In “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the reader is introduced to the dramatic monologue. A dramatic monologue is a speech in the speaker unknowingly reveals his personality.

In this poem, the audience listens to a monologue of the Duke of Ferrara (who is soon getting married) in which he sees the portrait of his deceased Duchess and brings up her faults to an unknown envoy only know as “sir!” (l.54). Through the Duke’s ramblings, it is learned that he is a self-centered, materialistic, proud and chauvinistic man. He has a high rank in nobility (assumed because he was married to a “Duchess” (l.1) who is only allowed to marry other nobility) and an old well-respected name (l.33, “My gift of a nine hundred years old name”). Thus, he tries to portray himself as powerful and sophisticated. But his underlying motives are revealed and he is seen jealous and possessive.

The Duke was formerly married and this marriage ended tragically. His last Duchess had a wandering eye and a smile for everyone (l.24, “her looks were everywhere”). These actions tremendously infuriated the Duke because he perhaps believes that her “looks” should be reserved for him. He expresses this discontentment in line 44 where he states that “She smiled, no doubt, whene’er I passed her; but who passed without much the same smile?”. With this said an assumption can be made that the Duke of Ferrara enjoys the spotlight and is enraged when this attention is not focused solely on him. He feels that he should be the only one in his Duchess’s life to be able to invoke joy or any sort of emotion from her. But instead this is not the case and she “Would draw from her alike the approving speech, / Or blush at least…” (l.29), meaning she showed emotions such as delight in simple pleasures and common courtesy others.

With all these innocent little flirtations the deceased Duchess must have given, a rage would have been built within the Duke and then overflowed. And yet he could not talk to her about his feelings, “…Even had you skill in speech – (which I have not)…” (l.35). And even if he was able, he probably would not choose to because this would damage his ego even more. Throughout the poem the issue of the Duke’s attempts to dominate and control the late Duchess (with obedience—described as being “lessoned” by the Duke l.40) is present as demonstrated in the lines 39-42 “…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 stoop…”. When all his attempts to invoke obedience fail, he decides to use a different plan. A plan which involves giving “commands” (l.45) presumably by hiring somebody and then (paraphrase l.46: stopping all the smiles altogether) meaning the hired person most probably terminated the Duchesses’ life. With the matter-of-fact tone and selected word choice (such as “then” and “I repeat”) in lines 44 and 45, it can be said that things (the way he treats his Duchesses) will not be any different for the Duke. And that is the main purpose in showing the envoy the portrait. He even goes on to mention his disinterest in “dowry” (money) (l.51) he is making from this marriage, he only wants another young woman to be his “object” (l.53). To the Duke, women are not people but rather creatures such as “a sea horse” (l.55) to tame.

The Duke of Ferrara is a women-thirsty and power-hungry man. He knew what he wanted and if he did not get it, he took drastic measures to insure his success in further endeavors. In this second marriage, he will either be jilted or have complete success for the envoy will go back with the story of the portrait and the Count will either hide his daughter or give her away without any qualms. If he does get left at the altar though, it would not even bother the Duke. He would just have more time to play his game of hunter and the little prey.