Compare and Contrast Robert Browning's Dramatic Monologues,

In "My Last Duchess" the speaker was the 'Duke of Ferrara' and he was speaking to the Envoy (messenger) who is the silent listener, also "The Laboratory" has a silent listener 'The Chemist (Apothecary)' and the speaker is a mystery women. Both monologues have something in common, the speaker never interrupts.

"My Last Duchess" is not about the Duchess but the Duke who is telling you of his late wife (Duchess). On the other hand in "The Laboratory you do find out about the title and not about the speaker.

"My Last Duchess" is written as a story with one stanza, doing this 'The Duke' does not expect to be interrupted. While "The Laboratory" has twelve stanzas, these are used to portray the speaker's intension to kill the other women and to build up to the murder.

Rhyming couplets are used in both monologues, they both also have iambic pentameter which means in each line there is five stressed syllables and five unstressed syllables.

Robert Browning has also made a point of using enjambment which means each line carries onto the next line.

The themes in "The Laboratory" are jealousy, love, hate and death. "My Last Duchess" has the themes love, death, mastery and control.

The idea of death being a theme in both monologues is, "The Laboratory" someone is going to be killed however in "My Last Duchess" the theme has already happened.

Love is also a theme in both monologues, "The Laboratory" the anonymous women (speaker) is willing to poison / kill in order to get the man she wants / loves. "My Last Duchess" also has love coming from the speaker but he loves someone he has lost (Duchess), not loving someone he is trying to get.

The language in both monologues is written with historical terms and has used alliteration which gives you the felling the action really is happening, In "The Laboratory" has rhyming alliteration e.g. "Pound thy Paste" this gives the feeling they are really making the poison. "The Laboratory" is different as it repeats things to emphasize more important details.

"My Last Duchess" also use alliteration to give you the feeling the 'Duke' had control over the 'Duchess', e.g. But to myself they turned (since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I).

In conclusion both monologues are written in the same way. They both use to good affect rhyming couplets; alliteration; enjambment and both have a silent listener.

Both monologues have the speaker wanting to offload their guilt.

Gareth Holvey

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