A dramatic monologue is defined as a poem in which a single character is
speaking to a person or persons- usually about an important topic. The purpose
of most dramatic monologues is to provide the reader with an overall or intimate
view of the character’s personality. A great poet can use punctuation and
rhythm to make the poem appear as if it were an actual conversation. Robert
Browning, known as the father of the dramatic monologue, does this in his poem,
“My Last Duchess.” The Duke of Ferrara, the speaker in “My Last
Duchess,” is portrayed as a jealous, arrogant man who is very controlling over
his wife. The Duke of Ferrara was made jealous by everything the duchess did, no
matter how unimportant it was. He was especially jealous of Fra Pandolf, the man
who painted the duchess in the poem. A woman should be pleased only by her
husband, as was not the case with the duchess and Fra Pandolf. She was “too
easily impressed” by the painter (line 23). Fra Pandolf was not the only man
that made the duke jealous. Everyone who passed the duchess received “much the
same smile” as the duke (line 44). The duke expected to be the only man to
receive a smile from his wife. Another aspect of the duke’s character
addressed in the poem is his condescending attitude. Two times in the poem the
duke needlessly told the names of the artists who created the masterpieces that
he owned (lines 3 & 56). He felt superiority over the emissary he was
speaking to by dropping these names. The duke addressed the emissary as a
“never read stranger” (line 6). Not only was it patronizing for the duke to
call him a stranger, but he called him unintelligent too. The third character
trait of the duke is his controlling behavior. In lines nine and ten he told the
emissary that no one “puts by the curtain” that he had drawn for him but the
duke himself. He felt the need to control who ever looked at the painting of the
duchess. The main evidence of his dominating behavior is in line 46. The line
reads, “…then all smiles stopped together.” The line is ambiguous, but the
most likely interpretation is that the duke had his wife killed. The poem can be
interpreted in several different ways, but in all cases the duke is a very
controlling man. Although “My Last Duchess” was set centuries in the past,
lessons can be learned from it and used in today’s society. No single moral
lies beneath the poem but if one had to be found, it would be the golden rule.
Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you. One would surely agree
that the duke gained nothing by being the way he was. Nothing but kindness gets
a person ahead, no matter what society that person is from.