but ‘earnest glance’ describes the Duchess, implying she’s a comodity. This is enhanced when he gloats that the painting is ‘Fra Pandolf by design’, focusing more on the skill of the painter rather than the beauty of his wife or his love of her. Secondly, when the Duke tells the messenger to ‘notice Neptune’ ‘taming a seahorse’, the Duke is mirrored against another dominant male ‘taming’ something beautiful, juxtaposing the Duke’s actions against his wife.