In
the first 21 lines of the poem, My Last Duchess, a dramatic monologue in the
Renaissance period, Robert Browning portrays the duke as a jealous, arrogant,
self-centered, obsessive, over domineering, abusive, and manipulative
psychopath. Through his description in lines 1–21 of the poem, Browning
displays the Duke as a heartless villain.
One
example is "that's my last duchess painted on the wall" --- This objectifying
line displays both the duke's selfishness and egotism. "My" shows
that the Duke thinks that he owns the Duchess as some sort of object. His
materialism is also presented in this line as he is proud and boastful of his possession.
Furthermore,
the duke is a symbol of jealousy. In lines such as "strangers like you
that pictured countenance" and "'twas not her husband's
presence only, called that spot of joy into the duchess' cheek", it is
clearly evident that the Duke is jealous of any attention his wife shows to others
(even if not romantic or flirtatious). He’s especially jealous of every smile she
gives to anyone, even if she's only being nice. He’s so jealous that he has to
kill her as that was the only solution he could find. His jealousy is extreme
and this is vividly depicted in the opening 21 lines.
(213
words)
