Duke In My Last Duchess example essay topic

Consider The Presentation Of Evil Characters In Poetry: Shakespeares Richard, Robert Browning The three pieces of poetry I will be looking at, Shakespeares Richard, Robert Brownings My last Duchess and W.H. Auden's Victor share the same central relationship: the evilness and cruelty of their main characters. In most cases, this is fuelled by the character's jealousy, although all three appear respectable when taken at face value. Each piece of poetry differs in structure since they are from 3 different periods. Richard is about a 15th century nobleman who murders his way to the throne. We heard him speak in his soliloquy. The poetry is written in Blank verse with ten syllable unrhymed lines.

He expresses his thoughts out aloud. Richard is totally explicit at all times and does not try and hide his evil nature. My last Duchess deals with an evil 18th century Italian Aristocrat, who speaks in the form of a dramatic monologue with rhyming couplets. He speaks a servant about marrying his masters daughter. He reveals his character in an implicit way. Victor tells the story of a 20th Century man who turns psychopathic and murders his wife when he finds out about her past.

It is quite light-hearted and humorous. It is written in a form which reflects the traditional ballad in 4 line stanzas, with every second line rhyming. It has a prominent regular rhyme and also a very consistent rhythm. The Duke in My Last Duchess is shown as a formal, cold-hearted man who despised his late wifes joy in simple things. The duke speaks calmly throughout the poem, thus hiding his true nature. He wanted the Duchess respect though all he could see was her pleasure from all around her.

Even in then opening lines of My Last Duchess we begin to wonder what has happened to th duchess: Thats my last duchess painted on the wall Looking as if she were alive We can clearly see how the duke reveal his need to show his power and control, and that he is indeed unnaturally possessive, since he has the Duchess painting behind a curtain: The painting is behind a curtain for his pleasure only, for his eyes only, just as a wife should be. Now he has complete control. By controlling who is able to view the painting, the duke fulfils his need to exhibit his power: Since none puts by The curtain I have drawn for you, but The Duke describes how people are surprised by her seductive, passionate glance, and he gets very jealous when people admire the painting. The Duke goes on throughout the poem describing his wife in various attitudes. He describes the way she poses for the portrait and the reader can sense his jealousy over the way she is looking at the painter, Fr Pandolf. The Duke gives the impression that he thinks his wife was having an affair.

The Duke thought his wife should be for him and his pleasures only. He did not like it when Fr Pandolf, the artist who painted the portrait said: Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies along her throat". Even though the Duke despised his wife, he chooses his words carefully. He is very suggestive but does not let his guard down by giving any explicit information, and again, his jealousy shines through: She had A heart - how shall I say - too soon made glad, Too easily impressed; she liked whateer She looked on, and her looks went everywhere Since he is the Duke with the "nine-hundred-years-old name", he believes that he must be shown great respect and be the centre of attention. Therefore, he feels threatened by all the attention the duchess apparently received everywhere she went; such as from the artist Pandolf or the "officious fool" who brought her cherries.

It seems her presence drew others' attention away from the duke so that he did not have control of the situation. In this way the duchess seemed to possess a type of power which was unacceptable to the duke:" all and each Would draw from her alike the approving speech Or blush, at least". He not only feels betrayed that "she liked what " er / She looked on, and her looks went everywhere", but he also cannot tolerate that she seemed to treat everyone and every gift equally: She thanked men, - good! But thanked Somehow - I know not how - as if she ranked My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name With any bodys gift. The Duke reveals to the reader that he never discussed his jealousy or feelings with his wife.

He never told her about the things that he disliked about her, as he thought that this was stooping below his level: and I choose Never to stoop As one of his possessions, the duke's wife could never be treated as his equal The duke reveals himself as a very self-centred, arrogant, egotistical man, who preferred to remain distantly dissatisfied, rather than to try to remedy the situation and put his unease at rest. He was a distant man with a cold formality, disliking conversations. Even though she is now dead, the Duke likes to think that he still has control of his late wife by hiding her behind a curtain. He does this so that her glance doesnt attract another men. Or the fact that she smiled whenever he "passed her; but who passed without / Much the same smile" We assume the Duke orders the death of his wife, though he again hides the true meaning in his words. In the following quote, the duke seems more evil and threatening to the reader because suggesting what he did is more frightening than saying it.

He is very implicit: This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together. Indeed, he seems to be more of a woman collector in the way that he collects art, as he sets his sights on the daughter of the Count: Though his fair daughters self, as I avowed At starting, is my object This word object, while it means aim, also shows that the Duke wants to add this woman to his collection - almost like a piece of art. In the same breath, he draws his guests attention to his latest acquisition - a new bronze in the shape of Neptune, the mythical Roman god of the sea, taming a sea horse. This is also very suggestive, as the duke reveals he wants to be powerful like Neptune and his new wife to be the sea horse. Browning deliberately uses 3 very harsh k sounds in the last line. They bring out the cruelty in the Dukes character, and almost resembles large iron doors closing, as if they were trapping the new wife in with the Duke: Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

The fact that the last word is me is very significant as it re-enforces the Dukes egotism and self-cent redness. It is my opinion that Shakespeare wanted to reflect the medieval idea that an evil mind must dwell in an evil body, and he reflects Richards evilness very cleverly through his poetry. He uses a soliloquy because it is a great poetic device to reveal characters, as Richard speaks his thoughts out aloud to us. He is a man who seems devoid of feelings and he reveals himself immediately to the audience, so we soon find out he is ruthless and totally arrogant: And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain I that am curtailed of this fair proportion, Cheated of feature by dissembling nature The entire soliloquy is based on a series of contrast such as war and peace, softness and hardness and masculinity and femininity: Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this sun of York To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, He capers nimbly in a ladys chamber In the lines above Shakespeare has used harsh sounds to suggest the harshness and pain of war. Shakespeare uses alliteration to reinforce the meaning of these contrasting ideas, creating and evil and ruthless effect: In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.

Now are our brows bound with victorious wreaths Shakespeare uses the b sound to bring out the harshness by creating manly, muscular language. On the other hand the harsh b sounds are contrasted with soft feminine sounds using the letter l: to the lascivious pleasing of a lute. Shakespeare also uses Metaphors to bring out meaning: Grim-visaged war has smoothed his wrinkled front It is obvious that Richard enjoyed the harsh times and has contempt for peace and love: But I, that am not shaped for sportive tricks Nor made to court an amorous looking glass Why I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time. From these quotes and many more we appreciate the repetitious use of I; suggesting Richards self-obsession, which re-enforces his bitterness at his own deformity: Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time Into this breathing world, scarce half made up-Shakespeare uses many metaphors to describe Richards deformity: curtailed, rudely stamped, unfinished, cheated of feature, and sent before my time are just some of them. Richard reveals his barefaced evil character to the audience and uses contrasts between his evil and King Edwards noble character: Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous And if King Edward be as true and just As I am subtle, false and treacherous The last part of Richards Soliloquy reinforces his evil character, when he says as Clarence approaches him: Dive thoughts, down to my soul here Clarence comes! This line suggests that Richards soul is already in hell, by his use of down to my soul if we go by the typical belief that hell is below and heaven is above.

Richard is an excellent example of how Shakespeare uses alliteration, metaphors, and contrasts in Richards soliloquy to successfully bring out Richards evil character and his traits of selfishness and lust for power. Victor is a very modern poem, written as a parody of a traditional ballad. The main character Victor, is a young man who, like the Duke of Ferrara murders his wife after becoming insanely jealous in this darkly comic poem, however Victor is different in a very important way. Instead of painting a truly evil character like Shakespeare and Browning do, Auden provides a background which tries to explain the psychology behind Victors actions, this background being his childhood.

We do not see Victor as an outright evil character, but more as a victim of society and of his fathers religious indoctrination, and we almost feel sorry for him. As the poem opens, the narrator tells the story of Victor and we can immediately see he is brought up in a strict religious way and that his father had a strong influence on him when he becomes older: His father took a bible from his pocket and read Blessed are the pure in heart. climbed up into bed, took his bible and read Of what happened to Jezebel We can see throughout the start of the poem that Victor was over-protected and sheltered from life. This is apparent when he grows up and what people say about him: Victors a decent fellow but Hes too mousey to go far. Because of his bringing up, Victor is innocent of the world and very inexperienced with women. One day he meets a woman called Anna, a very experienced and glamorous blonde girl: Victor met her upon the stairs And fell in love with her. However when Victor finds out about her sexual past after marrying her, he cannot handle it and has a breakdown, becoming a psychopath.

In the end, everywhere he turns he can hear his fathers authoritative voice commanding him to kill his wife: He came to the allotments and the rubbish heap; And his tears came tumbling down Father, what shall I do And the river answered; Kill. I have really enjoyed all the pieces of poetry, but I specially enjoyed the evil character in My Last Duchess because of its ambiguity; it just makes you want to read it again and again. The Duke is a very threatening character and he sounds much more so by suggesting what he does than actually saying it.