Robert Browning

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Robert Browning

1812-1889

Today's goal

Get to know Robert Browning

Understand his poem "My Last Duchess"

Know the background of this poem. 

Improve note making + listening skills. 

Robert Browning

• wealthy and well-read parents
• taught himself Greek, French and Latin
• began writing poetry at a young age
• he was inspired by Shelley's poetry
• married Elizabeth Barrett, also a poet 
• her poetry was then far more popular than Robert's, but a few decades later completely forgotten. 
• Christian but not into preaching morals and ethics. 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and son Robert Wiedemann Barrett Browning, 1860

Characteristics of Browning's poetry: 

1. pleasure in observing people
2. optimism
3. human progress
4. individualims
5. rarely shows the poet's emotions
6. Italian Renaissance 

My Last Duchess is based on a true story!

bough

countenance

durst

forsooth

dowry

avowed

courtesy

Neptune

munificence

money paid to a man by his wife's family. 

indeed

branch

dare

said

face

politeness

Roman god of the sea

generosity

As used in lines 43-44, what does the word “stoop” mean?

1. to lower oneself
2. to instruct someone
3. to flirt with someone
4. to change one’s mind

Why does the Duke most likely point out his statue of “Neptune... Taming a sea-horse” to his visitor? (Lines 54-55)

1. to impress the Count’s servant with his ability to purchase expensive art
2. to emphasize the control he expects to exert over his second wife
3. to make himself appear sophisticated and well-educated
4. to distract from his accidental admission of wrongdoing

Which statement best summarizes the plot of the poem?

1. The Duke becomes so emotional looking at his last wife’s portrait that it is clear he is still grieving and not ready to marry again.
2. The Duke’s last wife offended his sense of self-importance with her friendliness to others, eventually resulting in her untimely death.
3. The Duke’s last wife was disloyal, so he meets with the Count’s servant in order to stress how important it is that his next wife be faithful to him.
4. The Duke’s last wife vanished under mysterious circumstances, so the Count takes extra precautions before approving the Duke’s marriage to his daughter.

03:00

What does the phrase “some officious fool” reveal about the Duke’s attitude towards his wife’s admirers? (Line 27)

1. He is amused by them.
2. He is unaware of them.
3. He is intimidated by them.
4. He is contemptuous of them.

03:14

What does the description of the last Duchess’ behavior in lines 25-31 reveal about her?

1. She was friendly and kind to everyone she met.
2. She kept a proper distance from people of lower rank.
3. She preferred other people’s company to her husband’s.
4. She purposely acted in a way that irritated her husband.

03:27

“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 anybody’s gift.”
What do these lines reveal about the way the Duchess’ behavior affected the Duke? (Lines 31-34)

1. His heart was broken because he realized that she loved another man.
2. His reputation was ruined because his court knew she was unfaithful.
3. His pride was wounded because she did not regard him as superior.
4. His love grew because he admired her kindness and generosity.

04:30

How does the enjambment between lines 47-48 affect the meaning of these lines?

1. It emphasizes the phrase “There she stands,” showing how the Duke is haunted by her memory.
2. It demonstrates the strained, jerky way the Duke speaks, showing readers how nervous he is.
3. It emphasizes the phrase “As if alive,” alerting readers to the Duchess’s death.
4. It allows the poet to maintain the rhythm and rhyme scheme of the poem.

05:00

What effect do lines 49-54 have on the mood of this poem?

1. They create a melancholy mood by reminding readers of the Duke’s lost love.
2. They create a hopeful mood by foreshadowing a new love for the lonely Duke.
3. They create an ominous mood by indicating that the murderous Duke seeks to marry again.
4. They create a celebratory mood by indicating that there may be a wedding in the near future.

Let's dig deeper! 

Make notes while you watch. 

Make sure you include: dramatic monologue, enjambment, iambic pentameter, metaphor and context. 

After the video, upload your notes. 

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What poetic device is used throughout the poem?

Assignments

Reader pages 9+10

assignment 1: 

pride

jealousy

cruelty

lines 33, 34

lines 21-24

line 47

lines 43, 44

Assignment 2: Why does the duke refer to his dead wife as 'Duchess' in line 1?

Assignment 3: The word 'now' in line 3 is separated from the rest of the sentence. What does this suggest?

Assignment 4: Why did the duke refer to the artist who painted the wall on purpose (by design)?

Assignment 5: what do lines 9+10 uncover?

1. The painting is not finished.
2. That the duke is the only person who is permitted to open the curtain which hides the painting.

Assignment 6a: What does the duke suggest in lines 15-19?

1. The blush on the duchess' face was caused by the artist's flirting.
2. The blush on the duchess' face was exaggerated in the painting.

Assignment 6b: With which word does he sum up these lines?

1. courtesy
2. spot
3. stuff
4. joy

stuff

This suggests that he considers it all nonsense, and that the duchess was a fool to listen to it.

Assignment 7: What does the duke say was his wife's main problem (lines 21-24)?

Assignment 8a: Which of these four things that pleased the Duchess was the most significant to the Duke?

1. the brooch
2. the sunset
3. the mule
4. branch of cherries

Assignment 8a: why does the duke thinks so?

Assignment 8B: Which lines express his frustration at this?

1. Lines 33-35
2. Line 47
3. Line 25
4. Lines 56,57

Assignment 9: How do we call a question to which the answer goes without saying?

Assignment 9: What is the answer?

Assignment 10: What contradiction appears in line 37?

Question 11 answer: 

Firstly, that he is not good at having such conversations. However, he also suggests that she would not be taught a lesson. And in the event that she were to give in and apologise to him, then he would still consider the whole matter shameful. He considers himself by far superior!

Assignment 12: What does the duke mean when he says 'this grew'?

1. He became aroused.
2. Her friendliness became too extreme.

Assignment 12B: What consequence did he draw as a result?

Assignment 13: What the duke's true intention? (lines 50-52)

1. He wants a male heir.
2. He wants a young wife.
3. He wants a large dowry.
4. He wants to get away with murder.

Assignment 14: Which typical Browning characteristic is apparant?

1. Pleasure in observing people.
2. optimism
3. individualims
4. human progress

Assignment 15: To what extent is My Last Duchess a product of the Victorian Age?

Assignment 16: which of the first ten lines of verse are run-on lines (or: enjambment)?

1. Lines 2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 6-7 and 8-9.
2. Lines 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7 and 9-10.
3. Lines 2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 6-7 and 9-10.
4. None of the lines contain run-on lines.

That's it :-)

Bye, bye!!