ENGL 1001H Chapter Notes - Chapter N/A: Forced Marriage, Dramatic Monologue, My Last Duchess
8 Mar 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
This poem is loosely based on historical events involving alfonso, the duke of ferrara, who lived in the 16th century. The duke is the speaker of the poem, and tells us he is entertaining an emissary who has come to negotiate the duke"s marriage (he has recently been widowed) to the daughter of another powerful family. As he shows the visitor through his palace, he stops before a portrait of the late duchess, apparently a young and lovely girl. The duke begins reminiscing about the portrait sessions, then about the. As the duke and the emissary walk leave the painting behind, the. Duke points out other notable artworks in his collection. The farmer"s bride is a description of a wife, narrated by her husband. The first two stanzas of the poem are written in the past tense, and the last four shift to the present tense to describe the present situation.
