Checking Out Me History vs My Last Duchess

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Checking Out Me History vs My Last Duchess

Similarities

  • Both poems portray the paranoia that comes with power.
  • Both reveal the reality and truth.
  • Agard wants the truth to be unvarnished and raw. Similarly, in My Last Duchess the Duke silences his wife when her actions transgress the bounds he believes are acceptable.
  • Both poems construct a narrative that only allow their voices to be heard

Differences

  • Agard complains over the power that the suppression of knowledge has over the present. Whereas, the Duke revels in his ability to manipulate and suppress knowledge to his own advantage.

Overall comparison

In My Last Duchess, the Duke attempts to construct his own narrative in an attempt to subsume the Duchess' true identity; we only know her anonymised title. This is much like in Checking Out Me History, as Agard is blinded to his identity due to the arrogance and abuse of power in society.

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