Formalist Criticism of My Last Duchess
My Last Duchess is probably the best example of the dramatic monologue, a poetical form that was invented and applied essentially by one of the foremost Victorian poets, Robert Browning. A dramatic monologue should certainly have a character who speaks to some particular person, mainly certain silent listener, in the manner of a dramatic speech and has to take place in specific physical setting like that of a drama.
The poem My Last Duchess definitely belongs to the dramatic monologue because it, at first, possesses three formal elements, such as an occasion, a speaker, and a hearer. Secondly, the message presented in it and all important words that had to be reported are heard by an expected auditor. The drama portrayed in this literary work, happened in Ferrara, the capital of one of Italian provinces that was renowned for its “high culture during the period of Renaissance” (Corson 56).
The story is based on true historical events concerning the Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara, who lived in the 16th century. After three years of marriage, he had killed his seventeen-year-old wife and soon after married another girl. The Duke is the main character and at the same time the speaker of the poem. He is negotiating with an envoy of Tyrol, of some other powerful family, whose daughter he is attempting to espouse. Showing guests his palace, the Duke halted before a portrait of the late Duchess, undoubtedly a young and charming girl. The rest of the poem is the Duke’s reminiscences about the portrait sessions and the life story of Duchess herself.
Though the poem may look like a simple small-talk at first sight, it was created with a purpose of displaying a story of heartburning, pride, suppression, depravity, murder and avidity for portion. The author was trying to demonstrate the broad gap between the so-called high culture and not correspondent level of personal behaviour, peculiar to the upper and the ruling classes of Renaissance Italy.
The true character of the Duke is exposed through his manner of speaking, so readers themselves have an opportunity to investigate the whole story behind his constant boasting. In spite of his skilful attempts to portray himself as powerful and sophisticated, the character tended to be a self-interested, haughty, materialistic and jingoistic man. He is definitely a representative of nobility and possesses “an old well-respected name” that could be assumed by the fact that he was once married to a Duchess (Fotheringham 34). Presenting the story of the portrait of his deceased wife, with all the details of the painter who created that magnificent work of art, the Duke intended to produce an impression of great art connoisseur on his visitors.
Lately, however, the Duke’s hidden motives came to light, revealing his jealous and possessive character. His last Duchess was notable for her rambling eye and generous smile to all their visitors and any other males. The Duke, though, was exceedingly indignant by those unreasonable actions and considered them as his wife’s sexual excitements towards other men. The Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara expected the Duchess’ looks to be reserved only for him and anyone else.
My Last Duchess, actually, depicted a society of corrupted, unfair and evil husbands who used to treat their wives badly and sneer at them all the time. The Duke here is a symbol of brutality and obsessed males, not just during the period of Italian Renaissance but in different societies of all times and places. Robert Browning succeeded in disclosing the very true character of the Duke and satirizing the entire culture of which he was a typical representative, in general.
The climax of the poem came when the Duke confessed to be guilty of the murder of his previous wife, the same Duchess portrayed on the wall. He cleared himself explaining that he did not wish to descend before his wife. It was completely useless to talk to her and explicate that she should not smile to other humans, could not be easily astonished by common people as well as trial things and had to behave in such a way that corresponded to the grand name of her husband.
Furthermore, the Duke was sure that his wife would not comprehend him, taking into account his lack of the skill of speech. Then one day the Duke simply gave instructions to put an end to all her smiles that in fact signified cruel commands to kill his own bellowed wife.
The most shocking and disgusting thing was not the murder itself but the way the Duke reacted to it. His careless nature together with the most indifferent and insensitive character of all times, completed his still spiteful and really malicious appearance. So, the Duke could be apprehended as the consummate collection of all ever existed fiendish qualities who demonstrated the misapplication of power and the extraordinary cases of oppression and world’s inequitably (Fotheringham 92).
The poem also contains some dramatic actions. At the beginning of his story the Duke, for example, asked a visitor to sit down and carefully observe the picture. Towards the end of the poem, however, the envoy was told to stand up and admire it silently.
When the Duke was abusing his own wife in all nasty things one could just thought of, the other man made an attempt to imperceptiblely leave the place. Nothing though, was able to pass through fixed look of the Duke. The guest was exhorted to wait a little bit and even that time was used by acquisitive character as a way of giving another piece of boasting. The end of the poem also confirmed the total viciousness of the main character. Instead of repenting over the terrible sin of murdering his own wife, the Duke continued to extol himself as a noble man and a prominent lover of art.
Robert Browning here made a great use of such stylistic device as irony. It lies not only in the fact that Duke did not, in reality, correspond to the image he has created about himself. It was more about his entire incomprehension of an unintentional telling the solemn truth of his crime. In the pursuit of proving his nobility and good name, the Duke involuntarily demonstrated his devil character. The author forced his protagonist to pull the mask off his face by simply allowing him to speak about things that interested him the most.
Moreover, the Duke’s controlling character is clearly showed in his conversation with a listener. Here the symbolism presented in the painting of the Duchess is closely connected with the symbolism in the sculpture of Neptune taming a sea-horse. Comparing himself to the sea god, Neptune, and his wife to “a tamed sea-horse”, the Duke consciously puts the Duchess under his absolute control (Tucker 101).
Thus, the sculpture also hinted at the same prevalent domination of the Duke Alfonso II of Ferrara over his future wife. He was not going to treat the woman appropriately that was heard from the way he referred to her as some sort of object and not an alive human being. The disdainful amiability of the ending clarified the Duke’s insanity and at the same time his frightful power.
My Last Duchess is thought to be unique for its masterly technique of dramatic disclosure of character. Thanks to the rough rhythms peculiar to the common language of conversation, the colloquial language and many other similar features, the poem seems even more realistic and unforgettable to all kinds of readers.
At first sight, the poem looks very condensed, elliptical and difficult to understand. However, after careful and assiduous reading, those with a “critical mind” will be able to discover the actuality behind the hidden story the Duke was introducing (Tucker 85).
Poems like that of Robert Browning deliberately capture its readers on a psychological level. The presentation of the story only through the Duke’s reflections and the complete lack of Duchess’ musings stimulate everybody to join the narration together by their own. Browning was striving to intrigue his readers and made them entirely attracted to the poem, so that they could come to the point of the matter by themselves.
According to a formalistic approach, a close reading of the text is very important to its accurate analysis. Formalists were hundred percents sure that all information required tor the perfect interpretation of a work could be discovered within the literary work itself.
That’s why there was not any necessity to make some further researches and search outside data. The historical background, for example, is not essential but could somehow facilitate reader’s quicker and better understanding of the poem. Finally, the formalist approach deprives readers of rather tedious and difficult procedure of looking up information about society of the time, the history and the facts of the author’s life, to efficiently analyze the literary work (Corson 21).
In conclusion, the true meaning of any text depends on readers’ interpretation of it. There are various ways in which My Last Duchess can be viewed and each of those views would find its true adherent or, on the contrary, obstinate opponent among different readers.
Works Cited
Corson, Hiram. An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning's Poetry, NY: Books for Libraries Press, 1970. Print.
Fotheringham, James. Studies in the Poetry of Robert Browning. London: Kegan, Paul, and Trench, 1887.
Tucker, F. Herbert, Jr. Browning's Beginnings: The Art of Disclosure. Minneapolis: U. Minnesota Press, 1980.
