####Carley Rutzen
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That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive.I call
That piece a wonder, now; Fra Pandolf’s hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands.
Will’t please you sit and look at her? I said
“Fra Pandolf” by design, for never read
Strangers like you that pictured countenance,
The depth and passion of its earnest glance,
But to myself they turned (since none puts by
The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)
And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,
How such a glance came there; so, not the first
Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not
Her husband’s presence only, called that spot
Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek; perhaps
Fra Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle laps
Over my lady’s wrist too much,” or “Paint
Must never hope to reproduce the faint
Half-flush that dies along her throat.” Such stuff
Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough
For calling up that spot of joy. She had
A heart—how shall I say?— too soon made glad,
Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er
She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.
Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast,
The dropping of the daylight in the West,
The bough of cherries some officious fool
Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule
She rode with round the terrace—all and each
Would draw from her alike the approving speech,
Or blush, at least. She thanked men—good! but thanked
Somehow—I know not how—as if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame
This sort of trifling? Even had you skill
In speech—which I have not—to make your will
Quite clear to such an one, and say, “Just this
Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,
Or there exceed the mark”—and if she let
Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set
Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse—
E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose
Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,
Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without
Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;
Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands
As if alive. Will’t please you rise? We’ll meet
The company below, then. I repeat,
The Count your master’s known munificence
Is ample warrant that no just pretense
Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;
Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed
At starting, is my object. Nay, we’ll go
Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,
Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,
Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!
Robert Browning was born on May 7th in 1812 in Camberwell. His mother was Evagelical and a pianist. His father had lost his father’s fortune because he was supposed to forsee a sugar plantation, but he was so against slavery that he gave up all of those prospects and became a clerk in the Bank of England.
Browning was home schooled and was an extremely bright child. He loved to read and learned latin, Greek, French and Italian. In 1828, he attended the University of London, but he left to pursue his own readings.
In the 1830s, he tried several times to write for the stage but it never really worked out. Instead, he found his talent for taking a single character and basically creating a dramatic monologue. Then in 1845, he read Elizabeth Barrett’s Poems and was determined to meet her. The two eventually married in September of 1846 and eloped to Italy, even though it was against her father’s wishes. They had a son, Robert “Pen” Browning in 1849, the same year his Collected Poems was published. Robert then published a collection of poems called Men and Women in 1855 that he dedicted to Elizabeth. It is now regarded as one of his best works, but at the time, it received hardly any praise and the author was mainly known as Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s husband, instead of actually Robert Browning. Elizabeth Barrett Browning passed away in 1861.
Browning’s continued to write for twenty years, but most of his acclaimed poems were written in the 60s, after Elizabeth’s death. He had an influence that continued to grow and in 1881, the Browning Society was founded. He died in 1889 and is buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.
Robert Browning is seen by many as Hellenistic because of his committment to the Greek language and the controversy of the Greek that is spoken today. It has also been said that Browning was a Marxist and was pretty loyal to the Soviet Union, even though he only published a couple articles in Russian. There is even more speculation now that the Brownings weren’t even married.
None of that really matters though, because Robert Browning leaves behind legacies in his poetry, with his biggest one being the dramatic monologue within the poems. His characters always sprang to life while you were reading. Another legacy for many modern readers is the use of epiphany and the character’s moment of specific psychological truth. His uses of psychology are surprisingly modern and critical. He also could be seen as a tremendous believer in God, especially when going back to his childhood home, where his mom was a devout Evangelical Chrsitian. Many readers could see his works through that type of lens. Overall though, he will forever be known as a Victorian. Still today, he remains a standard to dramatic poets everywhere.
The characters in My Last Duchess are based on real people. The poem is set in 1564, three years after the Duchess’s death. The narrator is Duke Alfonso II. He ruled in a place in Northern Italy called Ferrara between 1559 and 1597. He was the elder son of Ercole II d’Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne of Brittany. He was married three times. The Duchess was his first wife Lucrezia de’ Medici who died in 1561. She was only 17 years old and they had been married for two years. It is said that Lucrezia died in suspicious circumstances and was possibly poisoned. His second wife was Barbara of Austria. She died in 1572. In 1575, Alfonso married his third and final wife Margherita Gonzaga, who was the niece of his second wife. He had no children. Alfonso II raised Ferrara to its highest glory and favoured the arts and sciences, as the princes of his house had always done.
This poem takes place in renaissance Italy. “One of the fundamental features of the Renaissance was its collection, creation and celebration of objects.”(Possessing the Past). This thought about people during the renaissance could explain a lot behind this poem. The duke has his wife(that he may or may not have killed) painted and hung up on a wall. There is an overwhelming sense of bitterness throughout the poem also. This could suggest that while she was alive, she wasn’t necessarily an object for him to collect and cherish, especially since it’s hinted at that she was too friendly with other men. But, now that she is enternally a painting, he can cherish and celebrate her like he couldn’t when she was alive. It also goes back to the Duke that it is said this is based on. Alfonso II was so interested in art and paintings that he used money form the public treasure to commission his interests.
The House of Medici was also a very important player during the Italian renaissance. It was a political dynasty, banking family and eventually a royal house. They dominated a good part of Italy’s government and were able to bring Florence under their command, which created an environment where art and humanism could thrive.They, along with other families such as the Visconti and Sfroza of Milan and the Este of Ferrara, inspired the birth of the Italian Renaissance. These families are also very important because they show the long lineages during this time in Italy. In the poem, the Duke references his “nine hundred year old name”. These families took great pride in their family names, especially one that was nine hundred years old. The Medici family name lived form the 15th century to the end of the 18th century. The Este of Ferrara, which could be the family Browning references in this poem, was split into two branches. The elder branch (1208-1918) included dukes of Brunwick and many others. The younger branch was from 1240-1796. The Este of Ferrara was around for a very long time, so the Duke saying he had a nine hundred year old name wasn’t too much of an exaggeration.
Feminism was also surprisingly pretty big in renaissance Italy. It was a period when many of the elite women were equal to their male counterparts. It is also said that “they only overstepped the bounds of femininity to to help fathers, uncles, brothers and sons”. This is important to know for reading the poem because it shows that it could be read through a feminist lens. In that case, the Duchess would be an equal to the Duke because they were both elites. She seems to be seen as promiscuous for this time period, which could also be a feminist aspect of the poem, saiyng that she was very open about sex and sexuality.
Overall, there are many aspects of history that are part of the background of this poem. It’s mainly focused of the Italian Renaissance and the pride that comes with a lot of the ruling families. It’s also about art and humanism throughout Italy at this point in history and how important it became. One last side note of history is the touch of feminism throughout My Last Duchess. It is a poem that is very rooted in history, while still being the dramatic monologue that was Browning’s specialty.
Robert Browning’s Last Word Nina Auerbach Victorian Poetry , Vol. 22, No. 2, The Dramatic “I” Poem (Summer, 1984) , pp. 161-173 Published by: West Virginia University Press Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40002964
Robert Browning Judith Herrin Past & Present , No. 156 (Aug., 1997) , pp. 3-6 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/651176
Possessing the Past: The Material World of the Italian Renaissance Paula Findlen The American Historical Review , Vol. 103, No. 1 (Feb., 1998) , pp. 83-114 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association Article DOI: 10.2307/2650776 Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2650776
Engendering Italian Renaissance Art — A Bibliographic Review Evelyn Welch Papers of the British School at Rome , Vol. 68, (2000) , pp. 201-216 Published by: British School at Rome Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40311029
Robert Browning. Poets.org; n.p.; n.d.; web. 20 Feb. 2014
