Thesis: The Duke of Ferrara, the speaker is a jealous, arrogant and hypocrite man who was very controlling over his dead wife.
I. The Duke's desire of control is displayed with each one of his actions.
A. He shows off the portrait of his dead wife.
B. He monopolizes his conversation with the envoy.
C. He tells the envoy when to sit and when to rise.
II. There is an irony in the control the Duke wants to impose over other people. He really does not have much control.
A. He could not control his wife's smiles.
B. He cannot control what the envoy will inform the count.
III. Arrogance is manifested by the Duke.
The Duke of "My Last Duchess".
Murder, arrogance, hypocrisy, jealously and possessiveness are some of the main themes we can find in "My Last Duchess". Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess," features a sixteenth century Duke engaged in dialogue with an arbiter of a Count. "My last Duchess" is spoken from the perspective of the Duke and conveys the Duke's personality through the literary form of a dramatic monologue. The subtitle of "My Last Duchess" is "Ferrara", which makes a historical reference to the Duke of Ferrara. "The poem, "My Last Duchess" is based on incidents in the life of Alfonso II, duke of Ferrara in Italy"(Lombardy). According to Hecimovich "the situation is take [sic] from the life of an actual sixteenth-century, but Browning has imagined the specific incident". The Duke of Ferrara, the speaker is a jealous, arrogant and hypocrite man who was very controlling over his dead wife. By talking about his previous wife, the Duke shows of his power and the requirements his next wife should meet. His diction reveals his personality very clearly.
The poem begins with the Duke pointing at the painting on the wall that portrays his last duchess. The reader is directed to imagine the Duke walking with the count's agent through his art gallery and the Duke stops to show him a painting of his last Duchess that is presently covered by a curtain.
