Who Was "My Last Duchess"? -- Beyond Literature
Friday March 11, 2005
"My Last Duchess" is one of the most famous (and most anthologized) works by Robert Browning. But what is it about? Who is the last duchess, and why does her presence in this poem spark our imaginations? She may be dead, after all...
Historically, we know that the events in Browning's poem parallel actual events. Alfonso II d'Este was the duke of Ferrara, in Northern Italy, and he married the daughter of Cosimo I de'Medici, duke of Florence, in 1558. His wife, Lucrezia, was 14 at the time of their marriage; but she met an untimely end at the age of 17--under suspicious circumstances. These historical events are the basis of Robert Browning's poem, but he also captured a moment in time--imagined... There, the Duke stands on the staircase with the agent of his next wife-to-be. He speaks of his former wife, who is gone. We can only imagine what happened to his first wife. Perhaps he killed his "last duchess." And, with such a history, what will become of his next duchess? Will she be tamed like Neptune's sea horses, or will she meet the same mysterious fate as the Duke's last duchess? Read on:
Historically, we know that the events in Browning's poem parallel actual events. Alfonso II d'Este was the duke of Ferrara, in Northern Italy, and he married the daughter of Cosimo I de'Medici, duke of Florence, in 1558. His wife, Lucrezia, was 14 at the time of their marriage; but she met an untimely end at the age of 17--under suspicious circumstances. These historical events are the basis of Robert Browning's poem, but he also captured a moment in time--imagined... There, the Duke stands on the staircase with the agent of his next wife-to-be. He speaks of his former wife, who is gone. We can only imagine what happened to his first wife. Perhaps he killed his "last duchess." And, with such a history, what will become of his next duchess? Will she be tamed like Neptune's sea horses, or will she meet the same mysterious fate as the Duke's last duchess? Read on:
- My Last Duchess Quiz
- My Last Duchess - Robert Browning
- The Flight of the Duchess - Robert Browning
- Collected Works - Robert Browning
- Books About "My Last Duchess"
- About My Last Duchess
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