Write about the ways Browning tells the story in 'My Last Duchess'.

'My Last Duchess' is written in the form of a first person narration, of an arrogant and callous Duke who tours an unknown guest around his gallery. The tone of the narration is aristocratic and detached. As the guest is shown the painting of the Duke's former Duchess, the narrator describes her through her interactions with others. The Duke seems to delight in imitating those who interacted with the Duchess, and suggests her infidelity and hints in a sinister manner, but not in certain terms, that he may have brought about her untimely end when 'all smiles stopped together.'
The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which gives it a dramatic tone and is appropriate to the subject matter. Browning makes heavy use of enjambment: the lines spill over as the Duke gets carried away in his performative narration. Similarly, Browning breaks the rhythm in the middle of lines, which gives the impression of the Duke resentfully spitting out descriptions of his jealous anger towards his former Duchess.

JP
Answered by James P. English Literature tutor

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