by Matt Dubois

Created on: February 27, 2007   Last Updated: May 10, 2007

In his poem, "My Last Duchess," Robert Browning establishes the character of its speaker indirectly but distinctly through conversation alone. Without relying on additional description of his person, the reader can draw conclusions not only as to the nature of the speaker, but also of all the other characters in the piece. Through the inferences the reader makes of the characters and their interactions, Browning conveys his perspective not only on the speaker, but also on all members of the upper stratum of society, and the abuse of their inherent power.

Browning heads the piece with a name: "Ferrara." This simple and succinct introduction would have spoken volumes to readers of Browning's time, though now has to be explained in a footnote. Through it, Browning leaves no uncertainty as to the identity of the person, or rather the archetypal individual, that he lambastes. Through his execration of the Duke of Ferrara, Italy, Alfonso II, Browning not only brings to the public eye the tyranny of that particular noble, but also castigates the aristocracy in its entirety.

The most immediately noticeable of the speaker's traits is the tone with which he speaks to the hypothetical listener character. It becomes readily apparent that the speaker is someone of considerable wealth and means as he describes to his companion a piece of artwork, and how it came into his possession:

"That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,
Looking as if she were alive. I call
That piece a wonder, now. Fr Pandolf's hands
Worked busily a day, and there she stands" (ll. 1-4).

The language employed by the speaker implies someone speaking with pride over a possession, in this case a piece of artwork, custom-made. He takes care to emphasize the fact that it was painted by Fr Pandolf, presumably a revered and talented artist, based on the speaker's eagerness to drop his name. However, the way in which the Duke blithely skims over the subject of the portrait, his "last duchess," betrays some aspects of his character. It implies to the reader both that he has had and lost a spouse, and that he does not seem particularly sentimental or aggrieved by said loss. He speaks in a cavalier, flippant manner that, within his first line of speech, reveals him to be vain and materialistic, and unconcerned with the loss of his previous duchess.

In describing the duchess, the Duke further reveals his scrofulous character by unwittingly contrasting it against her more admirable nature. Traits in the duchess

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