Robert Browning came from a modest background that did not afford him a lot of luxuries. His father worked with the Bank of England. Robert lived primarily with his family until the age of 30. He attended the University of London for one year, but he was primarily self-educated. His father had a large library that held over 10,000 volumes. Browning read from this library and in particular he read the work of Elizabeth Barret. He wrote her fan letters in which he expressed his lover for her. She was six years his elder, but she arranged a meeting anyway. She was an heiress and cautious of Browning, but they eventually were eloped. He was in her shadow for a long time, and this bothered him.
Browning was known for his dramatic monologues. One such monologue was his My Last Duchess. In this he presents the Duke of Ferrara as the speaker who was giving a tour of his estate to a guest. The talkative Duke tells his guest more than he had originally intended to do. He lets him into the intimate story of a painting of his last duchess. He tells of her life and how she was so easily pleased. The monologue lets the reader feel like they are there with the Duke getting a first person insight into the life of the Duke. Browning was great at creating this intimate setting between the reader and the person giving the monologue.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Robert,
This post continues your tendency to rely on generalizations and summary of the introductory notes, rather than analyzing the author's writings and demonstrating your thoughts on the assignment.
i had a different take on the last duchess at first, yours was right and i liked it. Browning did make it feel like we were there
Post a Comment