On how the Duchess actually died. (To correct a slight omission from the lecture) I’ve often thought that there’s a fun level of Sherlock Holmes style deduction we can do on the Duchess’s death here. “There she stands as if alive.” So we know she is now dead. The implication that the Duke has had her killed is as close to absolute as can be made without him actually saying he has killed her, which the Duke himself cannot do. Of course we do not know for sure, specifically, how he has had her killed, but if he has ordered someone to, say, cut her head off straight away or if he has ordered her incarcerated in a dungeon until she died, really what’s the difference? He has still ordered her death. A comment made below here, concerning which mode of killing her would be most likely, that being that he merely had her removed from his home and locked up in a villa or tower where she died of disease or privation, is fair enough, I think. True enough, perhaps this is, “a much more likely thing for a wealthy and evil man of his station to have done to an unwanted wife in the time in which the narrator lived.” But is it more likely for this specific individual in this poem to have done that? We can but speculate. I would deduce that it would be more in keeping with the Duke’s character for her to have been thrown off the castle ramparts or something like that because, for me that would be in tune with the dismissive and absolute nature of the man giving us the information about her. I would predict her death to be caused by something he doesn’t have to know about and doesn’t have to bother himself with. Locked away until she died works too, of course but, and here's my Sherlock Holmesian 'evidence', I can’t see him bothering to wait that long for her to die. Which doesn’t mean someone else might not see her death coming about that way. Speculation on specifically how he had her killed may be rather macabre fun, but I don’t think there’s really enough concrete evidence in the poem for me to be able to know the actual mode of execution, but something swift is what I’d expect of him. In fact, probably because I see “all smiles stopped together” as being something absolute and happening in one moment, if I were looking at this like Sherlock Holmes I’d predict a strangling. Something also perhaps worth mentioning here is the form imitating content possibility in the direct chop between “I gave commands then all smiles stopped together” and, “There she stands as if alive.” I freely admit to being a big fan of the way that something being written imitates and enhances what is being written about . . . but does not the speed between the two statements indicate that the murder was performed swiftly after the instructions were issued? The swift and uncaring movement between the two ideas shows a mind that acts swiftly and uncaringly, making it more likely that she had been killed in a swift and caring way. "I game commands," (quickly), "Then all smiles stopped together, (quickly). I acknowledge reasoning behind this supposition might not be for everyone, but it works for me, I like it, and think it valid. As I say, the way the Duke actually has her killed is an unprovable point, and of small relevance, but not without interest. Take your pick. Hope that helps Andrew Barker.
+mycroftlectures Yes, that's a clever read. The swift dramatic move. I am thinking now of Polanski's Macbeth and the way M. dispensed quickly with on of the murderers he used. Or is it Edward II who throws his son's friend out of the window to his death as he is a 'weakening influence' in the movie, I think it was about Wallace. I have a feeling that all of Browing's monologues need to be acted, as you intimate. There is a TH-cam of a woman reading 'Setebos...' It is good and I played it a number of times but the problem is that it needs perhaps a skilled actor, a very good actor. At the end Caliban is in a panic, but this isn't conveyed so well, and throughout he keeps changing his mood / view of things. The arbitrary seeming nature of Setebos set against 'The Quiet' who seems absolutely indifferent....fascinating. Each reading shows more.
As you say, the actual method of killing must remain in the realm of conjecture, but the "strangling hypothesis" seems to be, to some extent at least, borne out by the words "Paint / Must never hope to reproduce the faint / Half-flush that DIES ALONG THE THROAT". The sudden shift from long, elaborate sentences to the curt factuality of "I gave commands, etc." is a stroke of genius and always gives me the chills. Great analysis (as always), many thanks!
We made a short film about My Last Duchess. Please check it out! Though it may not be good as we were only in high school. Thank you; th-cam.com/video/kHtqp3z-tL8/w-d-xo.html
Making difficult things seem easy for the learners is a fundamental tenet of teaching and you do that well here. Browning though significantly home-educated was a ferociously intelligent autodidact. All of his poetry is worth study not only for its depth but for his control of sound and form. His wife's poetry too.
This wonderful lecture appeared in my feed as if "by design," since "My Last Duchess" has always been one of my favorite poems. Thank you for showing me how Robert Browning manages to create this stunning psychological portrait in such a short piece. He was ahead of his time. (And Dr. Barker has another subscription!).
We made a short film about My Last Duchess. Please check it out! Though it may not be good as we were only in high school. Thank you; th-cam.com/video/kHtqp3z-tL8/w-d-xo.html
I looooove this poem. (Since I was 12. I'm 68 now). ( he) " gave commands. Then smiles stopped altogether. There she stands" Thanx for your lovely talk. BTW my other favorite RB poem is " The Laboratory " In case you're thinking of doing another RB poem.
For the first time last night I looked up TH-cam videos about poetry, and came across yours. I enjoyed it immensely. Seven other poetry videos I turned off after less than 5 minutes, before I stumbled on yours. You restore my faith in English Literature being taught in an academic way, without deconstructionism, or the idea that great poets had/have no idea what they are saying, but it's the Audience that brings meaning to a poem, which is bunk. I have posted before the fact you already know that Elizabeth Barrett Browning got all the acclaim when the couple was alive, but the 20th Century "rediscovered" her husband, Robert Browning, now widely thought the superior poet. What you don't know is my final statement on my posting, saying I did not care much for Elizabeth Barrett Browning- unless she was being quoted by Blanche DuBois.
It's not an easy piece of writing. I would not have got the message without your guidance. I think the most impressive part for me is to realise how powerful a monologue could be, as a poem. The interactivity with the reader is intense because you can easily engage in the poem while imagining the duke speaking. I really like how Browning writes it, making the whole thing story-like, but indeed it's using the method of "showing not telling". Some others may not get the criticism part without analysing it thoroughly.
This is by far the best lecture ever on youtube. Sir you have got the wonderful knack of explaining even the toughest stuff into the most easiest way. Stay blessed! 😍
I enjoyed it a lot, I wish you never stopped making videos this way. The psychopath in this poem reminded me of the psychopathic king in One Thousand and One Nights, by the way.
Many thanks. And I agree. Shahryar doesn't get anywhere near as much bad press as he should, does he? I often get the impression that we are supposed to have some sympathy for him because his first wife ran off, and are supposed to see Scheherazade's relationship with him as one that happily rekindles his trust in woman. The women he has murdered for the first three years, it seems, are supposed to go unnoticed. Needless to say, the slightest bit of what we call "reading against the text" makes this rather difficult to do.
@@mycroftlectures This is JUST a suggestion for sometime in the future in case you have extra time on your hands. You are probably familiar with Rimsky-Korsakov's music Scheherazade- the most sensual reading by conductor Pierre Monteux- but a silent film I taped off TV decades ago I recently saw available again. It is the Silent movie The Thief of Baghdad starring Douglas Fairbanks ( Senior not Junoir) The backround music is an adaptation of Scherazade, and is today considered a landmark, for it's special effects alone.
Really enjoyed it , i played and assimilated the whole lecture while it was raining in India. Thank you so much for this lecture .Sir your simplicity and charm is worth noticing as man of english literature :)
I've wrestled with this poem for 30 plus years, but finally feel as if I have a handle on it, thanks to your lecture. I might argue that the Duke's murder of his wife was a bit more prolonged and subtle. I'd also point out that the woman in the painting shown in this video as being a possible inspiration of the poem wears an expression rather more like contempt than anything 'sexy'. At any rate, absolutely top-notch breakdown and analysis of this amazing work by Browning, who, in my opinion, is without doubt one of the Grand Masters of poetry in English. I might go: Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Browning, Keats (only for his years), and perhaps Tennyson or Blake. IMHO.
Do you like his Victorian hair? I must admit I like his autumn chesnut coloured locks. Those dark tight curled ringlets. His hair would also look good adorned with a laurel wreath, but none of our side stepping does anything for his lecture. But now that you brought up persona, his voice sounds like he came from Norf Lundon??
It's really helpful changing the complex language to simple language. But the changing of "I call that piece a wonder, now" to "It's good innit" was so funny! The English language really is a spectacle.
Isn't youtube great. All those poor sausages slogging away in university and here we are popping on here and viewing content like this as a pleasure as opposed to a workload.
What a wonderful analysis. Thank you so much! In addition, I'm interested in the entire situation of him hanging this picture behind a curtain and controlling its viewing. Not the 'normal' habit of an art connoisseur. Hiding, rather than displaying.
I love the innocence of people who are not Italian lol. Anyone with an italian father and and irish mother wld understand this poem immediately lol. not all italian men are psychotic but they have crippling jealously. especially if their wife is beautiful. my mother looked like catherine denerve when she was young - she's stunning even now in her 70s. people still stare at her - my mom was always polite but i had never seen her act flirtatious - but my dad would go into a jealous rage anytime a man paid attention to her. his family was from northern italy - descendants of french "nobility" and he could not understand why an irish blue collar daughter was not impressed with him lol. i noticed this with other italian men - when they fall in love it infuriates them. like the other Italian men in his family my father became more gentle when he got older and was able to explain this to me❤
This is for the first time that im commenting on a youtube video.... I just love u sir u made really very easy, i wish if u could be my teacher it would be really an honour
Thank You Sir for sharing this excellent lecture so fascinatingly well done line by line. Really it has been a big help for me to get through some of the difficult lines.
The last twist of why duchess' death is amazing to read. Aside from the indifference in the way he talked about her death, the dismissing tone of that line is also chilling. After he spent all that time talking about his last Duchess, or more specifically her smile, he just dismissed the death as if a light trivia. The mention of death is not explicit either, but more aesthetic in the way it seemed there was nothing gruesome nor violent about it. The smile was kept frozen in time, "As if alive", as the way the Duke describes the painting.
This is my very first time listening to Browning. I caught an episode of Little House on the Prairie. One day one of the girls were walking a hill and a boy was reading Browning so they both sat down together. It was nice. I want that
Excellent! I would say the Duke was probably annoyed with his wife maybe even disgusted by her -that smile brings it out; He definitely feels he is better than her due to his status, which giving her a title seeing her unworthy of it -in his mind, eats at him. He can also have a feeling of failure like he picked the wrong woman out of grandeur possibilities. Thanks again for making me think on it.
Hi Dr. Baker, Thank you for this lecture, for it helps me quite understand what the poem is trying to say. A student from a community college in the bay area.
I think 'My favour at her breast,' could well have nothing to do with his prowess as a lover but something he had 'gifted' her. In the Bronzino portrait of Lucrezia di Medici. she's holding a jewel up to her breast. I would argue for this fictional Duke, it would be in character for him to expect his duchess to be a 'backdrop' for his expensive family jewels. Perhaps she's not, in his opinion showing enough appreciation for his gifted jewels anymore than his ancient name.
Extremely interesting and pleasant teaching style. Please do a lecture on John Keats' "Isabella: or the Pot of Basil" and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Thanks a lot for your guidance. It is very helpful for me. Thanks a lot.
Wow I would never sit down and listen for hour long analysis no matter how desperate I am😂 but I loved how he delivered it was really interesting and of course he is handsome haha
I loved this lecture but admit I am somewhat traumatized by the notion that the narrator had his wife killed. I have read and listened to this poem at least 30 times and always assumed "I gave commands" meant he commanded her to mend her ways and thereafter she pined away into an inexorable demise. This is much more ghastly and disturbing. It always bothered me that commands was plural and it makes sense with your interpretation. There is a truly wonderful reading of My Last Duchess by Julian Glover from Six Centuries of Verse I recommend for fans of this poem or verse in general. Can't wait to attend more of your lectures!
I do believe that he did hint to the was he had her killed when he said ''died along her throat''. It shows the death was swift and sleek, and his mention of the throat makes me insist that he had her slain with a sword or blade. The reference to ''the blush'' in the same sentence (where scientifically blushing is the concentration of blood in a specific tissue, that which is blushing) might be a clue thrown by the Duke to the blood that flowed down her neck in the moment of execution, and his belief that it is the happiness leaving her body.
An excellent lecture, and excellent analysis. I disagree with the interpretation that the Duke had his wife killed outright, and prefer the interpretation that he merely had her removed from his home and locked up in a villa or tower where she died of disease or privation.. This strikes me as being a much more likely thing for a wealthy and evil man of his station to have done to an unwanted wife in the time in which the narrator ostensibly lived. In any event, this is one of the great dramatic monologues of the English language, and I love seeing it presented to a wider audience.
When I first read this poem, I was a bit confused because it was a monologue and it was difficult to state which line was his words and what lines were his imagination or his thinking that what other people would say, which I did not quite get the joke or the funny sacrastic ending. at first But after reading it line by line with your help, I finally get it. I believe that what horrible was not the Duke's treatment of his wife but the horrible nature of the aristocracy in the past, which composed and shaped the personality of the Duke. He was an arrgoant and a jealous man and when I read the poem, I would imagine that he was speaking in a cocky way to the messanger. When he was showing the picture of the Dutchess to the messanger, I think that he was like bragging about his beautiful wife that would make his friends and other people jealous. And indeed it would make them jealous because he would often think about how they would have reacted. But the irony is that, it also made him jealous of his friends beause of the way he was treated by his wife which was no different than his friends. He was not crazy that he just killed her because his wife smiled a lot as the poor Dutchess was only a normal and cheerful person. In fact, it is because of the Dutch's pride that he could not take it anymore and eventually have her killed, which led the readers fear for the fate of the Count's daugther. I want to know more about the technique of "showing, and not telling". Is it a matter of perspective that how we interpret the person telling something to us would affected our interpretation of what he was saying?
Excellent lecture, truly demonstrates the magnitude of detail in every line of the poem and of course there"s all the fun with sexy smiles and whatnot.
Wonderful and insightful breakdown of a quite veiled and perhaps intentionally constructed poem. Well done! If you will, think for a moment... Is Mr. Browning confessing to something in metaphors? I find it very interesting, given her demise (relegated to a rather obscure cemetery in Florence with the only inscription: E.B.B.) and his being the pinnacle and ultimate resting place in the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey. Am I the only one detecting the parallel?
In the last stanza, the Duke compare himself with Neptune. Neptune is taming sea horse, as the Duke taming the Duchess. Neptune lower himself to tame the sea horse, however, Duke tamed his wife by cruel destruction. Neptune and Duke both have power, but they present their power differently. So, it is ironic that the Duke compared himself to Neptune. ''Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?'' Maybe in his mind, authority is very important. He desire of authority and high social class. He think he should be the only one who can gain smile from the duchess. That's how he think about 'respect'. Since he lose 'respect' from the duchess, that's why he kill her... It's a chilling story indeed!
I like how eerie the way Browning shows the inhumanity of the Duke via the contrast of his cold-blooded actions and his talkative nature. Although “skill in speech” often associates with sociability and communicative ability, I like how Browning ironically uses monologue points to the underlying criticism of aristocracy’s unwillingness to make contact with the people.
I wondered if the mention of the bronzed Neptune and seahorse was a veiled threat to the messenger, warning him against telling the Count and the daughter about the Duke's murderous tendencies. Such a bronze would be quite heavy, the messenger had just tried to run on ahead and perhaps the Duke had picked it up...
I think that if we were to film the monologue, the actor playing the Duke picking up the statue in a threatening way would be a very nice touch, and completely consistent with the Duke's character, especially as the action would lead on from the "Nay, we'll go together down sir," line. Of course, it's worth pointing out that what we are saying here is that this is nice way to give a associative action to the line in delivery were the poem to be acted, and that we are not saying that the Duke definitely picks up the statue in a threatening way. I only mention this as I've had suggestions about how to act a line occasionally mistaken as definitive interpretations of what the line means. It would be equally possible to act the line as the Duke dismissing the statue as another of his possessions, and I would point out that the actor playing the Duke would actually have to touch the statue for the threatening interpretation to work, so this reading is far more a suggestions for an actor than for a student writing an essay on the poem. A nice suggestion though.
I think the statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse mentioned in the last three lines reveals the duke's huge desire of possessiveness, or the desire to monopolize everything. Neptune taming a sea-horse, as if the duke tries to tame his duchess, shows how the duke attempts to control his wife and make her his possession. The statue cast in bronze seemingly conveys the message that the duke wants everything that are in his possession to be kept forever, and for those that he cannot control do not deserve to exist. So he murdered his wife. The statue of Neptune, the god of the sea, not anything else, seemingly implies the pride of the duke that he even conceives himself as powerful as god, for he believes he should be able to control everything in his will. Such art piece of Neptune intensifies the insanity and irrational possessiveness of the duke.
My Last Duchess is a poem that requires rereading. It is an interesting experience to read between what was told by the Duke at the same time getting to know the Duke’s personality. After listening to the poem from the video, it is noticed that the spoken version of the poem is greatly different from the cleverly enjambed text, in which it offers a new way of understanding the poem. Also, the ending the poem with the art piece created a sense of incompletion. While reading the first sentence: “That's my last Duchess painted on the wall”, it formed a recurrence to the ending.
thank you,Dr Andrew Barker. thank you for giving some example to let me know about Transpositional consideration! and as you say, i can't understand what does this pome means, but you use simple words to explain it one by one,it is very helpfull~
hello good lecturer ,thanks to give your class and even the poem tells about often smile is wrong to women ,i smile by your worthier and smoothest class ,tq and good to see next one
There is some debate as to the degree of the Duke's malevolence. Is he just a haughty aristocrat who sent his former wife to a nunnery over her flirtatious nature; a greedy, manipulative man anxious about securing a sizeable dowry from the father of his future wife? Or is he, as others see him, a psychopathic murderer with an insatiable lust for ownership of all that he desires -- an evil and pernicious narcissist? It has been suggested by some analysts that the Duke must have killed the last Duchess because he twice remarks, "looking as if she were alive". Browning made it clear that it was his intention to have the Duke a murderer, and perhaps he'd have preferred we assume it so for the purposes of the poem. But whether one should be pressed to interpret the poem in the manner it was intended or elect to draw upon history's account of the story, is moot. It would still be reasonable to look at her portrait and comment on her lifelike appearance, were the artist considerably skilled, which we assume Pandolf must have been. Literature, like any art form, should be open to interpretation; one should be free to make one's own conclusions. In the end, the beholder's eye is paramount. Whatever your perspective, "My Last Duchess" certainly has many elements to it which may be construed in various ways. That is why it is such a clever, insightful poem. It is a poem that keeps giving -- the more you read and study it, the more questions arise. This is the hallmark of truly great poetry. Accordingly, anyone has a right to interpret words and phrases in the poem in the manner he or she chooses. Our universe is complex, and science shows us that uncertainties and anomalies are an integral part of its fabric. Each of us is unique in perspective, a factor crucial in our survival and progression as a heterogeneous species. So it is essential that we are not confined in our thinking to rigid evaluation frameworks; an educational system that plies a think-as-I-think model and fosters the notion of an irrefutable academia aids in the demise of our most valuable assets: imagination and intuition. Some claim that the poem is not about the Duke of Ferrara. While it may be apposite in regard to the shaping of an academic study of the poem to not invoke the real Duke, the fact is that Browning was indeed inspired by this very story. In its original publication, the poem was entitled "I. Italy," the companion piece to "II. France" under the general title "Italy and France." "My Last Duchess" (which states the setting as "Ferrara" after the title), is a byproduct of Browning's research for "Sordello", during which he read about Alfonso II d'Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara and patron of the writer Tasso. Staying "inside the poem" is sometimes advised, but who can say for sure what Browning's intentions were or precisely where the seed lay in some of his references? Was he being deliberately ambiguous? Was he leaving room for uncertainty to provoke debate? Did he himself have doubts, as all writers do, about some of the deeper inferences of his words and the ways in which they might be understood. The human mind is mercurial; both writer and reader are capable of ambivalence . Some interpret the "never read strangers like you that pictured countenance...but to myself they turned" line as proof that the Duke had made many other proposals of dowry from a multiplicity of prospective wives; but this is pure speculation. Though we may assume there were others, especially if one chooses to draw upon history's account of Alfonso, the line more likely suggests the Duke's propensity to gloat, at any opportunity and with anyone, over his new-found ability to control his former wife's expression and behaviour. Many see the Duke as a pretentious name-dropper, and that appears to be the case, particularly when he mentions the sculptor -- Claus of Innsbruck -- who cast Neptune taming a seahorse in bronze for him The Duke ensures that the emissary is made well aware of the name in an attempt to further elevate his stature by association. However, earlier in the poem he says "I said Fra Pandolf by design". He stresses "Fra" Pandolf for a different reason: not to name-drop but to make a point of the Duchess's flirtations with the likes of anyone. Fra Pandolf is, we suspect, a very good painter, but he is also a monk, and monks are supposedly celibate. The Duke infers a belief that a virtuous woman would not allow herself to blush in the presence of a man of religion. It's clear that he thinks this is an indication of sexual arousal. Browning uses double-entendre and innuendo quite liberally: "spot of joy", "white mule" and "bough of cherries", suggestive of the Duke's claims of infidelity or, at least, immorality on the part of the Duchess. "Such stuff was courtesy, she thought," he says, "and cause enough for calling up that spot of joy," alluding to his suspicions that the Duchess's take on Fra Pandolf's requests during the painting were misinterpreted. He thinks that she would have taken the painter's comments -- whatever they may have been because the Duke was obviously not present during the sitting (he says, "PERHAPS Fra Pandolf chanced to say") -- as flattery, whereas, as far as the Duke is concerned, the painter would have had nothing other than the most professional of intentions in mind. In a sense, the Duke is trying to ease his conscience, if he has one at all, by telling the emissary about his former wife's indiscretions. He makes her out to be a floozy who could flush with excitement over anything and anyone. At the same time, he gloats over his position and his ability to dispose of her at his whim, sending an unmistakable warning to the emissary (whose job it is to act as a conduit between the two parties) that the next Duchess should behave in accordance with the snobbish requirements of peerage as well as the expectations of a husband prone to jealousy. She should expect neither guidance nor tuition in the matter following the marriage; the Duke has plainly disclosed that he chooses "never to stoop." Browning's intention, it is thought, was to satirise the superciliousness of the elite and, in particular, the attitudes towards women of men of position during his time. He has done an excellent job of that. Furthermore, he has given us insight into the intricacies of power and possession, the subtleties of desire and denial, and the ambiguities of passion and paranoia. This poem is an intriguing psychological study, and the complexities of the human mind validate the position that there is no such animal as a definitive analysis of anything. To claim otherwise is plain arrogance. Footnote: Susanne Langer's "Philosophy in a New Key" discusses two forms of symbolism, the discursive and presentational. The excerpt below highlights their differences and gives insight into the disparity of opinion that abounds in poetry analysis, the general lack of consensus between rational modes of interpretation and more intuitive methods. Quote: "Discursive symbolism is temporal, requiring time to communicate itself through a linear progression of words, controlled by logical, syntactic relations and limited by word denotations. Scientific uses of language are discursive; the words themselves should be transparent, pointing to a precise meaning. There should be no sense of their sound, other possible uses, what they look like on the page, etc. Presentational symbolism is spatial, requiring no time to be grasped as a whole and not subject to the constraints of logic or extrinsic structures. A painting is a good example of presentational symbolism. While language is by nature discursive, all literary uses of language pull toward more presentational forms of symbolic transformation, and poetry is the most directly presentational use of language. Poetry calls attention to the words themselves-their sounds, the rhythms they create, their look and arrangement on the page, their connotations and "emotional baggage," their previous uses in other contexts. In this way, poetry undermines the discursive nature of its medium, language. In fact, a poem demands re-reading, so that individual sections can be understood in the light of an awareness of the whole piece. However, poetry is never purely presentational; its richness and ability to convey both rational and intuitive meanings simultaneously stem from the tension between the discursive and presentational modes. A poem never has a single, definitive meaning, so the key question to ask is not what but rather how a poem means. For this reason, a poem can never be completely translated into another language but must be read in its original form to be fully understood and appreciated."
thank you! for breaking down that long sentence towards the beginning. I've always struggled with syntax, especially this one. I have a question though: what is the meaning of the word "for" in this case? "for never read strangles like you". he said fra pandolf deliberately for the sake of people who have never seen the look, or he said fra pandolf, since/because strangers like him tend to ask him questions. Also how does the conjunctive "and" in "and seemed" work? I've always struggled to work out the grammar of that sentence.
The poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning and the novel "The Vegetarian" both displayed a kind of twisted love relationship, which finally lead to a tragedy. The major narrator, Duke in the poem and Mr. Cheong in Han's novel, showed overwhelming attempt to control over their wives. In the narration of the poem, the Duke does admire the beauty and personality of the Duchess, yet his love to his duchess cannot help reducing his jealousy to all the things that make his wife smile joyfully. The similar style of monologue narration also happens in Mr. Cheong. The strong hatred and misunderstanding also heat up the tension in "The Vegetarian". Mr. Cheong only sees his wife acting odd and against his will. However, Mr. Cheong only keeps his feeling in his heart and recalled through the voice of the narrator. The feelings and suspicion on their wives can be their subjective thoughts, which can barely be argued to trust as a piece of evidence to rationalize their actions done upon their wives, for example, rape, abuse, and even murder. In the comparison of the two pieces of literary work, the characters who are narrating and being described showed the twisted nature of human nature, which nowadays can be classified as different mental illnesses. In “The Vegetarian”, the female character Yeong-Hye has been hospitalized for her madness in becoming a vegetarian was the only character that bears the stigma of “mentally ill”. The same case happens on the Duchess as the Duke regards that she is “too soon to be glad and too easy to impress”, that is not what should a woman behave. However, it is not hard to find that Mr. Cheong’s animal-like sexual desire on raping his wife, and the cruelty of the Duke to murder his own wife, acceptable and normal in any social context. Therefore, the subjective, personal monologue of the Duke and Mr. Cheong, the reader can have their own moral judgment and how the truth does be like in the development of the plot. (ENG3399B-1 MAK Chin Wa, Jamie)
On how the Duchess actually died. (To correct a slight omission from the lecture)
I’ve often thought that there’s a fun level of Sherlock Holmes style deduction we can do on the Duchess’s death here. “There she stands as if alive.” So we know she is now dead. The implication that the Duke has had her killed is as close to absolute as can be made without him actually saying he has killed her, which the Duke himself cannot do. Of course we do not know for sure, specifically, how he has had her killed, but if he has ordered someone to, say, cut her head off straight away or if he has ordered her incarcerated in a dungeon until she died, really what’s the difference? He has still ordered her death.
A comment made below here, concerning which mode of killing her would be most likely, that being that he merely had her removed from his home and locked up in a villa or tower where she died of disease or privation, is fair enough, I think. True enough, perhaps this is, “a much more likely thing for a wealthy and evil man of his station to have done to an unwanted wife in the time in which the narrator lived.” But is it more likely for this specific individual in this poem to have done that? We can but speculate.
I would deduce that it would be more in keeping with the Duke’s character for her to have been thrown off the castle ramparts or something like that because, for me that would be in tune with the dismissive and absolute nature of the man giving us the information about her. I would predict her death to be caused by something he doesn’t have to know about and doesn’t have to bother himself with. Locked away until she died works too, of course but, and here's my Sherlock Holmesian 'evidence', I can’t see him bothering to wait that long for her to die. Which doesn’t mean someone else might not see her death coming about that way.
Speculation on specifically how he had her killed may be rather macabre fun, but I don’t think there’s really enough concrete evidence in the poem for me to be able to know the actual mode of execution, but something swift is what I’d expect of him.
In fact, probably because I see “all smiles stopped together” as being something absolute and happening in one moment, if I were looking at this like Sherlock Holmes I’d predict a strangling.
Something also perhaps worth mentioning here is the form imitating content possibility in the direct chop between
“I gave commands then all smiles stopped together”
and,
“There she stands as if alive.”
I freely admit to being a big fan of the way that something being written imitates and enhances what is being written about . . . but does not the speed between the two statements indicate that the murder was performed swiftly after the instructions were issued? The swift and uncaring movement between the two ideas shows a mind that acts swiftly and uncaringly, making it more likely that she had been killed in a swift and caring way. "I game commands," (quickly), "Then all smiles stopped together, (quickly).
I acknowledge reasoning behind this supposition might not be for everyone, but it works for me, I like it, and think it valid.
As I say, the way the Duke actually has her killed is an unprovable point, and of small relevance, but not without interest. Take your pick.
Hope that helps
Andrew Barker.
+mycroftlectures Yes, that's a clever read. The swift dramatic move. I am thinking now of Polanski's Macbeth and the way M. dispensed quickly with on of the murderers he used. Or is it Edward II who throws his son's friend out of the window to his death as he is a 'weakening influence' in the movie, I think it was about Wallace. I have a feeling that all of Browing's monologues need to be acted, as you intimate. There is a TH-cam of a woman reading 'Setebos...' It is good and I played it a number of times but the problem is that it needs perhaps a skilled actor, a very good actor. At the end Caliban is in a panic, but this isn't conveyed so well, and throughout he keeps changing his mood / view of things. The arbitrary seeming nature of Setebos set against 'The Quiet' who seems absolutely indifferent....fascinating. Each reading shows more.
+mycroftlectures Maybe the piece of evidence we needed in order to prove that she was killed is the actual fact that he is looking for a new "object"?
As you say, the actual method of killing must remain in the realm of conjecture, but the "strangling hypothesis" seems to be, to some extent at least, borne out by the words "Paint / Must never hope to reproduce the faint / Half-flush that DIES ALONG THE THROAT".
The sudden shift from long, elaborate sentences to the curt factuality of "I gave commands, etc." is a stroke of genius and always gives me the chills. Great analysis (as always), many thanks!
sam22 Yes, I think the strangulation hypothesis is a good call.
We made a short film about My Last Duchess. Please check it out! Though it may not be good as we were only in high school. Thank you;
th-cam.com/video/kHtqp3z-tL8/w-d-xo.html
Even as someone who has studied this poem before, I find this lecture is fantastic.
Such a talented teacher ❤
Making difficult things seem easy for the learners is a fundamental tenet of teaching and you do that well here. Browning though significantly home-educated was a ferociously intelligent autodidact. All of his poetry is worth study not only for its depth but for his control of sound and form. His wife's poetry too.
Couldn't agree more. And thanks.
I really enjoyed the lecture. This is probably the best lecture that I have listened to in my life.Thank you.
This wonderful lecture appeared in my feed as if "by design," since "My Last Duchess" has always been one of my favorite poems. Thank you for showing me how Robert Browning manages to create this stunning psychological portrait in such a short piece. He was ahead of his time. (And Dr. Barker has another subscription!).
i love this guy!!! I have always thought that "showing not telling" is a lost art!
Thank you Dr. Barker. I enjoyed your lecture. You made the poem very easy to understand line by line.
We made a short film about My Last Duchess. Please check it out! Though it may not be good as we were only in high school. Thank you;
th-cam.com/video/kHtqp3z-tL8/w-d-xo.html
Thank yo so much! I was blanked when I first read it, but you make it easier only 46:08 mins of listening to you! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
One word for this explanation - genius
I looooove this poem. (Since I was 12. I'm 68 now). ( he) " gave commands. Then smiles stopped altogether. There she stands" Thanx for your lovely talk. BTW my other favorite RB poem is " The Laboratory " In case you're thinking of doing another RB poem.
Perfect way of explaining, I read this poem yesterday and couldn't make any sense out of it not until now. All thanks to this great tutor
For the first time last night I looked up TH-cam videos about poetry, and came across yours. I enjoyed it immensely. Seven other poetry videos I turned off after less than 5 minutes, before I stumbled on yours. You restore my faith in English Literature being taught in an academic way, without deconstructionism, or the idea that great poets had/have no idea what they are saying, but it's the Audience that brings meaning to a poem, which is bunk. I have posted before the fact you already know that Elizabeth Barrett Browning got all the acclaim when the couple was alive, but the 20th Century "rediscovered" her husband, Robert Browning, now widely thought the superior poet. What you don't know is my final statement on my posting, saying I did not care much for Elizabeth Barrett Browning- unless she was being quoted by Blanche DuBois.
It's not an easy piece of writing. I would not have got the message without your guidance. I think the most impressive part for me is to realise how powerful a monologue could be, as a poem. The interactivity with the reader is intense because you can easily engage in the poem while imagining the duke speaking. I really like how Browning writes it, making the whole thing story-like, but indeed it's using the method of "showing not telling". Some others may not get the criticism part without analysing it thoroughly.
This is by far the best lecture ever on youtube. Sir you have got the wonderful knack of explaining even the toughest stuff into the most easiest way. Stay blessed! 😍
I enjoyed it a lot, I wish you never stopped making videos this way. The psychopath in this poem reminded me of the psychopathic king in One Thousand and One Nights, by the way.
Many thanks. And I agree. Shahryar doesn't get anywhere near as much bad press as he should, does he? I often get the impression that we are supposed to have some sympathy for him because his first wife ran off, and are supposed to see Scheherazade's relationship with him as one that happily rekindles his trust in woman. The women he has murdered for the first three years, it seems, are supposed to go unnoticed. Needless to say, the slightest bit of what we call "reading against the text" makes this rather difficult to do.
@@mycroftlectures I stand in agreement! Thank you so much for this insightful reply.
@@mycroftlectures This is JUST a suggestion for sometime in the future in case you have extra time on your hands. You are probably familiar with Rimsky-Korsakov's music Scheherazade- the most sensual reading by conductor Pierre Monteux- but a silent film I taped off TV decades ago I recently saw available again. It is the Silent movie The Thief of Baghdad starring Douglas Fairbanks ( Senior not Junoir) The backround music is an adaptation of Scherazade, and is today considered a landmark, for it's special effects alone.
Thank you very much Sir.
If the Duke was a gifted speaker, You are a gifted lecturer.
Really enjoyed it , i played and assimilated the whole lecture while it was raining in India. Thank you so much for this lecture .Sir your simplicity and charm is worth noticing as man of english literature :)
Sir you are an amazing lecturer !!!! God bless you
I've wrestled with this poem for 30 plus years, but finally feel as if I have a handle on it, thanks to your lecture. I might argue that the Duke's murder of his wife was a bit more prolonged and subtle. I'd also point out that the woman in the painting shown in this video as being a possible inspiration of the poem wears an expression rather more like contempt than anything 'sexy'. At any rate, absolutely top-notch breakdown and analysis of this amazing work by Browning, who, in my opinion, is without doubt one of the Grand Masters of poetry in English. I might go: Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Browning, Keats (only for his years), and perhaps Tennyson or Blake. IMHO.
Daaaaaaaamn the ending though. didn't expect that. loved it
That was a masterful analysis. A very sincere thank you
Wonderful! Crisp and very informative. I shall always remember this poem now. Thank you.
Read this poem dozens of times, and this helps make it much more understandable.
the lecturer has very victorian hair indeed
Do you like his Victorian hair? I must admit I like his autumn chesnut coloured locks. Those dark tight curled ringlets. His hair would also look good adorned with a laurel wreath, but none of our side stepping does anything for his lecture.
But now that you brought up persona, his voice sounds like he came from Norf Lundon??
It's really helpful changing the complex language to simple language. But the changing of "I call that piece a wonder, now" to "It's good innit" was so funny! The English language really is a spectacle.
Best ever lecturer I come across.
Isn't youtube great. All those poor sausages slogging away in university and here we are popping on here and viewing content like this as a pleasure as opposed to a workload.
That was a really fun and enjoyable lecture! you make learning fun, I wish you were my English teacher.
the best lecture out there on this poem. i enjoyed this to a great extent. thank you, sir. any explanation couldn't get better than yours!
HAVE AN EXAM ON 19th C Victorian Poetry and this was AMAZINGGGG
Excellent teaching, great to hear an English accent. Thank G_d for a simple interpretation in plain English
Thank you so much! I was so confused when I first read it, now I understand the poem clearly.
I really enjoyed it too much. That was the very very simple explanation I ever heard. Many thanks.
" A very nice and excellent explanation of the poem". Thank you very much.
Absolutely brilliant. I was riveted from start to finish
The lecturer has an outstanding body and attractive method to understand any difficult things.
You are good!!!!! I literally understand this so much. You just saved a life!!!!
Literally?
What a wonderful analysis. Thank you so much! In addition, I'm interested in the entire situation of him hanging this picture behind a curtain and controlling its viewing. Not the 'normal' habit of an art connoisseur. Hiding, rather than displaying.
I love the innocence of people who are not Italian lol. Anyone with an italian father and and irish mother wld understand this poem immediately lol. not all italian men are psychotic but they have crippling jealously. especially if their wife is beautiful. my mother looked like catherine denerve when she was young - she's stunning even now in her 70s. people still stare at her - my mom was always polite but i had never seen her act flirtatious - but my dad would go into a jealous rage anytime a man paid attention to her. his family was from northern italy - descendants of french "nobility" and he could not understand why an irish blue collar daughter was not impressed with him lol. i noticed this with other italian men - when they fall in love it infuriates them. like the other Italian men in his family my father became more gentle when he got older and was able to explain this to me❤
Really amazing explanation
Thank you so much for this video
I am impressed actually
really helpful, I have enjoyed you're lecture and now the text is clear like water
This is for the first time that im commenting on a youtube video....
I just love u sir u made really very easy, i wish if u could be my teacher it would be really an honour
Really enjoyed your lecture, thank you for your excellent teaching which made me understand the great poem that I never did before, well done 👍
Thank You Sir for sharing this excellent lecture so fascinatingly well done line by line. Really it has been a big help for me to get through some of the difficult lines.
Too good sir your second reading ....enacting of the monologue
This video made me laugh so much! Thank you for making A-Level English Literature fun for me :D
The last twist of why duchess' death is amazing to read. Aside from the indifference in the way he talked about her death, the dismissing tone of that line is also chilling. After he spent all that time talking about his last Duchess, or more specifically her smile, he just dismissed the death as if a light trivia. The mention of death is not explicit either, but more aesthetic in the way it seemed there was nothing gruesome nor violent about it. The smile was kept frozen in time, "As if alive", as the way the Duke describes the painting.
Lovely lecture. Thanks for making it so simple
This is my very first time listening to Browning. I caught an episode of Little House on the Prairie. One day one of the girls were walking a hill and a boy was reading Browning so they both sat down together. It was nice. I want that
Best Lecture I've ever seen!! keep doing good work!! thanks a lot! :)
Excellent! I would say the Duke was probably annoyed with his wife maybe even disgusted by her -that smile brings it out; He definitely feels he is better than her due to his status, which giving her a title seeing her unworthy of it -in his mind, eats at him. He can also have a feeling of failure like he picked the wrong woman out of grandeur possibilities. Thanks again for making me think on it.
I truly enjoyed. I delight in the lectures conducted by this man. Thank you!
Hi Dr. Baker,
Thank you for this lecture, for it helps me quite understand what the poem is trying to say. A student from a community college in the bay area.
Thank you so much for this video - this vid has really helped me understand this poem.
Excellent analysis!!!!!!!!!
You narrated this so good, thank you so much this was so helpful
I think 'My favour at her breast,' could well have nothing to do with his prowess as a lover but something he had 'gifted' her. In the Bronzino portrait of Lucrezia di Medici. she's holding a jewel up to her breast. I would argue for this fictional Duke, it would be in character for him to expect his duchess to be a 'backdrop' for his expensive family jewels. Perhaps she's not, in his opinion showing enough appreciation for his gifted jewels anymore than his ancient name.
yes i agree with u
Very well argued, yes I can see that now
Extremely interesting and pleasant teaching style. Please do a lecture on John Keats' "Isabella: or the Pot of Basil" and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". Thanks a lot for your guidance. It is very helpful for me. Thanks a lot.
Wow I would never sit down and listen for hour long analysis no matter how desperate I am😂 but I loved how he delivered it was really interesting and of course he is handsome haha
Thank you so much, Professor. ❤️
Thank you very much. You are an awesome teacher 😎
I loved this lecture but admit I am somewhat traumatized by the notion that the narrator had his wife killed. I have read and listened to this poem at least 30 times and always assumed "I gave commands" meant he commanded her to mend her ways and thereafter she pined away into an inexorable demise. This is much more ghastly and disturbing. It always bothered me that commands was plural and it makes sense with your interpretation. There is a truly wonderful reading of My Last Duchess by Julian Glover from Six Centuries of Verse I recommend for fans of this poem or verse in general. Can't wait to attend more of your lectures!
I do believe that he did hint to the was he had her killed when he said ''died along her throat''. It shows the death was swift and sleek, and his mention of the throat makes me insist that he had her slain with a sword or blade. The reference to ''the blush'' in the same sentence (where scientifically blushing is the concentration of blood in a specific tissue, that which is blushing) might be a clue thrown by the Duke to the blood that flowed down her neck in the moment of execution, and his belief that it is the happiness leaving her body.
An excellent lecture, and excellent analysis.
I disagree with the interpretation that the Duke had his wife killed outright, and prefer the interpretation that he merely had her removed from his home and locked up in a villa or tower where she died of disease or privation.. This strikes me as being a much more likely thing for a wealthy and evil man of his station to have done to an unwanted wife in the time in which the narrator ostensibly lived.
In any event, this is one of the great dramatic monologues of the English language, and I love seeing it presented to a wider audience.
I use these to teach, an excellent resource
...great explanation, Sir...actually the perfect one...
I really enjoy your Mycroft lectures, would you please do some lectures on contemporary poems?
Thank you. There should be some more coming soon.
Immensely enjoyed the way u taught and learnt a lot
Wow wow wow wow wow!!
Till yesterday I used to loathe this guy..
Now I can't stop myself from admiring his poems 😅
When I first read this poem, I was a bit confused because it was a monologue and it was difficult to state which line was his words and what lines were his imagination or his thinking that what other people would say, which I did not quite get the joke or the funny sacrastic ending. at first But after reading it line by line with your help, I finally get it. I believe that what horrible was not the Duke's treatment of his wife but the horrible nature of the aristocracy in the past, which composed and shaped the personality of the Duke. He was an arrgoant and a jealous man and when I read the poem, I would imagine that he was speaking in a cocky way to the messanger. When he was showing the picture of the Dutchess to the messanger, I think that he was like bragging about his beautiful wife that would make his friends and other people jealous. And indeed it would make them jealous because he would often think about how they would have reacted. But the irony is that, it also made him jealous of his friends beause of the way he was treated by his wife which was no different than his friends. He was not crazy that he just killed her because his wife smiled a lot as the poor Dutchess was only a normal and cheerful person. In fact, it is because of the Dutch's pride that he could not take it anymore and eventually have her killed, which led the readers fear for the fate of the Count's daugther. I want to know more about the technique of "showing, and not telling". Is it a matter of perspective that how we interpret the person telling something to us would affected our interpretation of what he was saying?
amazing work!
i think this is the best lecture i have ever heard in my life
understood word by word
good work!
well done - MANY THANKS
Excellent lecture, truly demonstrates the magnitude of detail in every line of the poem and of course there"s all the fun with sexy smiles and whatnot.
loved the explanation
Wonderful and insightful breakdown of a quite veiled and perhaps intentionally constructed poem. Well done!
If you will, think for a moment... Is Mr. Browning confessing to something in metaphors? I find it very interesting, given her demise (relegated to a rather obscure cemetery in Florence with the only inscription: E.B.B.) and his being the pinnacle and ultimate resting place in the Poets Corner in Westminster Abbey. Am I the only one detecting the parallel?
Thank you so much. Your explanation made it very easy for me to understand this poem.
Amazing! Thank you so much!
very good indeed...
In the last stanza, the Duke compare himself with Neptune. Neptune is taming sea horse, as the Duke taming the Duchess. Neptune lower himself to tame the sea horse, however, Duke tamed his wife by cruel destruction. Neptune and Duke both have power, but they present their power differently. So, it is ironic that the Duke compared himself to Neptune. ''Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?'' Maybe in his mind, authority is very important. He desire of authority and high social class. He think he should be the only one who can gain smile from the duchess. That's how he think about 'respect'. Since he lose 'respect' from the duchess, that's why he kill her... It's a chilling story indeed!
Thank you soo much Dr. Andrew for your lecture... It was really useful to me to know about the poem ❤☺
Excellent! Thank you.
I like how eerie the way Browning shows the inhumanity of the Duke via the contrast of his cold-blooded actions and his talkative nature. Although “skill in speech” often associates with sociability and communicative ability, I like how Browning ironically uses monologue points to the underlying criticism of aristocracy’s unwillingness to make contact with the people.
My favorite poem - after hearing this analysis, among others. :)
I love this! Than you so much for making poetry so fun :)
I wondered if the mention of the bronzed Neptune and seahorse was a veiled threat to the messenger, warning him against telling the Count and the daughter about the Duke's murderous tendencies. Such a bronze would be quite heavy, the messenger had just tried to run on ahead and perhaps the Duke had picked it up...
I think that if we were to film the monologue, the actor playing the Duke picking up the statue in a threatening way would be a very nice touch, and completely consistent with the Duke's character, especially as the action would lead on from the "Nay, we'll go together down sir," line. Of course, it's worth pointing out that what we are saying here is that this is nice way to give a associative action to the line in delivery were the poem to be acted, and that we are not saying that the Duke definitely picks up the statue in a threatening way. I only mention this as I've had suggestions about how to act a line occasionally mistaken as definitive interpretations of what the line means. It would be equally possible to act the line as the Duke dismissing the statue as another of his possessions, and I would point out that the actor playing the Duke would actually have to touch the statue for the threatening interpretation to work, so this reading is far more a suggestions for an actor than for a student writing an essay on the poem. A nice suggestion though.
Sir you all time favourite sir.. oh your pronunciation!!!
I think the statue of Neptune taming a sea-horse mentioned in the last three lines reveals the duke's huge desire of possessiveness, or the desire to monopolize everything. Neptune taming a sea-horse, as if the duke tries to tame his duchess, shows how the duke attempts to control his wife and make her his possession. The statue cast in bronze seemingly conveys the message that the duke wants everything that are in his possession to be kept forever, and for those that he cannot control do not deserve to exist. So he murdered his wife. The statue of Neptune, the god of the sea, not anything else, seemingly implies the pride of the duke that he even conceives himself as powerful as god, for he believes he should be able to control everything in his will. Such art piece of Neptune intensifies the insanity and irrational possessiveness of the duke.
My Last Duchess is a poem that requires rereading. It is an interesting experience to read between what was told by the Duke at the same time getting to know the Duke’s personality. After listening to the poem from the video, it is noticed that the spoken version of the poem is greatly different from the cleverly enjambed text, in which it offers a new way of understanding the poem. Also, the ending the poem with the art piece created a sense of incompletion. While reading the first sentence: “That's my last Duchess painted on the wall”, it formed a recurrence to the ending.
Very great conclusion .
thank you,Dr Andrew Barker. thank you for giving some example to let me know about Transpositional consideration! and as you say, i can't understand what does this pome means, but you use simple words to explain it one by one,it is very helpfull~
we call showing not telling~
hello good lecturer ,thanks to give your class and even the poem tells about often smile is wrong to women ,i smile by your worthier and smoothest class ,tq and good to see next one
There is some debate as to the degree of the Duke's malevolence. Is he just a haughty aristocrat who sent his former wife to a nunnery over her flirtatious nature; a greedy, manipulative man anxious about securing a sizeable dowry from the father of his future wife? Or is he, as others see him, a psychopathic murderer with an insatiable lust for ownership of all that he desires -- an evil and pernicious narcissist?
It has been suggested by some analysts that the Duke must have killed the last Duchess because he twice remarks, "looking as if she were alive". Browning made it clear that it was his intention to have the Duke a murderer, and perhaps he'd have preferred we assume it so for the purposes of the poem. But whether one should be pressed to interpret the poem in the manner it was intended or elect to draw upon history's account of the story, is moot. It would still be reasonable to look at her portrait and comment on her lifelike appearance, were the artist considerably skilled, which we assume Pandolf must have been. Literature, like any art form, should be open to interpretation; one should be free to make one's own conclusions. In the end, the beholder's eye is paramount. Whatever your perspective, "My Last Duchess" certainly has many elements to it which may be construed in various ways. That is why it is such a clever, insightful poem. It is a poem that keeps giving -- the more you read and study it, the more questions arise. This is the hallmark of truly great poetry.
Accordingly, anyone has a right to interpret words and phrases in the poem in the manner he or she chooses. Our universe is complex, and science shows us that uncertainties and anomalies are an integral part of its fabric. Each of us is unique in perspective, a factor crucial in our survival and progression as a heterogeneous species. So it is essential that we are not confined in our thinking to rigid evaluation frameworks; an educational system that plies a think-as-I-think model and fosters the notion of an irrefutable academia aids in the demise of our most valuable assets: imagination and intuition.
Some claim that the poem is not about the Duke of Ferrara. While it may be apposite in regard to the shaping of an academic study of the poem to not invoke the real Duke, the fact is that Browning was indeed inspired by this very story. In its original publication, the poem was entitled "I. Italy," the companion piece to "II. France" under the general title "Italy and France." "My Last Duchess" (which states the setting as "Ferrara" after the title), is a byproduct of Browning's research for "Sordello", during which he read about Alfonso II d'Este, the fifth Duke of Ferrara and patron of the writer Tasso.
Staying "inside the poem" is sometimes advised, but who can say for sure what Browning's intentions were or precisely where the seed lay in some of his references? Was he being deliberately ambiguous? Was he leaving room for uncertainty to provoke debate? Did he himself have doubts, as all writers do, about some of the deeper inferences of his words and the ways in which they might be understood. The human mind is mercurial; both writer and reader are capable of ambivalence .
Some interpret the "never read strangers like you that pictured countenance...but to myself they turned" line as proof that the Duke had made many other proposals of dowry from a multiplicity of prospective wives; but this is pure speculation. Though we may assume there were others, especially if one chooses to draw upon history's account of Alfonso, the line more likely suggests the Duke's propensity to gloat, at any opportunity and with anyone, over his new-found ability to control his former wife's expression and behaviour.
Many see the Duke as a pretentious name-dropper, and that appears to be the case, particularly when he mentions the sculptor -- Claus of Innsbruck -- who cast Neptune taming a seahorse in bronze for him The Duke ensures that the emissary is made well aware of the name in an attempt to further elevate his stature by association. However, earlier in the poem he says "I said Fra Pandolf by design". He stresses "Fra" Pandolf for a different reason: not to name-drop but to make a point of the Duchess's flirtations with the likes of anyone. Fra Pandolf is, we suspect, a very good painter, but he is also a monk, and monks are supposedly celibate. The Duke infers a belief that a virtuous woman would not allow herself to blush in the presence of a man of religion. It's clear that he thinks this is an indication of sexual arousal.
Browning uses double-entendre and innuendo quite liberally: "spot of joy", "white mule" and "bough of cherries", suggestive of the Duke's claims of infidelity or, at least, immorality on the part of the Duchess. "Such stuff was courtesy, she thought," he says, "and cause enough for calling up that spot of joy," alluding to his suspicions that the Duchess's take on Fra Pandolf's requests during the painting were misinterpreted. He thinks that she would have taken the painter's comments -- whatever they may have been because the Duke was obviously not present during the sitting (he says, "PERHAPS Fra Pandolf chanced to say") -- as flattery, whereas, as far as the Duke is concerned, the painter would have had nothing other than the most professional of intentions in mind.
In a sense, the Duke is trying to ease his conscience, if he has one at all, by telling the emissary about his former wife's indiscretions. He makes her out to be a floozy who could flush with excitement over anything and anyone. At the same time, he gloats over his position and his ability to dispose of her at his whim, sending an unmistakable warning to the emissary (whose job it is to act as a conduit between the two parties) that the next Duchess should behave in accordance with the snobbish requirements of peerage as well as the expectations of a husband prone to jealousy. She should expect neither guidance nor tuition in the matter following the marriage; the Duke has plainly disclosed that he chooses "never to stoop."
Browning's intention, it is thought, was to satirise the superciliousness of the elite and, in particular, the attitudes towards women of men of position during his time. He has done an excellent job of that. Furthermore, he has given us insight into the intricacies of power and possession, the subtleties of desire and denial, and the ambiguities of passion and paranoia. This poem is an intriguing psychological study, and the complexities of the human mind validate the position that there is no such animal as a definitive analysis of anything. To claim otherwise is plain arrogance.
Footnote: Susanne Langer's "Philosophy in a New Key" discusses two forms of symbolism, the discursive and presentational. The excerpt below highlights their differences and gives insight into the disparity of opinion that abounds in poetry analysis, the general lack of consensus between rational modes of interpretation and more intuitive methods.
Quote: "Discursive symbolism is temporal, requiring time to communicate itself through a linear progression of words, controlled by logical, syntactic relations and limited by word denotations. Scientific uses of language are discursive; the words themselves should be transparent, pointing to a precise meaning. There should be no sense of their sound, other possible uses, what they look like on the page, etc.
Presentational symbolism is spatial, requiring no time to be grasped as a whole and not subject to the constraints of logic or extrinsic structures. A painting is a good example of presentational symbolism. While language is by nature discursive, all literary uses of language pull toward more presentational forms of symbolic transformation, and poetry is the most directly presentational use of language. Poetry calls attention to the words themselves-their sounds, the rhythms they create, their look and arrangement on the page, their connotations and "emotional baggage," their previous uses in other contexts.
In this way, poetry undermines the discursive nature of its medium, language. In fact, a poem demands re-reading, so that individual sections can be understood in the light of an awareness of the whole piece. However, poetry is never purely presentational; its richness and ability to convey both rational and intuitive meanings simultaneously stem from the tension between the discursive and presentational modes. A poem never has a single, definitive meaning, so the key question to ask is not what but rather how a poem means. For this reason, a poem can never be completely translated into another language but must be read in its original form to be fully understood and appreciated."
Brilliant!
Amazing amazing lecture, loved it so much!!!!! THANK YOU❤❤❤❤
I have an old encyclopedia from the 1950s that introduces Robert Browning with the title: "The Hardest Poet to Understand".
omg no way can i borrow some time???
very good I understood it easily sir plzzz make other videos of poems like Ulysses and oh my blindness and silken tent
Is was a good and lively reading of the poem.
thank you! for breaking down that long sentence towards the beginning. I've always struggled with syntax, especially this one. I have a question though: what is the meaning of the word "for" in this case? "for never read strangles like you". he said fra pandolf deliberately for the sake of people who have never seen the look, or he said fra pandolf, since/because strangers like him tend to ask him questions. Also how does the conjunctive "and" in "and seemed" work? I've always struggled to work out the grammar of that sentence.
The best poem...ever? Sorry, I am just such a big fan. :)
The poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning and the novel "The Vegetarian" both displayed a kind of twisted love relationship, which finally lead to a tragedy. The major narrator, Duke in the poem and Mr. Cheong in Han's novel, showed overwhelming attempt to control over their wives. In the narration of the poem, the Duke does admire the beauty and personality of the Duchess, yet his love to his duchess cannot help reducing his jealousy to all the things that make his wife smile joyfully. The similar style of monologue narration also happens in Mr. Cheong. The strong hatred and misunderstanding also heat up the tension in "The Vegetarian". Mr. Cheong only sees his wife acting odd and against his will. However, Mr. Cheong only keeps his feeling in his heart and recalled through the voice of the narrator. The feelings and suspicion on their wives can be their subjective thoughts, which can barely be argued to trust as a piece of evidence to rationalize their actions done upon their wives, for example, rape, abuse, and even murder.
In the comparison of the two pieces of literary work, the characters who are narrating and being described showed the twisted nature of human nature, which nowadays can be classified as different mental illnesses. In “The Vegetarian”, the female character Yeong-Hye has been hospitalized for her madness in becoming a vegetarian was the only character that bears the stigma of “mentally ill”. The same case happens on the Duchess as the Duke regards that she is “too soon to be glad and too easy to impress”, that is not what should a woman behave. However, it is not hard to find that Mr. Cheong’s animal-like sexual desire on raping his wife, and the cruelty of the Duke to murder his own wife, acceptable and normal in any social context. Therefore, the subjective, personal monologue of the Duke and Mr. Cheong, the reader can have their own moral judgment and how the truth does be like in the development of the plot.
(ENG3399B-1 MAK Chin Wa, Jamie)