Robert Browning
Life
He was born in Camberwell; his father was a bank clerk. Browning received no formal education. He travelled to Italy, and on his return, Browning wrote Sordello. Then he wrote a number of short pamphlets that helped make Browning more popular.
Browning influenced the English poetry of the twentieth century. His most famous work is My Last Duchess. This work is very important in English poetry because it is one of the first examples of Dramatic Monologue. A dramatic monologue is a monologue that has a dialogic quality, and in which a character speaks to another person; this person is a silent listener, that is to say, does not reply.
In the poetry of the twentieth century, the majority of poets use the dramatic monologue, and Browning introduced it more than fifty years before. He is an innovator, that is to say, he is the first writer who detaches himself in a very drastic way from the romantic tradition.
My Last Duchess
First of all, the setting of this dramatic monologue is the castle of Alfonso II d’Este, the Duke of Ferrara, a powerful Italian nobleman of the Renaissance. The duke is showing a portrait of his first wife to an ambassador, sent to arrange the details of a second marriage. The true character of the duke emerges through the description that he gives of his ex-wife.
We have a narrator in the first person, that is the duke, but he is not Browning. In fact, it seems that they are the same person, but it is not so. In fact, there is the capacity of the writer to enter the mentality of his character.
The duke has a tyrannical mentality; it is a kind of dictatorship not only in social and political fields but also in the sentimental field. His last duchess liked the attentions of others, and because he was jealous, he probably ordered her murder. In fact, we understand that his wife is dead thanks to the second conditional, which indicates an assumption contrary to the facts, and because the Duke is showing the picture of his wife to the ambassador.
The final message of the poem is simple: he wants to underline that powerful persons do bad actions without dirtying their hands; in fact, they order others to do them. Browning takes the Renaissance as a model. Also, the Duke shows the ambassador the statue of Neptune, which indicates his power, selfishness and possession: as Neptune rules the sea’s creatures, the Duke dominates his subjects.
Definitions
A monologue is a speech made by a single character.
The interior monologue is a technique in which a character speaks alone to himself.
In theatre, the interior monologue is called soliloquy, that is to say, when the character recites in a loud voice.
3. Robert Browning
Life
He was born in Camberwell; his father was a bank clerk. Browning received no formal education. He traveled to Italy, and on his return, Browning wrote Sordello. Then he wrote a number of short pamphlets that helped make Browning more popular.
Browning influenced the English poetry of the twentieth century. His most famous work is My Last Duchess. This work is very important in English poetry because it is one of the first examples of Dramatic Monologue. A dramatic monologue is a monologue that has a dialogic quality and in which a character speaks to another person; this person is a silent listener, that is to say, does not reply.
In the poetry of the twentieth century, the majority of poets use the dramatic monologue and Browning introduced it more than fifty years before; he is an innovator, that is to say, he is the first writer who detaches himself in a very drastic way from romantic tradition.
My Last Duchess
First of all, the setting of this dramatic novel is the castle of Alfonso II Este, the Duke of Ferrara, a powerful Italian nobleman of the Renaissance. The duke is showing a portrait of his first wife to the ambassador, sent to arrange the details of a second marriage. The true character of the duke emerges through the description that he gives of his ex-wife.
We have a narrator in the first person who is the duke, but is not Browning; in fact, it seems that they are the same person, but it is not so. In fact, there is the capacity of the writer to come into the mentality of his character.
The duke has a tyrannical mentality; it is a kind of dictatorship not only in social and political fields but also in the sentimental field. His last duchess liked the attentions of others, and because he was jealous, he probably ordered her murder. In fact, we understand his wife is dead thanks to the second type conditional, which indicates an assumption contrary to the facts, and because the Duke is showing the picture of his wife to the ambassador.
The final message of the poem is simple: he wants to underline that strong persons do bad actions without dirtying their hands; in fact, they order others to do them. Browning takes the Renaissance as a model. Also, the Duke shows the ambassador the statue of Neptune, which indicates his power, selfishness and possession: as Neptune rules the sea’s creatures, the Duke dominates his subjects.
Definitions
A Monologue is a speech made by a single character. The interior monologue is a technique in which a character speaks alone to himself. In theater, the interior monologue is called Soliloquy, that is to say, when the character recites in a loud voice.
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