My Last Duchess

Frequent use of the possessive prounoun "my" is used by the speaker of the poem when referring to his last wife; showing the reader that he doesn't view as being her own person, rather an object that he owns. This ties in with the themes of control and status, as the speaker wishes to maintain full control over all of his assets (e.g. his wives) and views his status to be above all else. 

The opening line of the poem, "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall", demonstrates an immediate clarification of who is the leader of their relationship: the Duke clearly owns his wife.

Furthermore, when describing how she used to thank men, the speaker claims that she spoke "as if she ranked/ my gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name." This shows that although they are married, their relationship is not on equal terms at all; the Duke is the one with all the power, and when his wife acts as though she is of equal status to him, he finds it offensive.

Lastly, the final line of the poem, "Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!", shows the reader clearly that the speaker of the poem is extremely materialistic - although he begins his monologue speaking about his last wife, he can't help but show off throughout the conversation.

Despite the speaker of "My Last Duchess" seeming to be extremely self-assured, there are hints throughout the poem that he is actually incredibly insecure of his status; this ultimately leads to his ex-wife's death. 

Firstly, the use of parenthesis "(Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I)" emphasises his need to control his wife even in death, as though he is scared of other people being able to control her. 

When describing her, he explains "'twas not her husbands presence only called that spot of joy". Here, the spot of joy is imagery to describe blushing (which he percieves as her to be flirting). This shows clearly to the reader that he is nervous and insecure that she is flirting with other men, as he is worried of his own status to her. 

Furthermore, use of parenthesis again "Even had you skill in speech - (which I have not) -" emphasises clearly to the reader that despite his consistent assertion of power, the Duke is very insecure of his status. 

Lastly, the use of phrase "This grew" when describing his wife's antics personifies his insecurity into something that he cannot control.

Throughout the poem, there is a very clear theme of control (or lack thereof). There is a seperate card on the use of the possessive pronoun "my", which also feeds into this theme.

Firstly, Browning uses parenthesis "(Since none puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I)" to emphasise that even in death, he is the only one able to control who looks at her or not. 

Secondly, the metaphor of "My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name" shows clearly that the Duke must be the one will all the power in the relationship, and that he becomes threatened when she inadverterly takes power back. 

Another point to consider is that this whole poem is a conversation with someone - yet we only hear the Duke's voice. This shows that he is not only narcissistic, but also that he places his status and power above everyone in his life; not just women. 

The use of imagery at the end of the poem "Notice Neptune, though, Taming a sea-horse" is a clear image of power being exerted over an innocent, gentle animal, and thus reflects the Duke's controlling relationship with all of his wives.

Lastly, the Duke refers to his next wife as "my object"; showing that he owns her.

"My Last Duchess" by Browning is written in the form of a dramatic monologue - meaning that the reader is listening to only one side of a conversation between a Duke and an emissary. It is written in imabic pentameter, and strictly sticks to the meter.

The fact that we hear only only side of the conversation shows us that the Duke is very narcissistic and controlling, and that he has superior status to many people around him. 

The strict ABAB rhyme scheme (the poem consists of 28 heroic couplets e.g. rhyming couplets) further shows that the speaker of the poem is incredibly controlling, as even in speech he has great control.

Also, the maintained meter even in conversation shows the Duke's control.

However, the fact that the poem is one long stanza implies to the reader that the Duke actually loses control of his speech, and that he can't control how much he speaks and boasts.

Furthermore, the frequent use of emjambement shows a lack of control from the Duke, which could be the reason that he tries so very hard to control all of his assets.