I did a bit of research about Ferrara on Friday, and here's what I found.
The poem takes place during the Italian Renissance in the city of Ferrara (we can see this from the Duke's name). The second man in the poem is another Duke who's working to marry his daughter of to the Duke of Ferrara. They come to a picture of the old Duchess of Ferrara, and the Duke talks a bit about her. We found out that she was a flirt ("She thanked men, - good! but thanked Somehow - I know not how). He later alludes to the fact that he had her killed (This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped altogether.)
The grammatical structure, or lack there of, is called enjambment. Grammar does not end on one line - the sentence keeps going on to the next line. This gives the poem less of a sense of closure, which is what the poet wanted.
My question is whether or not the Duke of Ferrara is speaking allowed when he suggests he killed his wife. The obvios answer would be no - but the grammar seems to suggest otherwise. If you're trying to marry someone else's daughter, would you tell the father you killed your last wife? Unless its a show of masculinity - that the Duke of Ferrara is in charge of the household no matter what? The latter of these two I don't really beleive.
A good debate about feminism could be held here. Here's a girl who died for being a flirt, and another about to be "sold" into marriage by her father. Any thoughts, Kelsie?
2 comments:
Robert Browning explored the relationship between sex and violence once again in the dramatic monologue "Porphyria's Lover." This monologue, delivered by Porphyria's Lover, describes how Porphyria arrived at her lover's cottage late one rainy night. After caressing her lover and telling him how much she loved him, her lover states, "...at last I knew Porphyria worshiped me." He then strangles her with her own hair. After she is dead, he plays with her body: opening and closing her eyes, kissing her, and propping her up as if she were still alive. (So disturbing!)
Upon reading this poem, one notices the glaring similarity between "Porphyria's Lover" and "My Last Duchess": In both monologues, the male speaker kills his female lover. In the case of "My Last Duchess," the woman is killed because she does not show enough love or emotion toward her husband, whereas in "Porphyria's Lover," the woman is killed due to her display of affection toward her lover. I guess, as a woman, you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Hahahaha. Kelsie...these anti-feminist writers will never please you, will they?
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