My Last Duchess - form and structure

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  • Created by: sky1234
  • Created on: 27-10-18 16:46
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  • My Last Duchess - Form and Structure
    • Structure
      • enjambment
        • suggests that he gets  carried away with his anger and passions. This creates a picture of somewhat unstable character, whose obsession with power is unsettling.
        • "she rode with round the terrace"- shows continuity of riding around terrace.
      • begging, middle, end:
        • The poem is framed by the visit to the Duke's gallery, but the Duke gets caught up in talking about the Duchess instead of just describing the art.
        • The poem builds towards a kind of confession, before the identity of the visitor is revealed, and the Duke moves on to talking about another artwork.
      • the caesura- "as if alive" enacts the death.
    • Form
      • The use of rhyme couplets: less conventional for long narratives- this makes his speech seem contrived(forced) and also very controlled, reflecting his power, over the visitor and the Duchess.
      • written in the form of a dramatic monologue- a poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker reveals aspects of their character while describing a particular situation or series of events.
        • dramatic monologue- allows audience/ reader to see how the use of power on the dukes part is correct and therefore how the power of the patriarchal society is incorrect(also allows us to see the dukes metal state crumbling)
      • written in blank verse-Reflects that the duke doesn't stop, he just releases his emotions without a thought for the envoy he is talking to. We as readers are overwhelmed by the immensity of the poem.
      • the poem is written in a dramatic monologue written in iambic pentameter. this reinforces the impression the dukes conversation with the visitor. the rhyming couplets creates a rigid form. this shows that the duke controls the poem just as he controlled his wife but the enjambment suggests that he is carried away with his anger and passion as he is angry because his wife is humiliating him.
      • one long stanza - holds all power(duke), also conveys a sense of never ending, like how he wants his power to be
      • short sentences
        • use of sentence length
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