Reflection: Lines 1-21 of My Last Duchess

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.

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