‘MY LAST DUCHESS’ BY ROBERT BROWNING AQA ‘POWER AND CONFLICT’ POETRY @SPryke2 ‘MY LAST DUCHESS’ BY ROBERT BROWNING

TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: YOUR STARTER What can we infer about this woman based on the her painting? Who was she? What kind of life has she led? Remember, an INFERENCE is a prediction based on the EVIDENCE you have in front of you. Do not speculate. You must be able to back up your ideas. TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

MY LAST DUCHESS ORACY TASK Consider the title of the poem. What does the adjective ‘last’ imply about this woman? What does the noun ‘Duchess’ suggest about the types of people we will meet in this poem? Does the title confirm any previous inferences you made? TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: ROBERT BROWNING: SUMMARISE INTO FOUR POINTS Robert Browning (1812-1889) was heavily influenced as a youngster by his father's extensive collection of books and art. His father was a bank clerk and collected thousands of books, some of which were hundreds of years old and written in languages such as Greek and Hebrew. By the time he was five, it was said that Browning could already read and write well. He was a big fan of the poet Shelley and asked for all of Shelley's works for his thirteenth birthday. Browning is best known for his use of the dramatic monologue. My Last Duchess is an example of this and it also reflects Browning's love of history and European culture as the story is based on the life of an Italian Duke from the sixteenth century. The narrator of ‘My Last Duchess’ was – in fact - a real historical figure – Alonso the Duke of Ferrera. The Duchess he is looking at is the first of three wives who died after two years of marriage under suspicious circumstances. Her name was Lucrezua de’Medici. TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

MY LAST DUCHESS That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Such stuff 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

MY LAST DUCHESS 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!

READ THE POEM AGAIN Read the poem again in your head. Try and work out what has happened already and what is happening now. Even if you do not understand something, continue reading. By ‘reading around’ something challenging, it is likely you will fill in the gaps through deduction and inference. Make notes if you wish. Be prepared to share some ideas! TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT? The characters mentioned in this poem are based on real life, historical figures. The narrator is Duke Alfonso II who ruled a place in northern Italy called Ferrara between 1559 and 1597. The Duchess of whom he speaks was his first wife, Lucrezia de' Medici who died in 1561 aged 17, only two years after he married her. In real life, Lucrezia died in suspicious circumstances and might have been poisoned. The poem is set in 1564, three years after the death of the Duchess. An emissary (messenger or representative) has been sent to see the Duke from the Count of Tyrol. The Count is the father of the Duke's next wife (he married three times in all). The Duke shows the emissary a picture of his late wife and remarks on her character, suggesting that she was unfaithful to him - and hinting that he might have killed her because of it. During his speech, the Duke makes himself look arrogant, insensitive and selfish. The poem is a dramatic monologue. TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: YOUR TASK Now pick quotations to explain TWO of your choices for the Duke and TWO of your choices for the Duchess. Throughout the poem, two characters are presented to readers: the Duke and the Duchess. Draw a column each for the Duke and the Duchess. Read through the poem again. Look at the words below and write them into your columns. Which words do you think go in each column? cultured happy ruthless generous ruthless naive proud gentle possessive powerful gentle powerless suspicious insensitive TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: ORACY TASK Work in pairs to try and rank the statements. Place the most appropriate at the top and the least appropriate at the bottom. You might decide to give some statements equal weighting. Together, select ten statements that you feel really capture the character of the Duke within the poem. Find a quotation to support each of the ten statements. Team up with another pair. Take it in turns to explain and prove your choices. TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

YOUR TASK: ANSWER EACH QUESTION AS ANNOTATIONS 1. What word class does ‘my’ belong to? Why has the speaker used it? What does it make the Duchess? 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) 2. What can we infer about the Duchess from this line? What can we infer about the painting itself? 3. Why does the Duke mention the artist’s name to the person he is speaking to? What does this suggest about the Duke himself? 4. Do you think this is an odd request? Is there anything sinister or manipulative to be found in this question? 5. The abruptness of ‘I said’ implies the visitor has tried to say something and the Duke has cut him off. Why do you think he does this? 6. The Duke is controlling who looks at the painting. What does this say about him? Why control her in death?

YOUR TASK: ANSWER EACH QUESTION AS ANNOTATIONS 1. ‘Durst’ is another word for ‘dare’. What is the Duke saying here? Who is ‘they’ and what are they scared of? 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.” 2. Who do we hear this question from? 3. What type of behavior does this allude to? What can we infer from this? 4. A ‘mantle’ is a cloak. What is Fra Pandolf saying here? 5. This reference to death is a little out of place. How does it make the reader suspicious?

YOUR TASK: ANSWER EACH QUESTION AS ANNOTATIONS 1. Why do his wife’s blushes bother the Duke? 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 2. What is the Duke saying about the Duchess at this point? 3. What do the dashes tell us about the way the Duke is delivering these lines? How do you think he is feeling at this point? 4. What impression do you have of the Duchess now? How is this different from the beginning? 5. How does the enjambment in these lines reflect the anger the Duke is feeling?

YOUR TASK: ANSWER EACH QUESTION AS ANNOTATIONS 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! 1. How does this line imply that the Duchess has been unfaithful to the Duke? 2. What does this line tell us about the Duke and his nature? Could ‘commands’ be ambiguous? 3. Why have ‘all smiles stopped’? 4. What is the Duke doing here? 5. At this point, the Duke returns his attention to the art he is showing his visitor. Why do you think he does this? What does it suggest about the Duke?

MINI TASKS Complete the mini tasks below as annotations on your poem. STRUCTURE How does Browning use punctuation to mimic unrehearsed speech? Why do you think the poem is written in Iambic Pentameter? What is the effect of the enjambment in the poem? The poems is cyclical in that it starts and ends with a discussion about art. Why do you think this is? The structure, at times, is unpredictable. Why does Browning do this? THEMES Where is the POWER and CONFLICT in this poem? What themes can you identify? How do the Duchess and the Duke’s artwork serve the same purpose? What other poems in the anthology could you link ‘My Last Duchess’ to and why? ‘‘My Last Duchess’ is a commentary on the objectification of women.’ To what extent do you agree? Is Browning promoting jealousy or arguing against it in his poem? Only the artists are given names in the poem. Why? Do you think the Duke has a right to flaunt his arrogance? EXTRA CHALLENGE TODAY’S KEY QUESTIONS: How does the poem, ‘My Last Duchess’, link to the themes of POWER and CONFLICT? How does structure and form help shape the meaning of a poem? What should I be looking for when analysing a poem?

TO CONCLUDE Today, I have learnt... Today, I was successful when...... An impressive comment made by someone in the class was…… The most im-portant thing I have learned today is... Choose a number! Today, I was successful when...... An interesting idea about the poem that I heard today was….. 1 2 3 4 TO CONCLUDE 5 6 7 8 Choose a student to start the plenary. Give him/her a choice of number. Click on the number, and one of the speech bubbles will change colour. The student then reads out the sentence and completes it in an appropriate manner. He/She may then choose who goes next! The hardest thing to understand about the poem was... The activity which most helped my learning was... The most enjoyable activity was...

RESOURCES

Duchess pictures to cut and stick if needed – FOR STARTER ACTIVITY

POEM DICTIONARY Countenance = Face Durst = Dare Mantle = Cloak Bough = Branch Officious = Interfering Forsooth = Indeed Munificence = Generosity Dowry = Money paid to man by a bride’s family when they marry Avowed = Said Neptune = Roman God of the Sea