robert browning. my last duchess biographical information mostly educated at home by tutors....
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Robert BrowningRobert Browning
Robert BrowningRobert Browning
My Last Duchess
Biographical InformationBiographical Information
• Mostly educated at home by tutors.• Brilliant, undisciplined, determined to
be like Percy Bysshe Shelley.• Lived at home, supported by parents
until he married at age 34.• 1845 – wrote to Elizabeth Barrett• 1846 – secretly married
Biographical InformationBiographical Information
• Poetry emphasized error, weakness, and viciousness of characters.
• 1861 – wife died; moves back to England with son.
• Known as “the other great Victorian poet”
My Last DuchessMy Last Duchess
Background InformationBackground Information
• Dramatic monologue – speaker who is not the poet addresses the listener who does not speak.
• In this poem, the speaker is negotiating another marriage.
• Speaking to a representative of future wife’s father.
Background InformationBackground Information
• Duke of Ferrara –• Alfonso II (fifth
Duke) Renaissance Nobleman
• 1st wife was 14 – left her for 2 years
• Came back and she died a year later
• It is believed that she was poisoned.
• According to the book, My Last Duchess by Robert Browning is based on
• The narrator of My Last Duchess keeps his wife
• List at least 6 words that best describe the personality of the narrator of My Last Duchess.
• Browning is known for his rich detailing in his poetry. What are some details about the narrator’s life do we learn about from the poem?_
• What did the narrator of the poem accuse the last Duchess of doing? What does he do in response?
• What are at least 3 symbols in My Last Duchess? How are these significant to the poem’s overall theme(s)?