Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess" is a splendid poem achieve within the format of the dramatic monologue, a poetic form in which there is only one speaker. Because there is only one speaker, we the reader must wonder carefully what the Duke is telling us, and we often have to read between the lines in order to keep an objective perspective on the what is happening in the poem. This paper will discuss how the use of the dramatic monologue makes the subject (the Duke) tell a story while, at the same time, unintentionally and ironically revealing unflattering characteristics about himself. Through diction and imagery Browning further reveals the character of the Duke.

The style and structure of this poem plays a significant role in the effect of the poem. "My Last Duchess" is written as a dramatic monologue: one speaker relates the entire poem as if...