Category: My Last Duchess

Ulysses is the protagonist in Ulysses while Duke is the narrator in the poem My Last Duchess. Even though there are outstanding differences in the setting of these two works, Ulysses and Duke, share some characteristics. At some point, they both have to deal with their cheating wives and this adds to the differences in their characters given the way they respond to the same. Nevertheless, they have more differences that the similarities they share.

Both Duke and Ulysses are proud. Duke posits that he would not stoop low whatsoever. He says, Howeverand if she let/ Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set/Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse/Een then would be some stooping; and I choose/ Never to stoop (Browning line 8-12).

The fact that Duke would never stoop depicts his pride. His pride comes with insensitivity that he shows his duchess. On the other hand, Ulysses pride comes out because of his self-exclusion from the social arena. He does not join the rest of his peers in social events like partying and due to his pride; he has no apologies to make. He just enjoys the physical world.

As aforementioned, the differences between these two characters outweigh their similarities. Whilst Duke rues her duchesses concerns about other people, Ulysses celebrates the fact that other men realize his wife. Duke says, as if she ranked /My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name/ With anybodys gift/ Whod stoop to blame/ This sort of trifling?(Browning line 14-18).

The fact that the duchess is concerned about other people irritates Duke. He cannot believe that his duchess does not appreciate his name, which has taken nine-hundred years to build. Ulysses on his part is least concerned about his wifes infidelity. He sees this as a sign of beauty that his wife possesses.

While Ulysses is loving and a pervert at the same time, Duke is domineering and the only thing that he concentrates on is complaining about how his duchess was timid and easily impressed. In episode four Ulysses prepares breakfast for his wife and offers to pick her some things from outside. However, Ulysses is a pervert. When he goes top pick kidney from butchery, he places his order quickly to follow a woman who has left before.

He wants to see her hips swing. On another occasion, he loses concentration whilst speaking to McCoy. He is concentrating on a sexy woman across the road; moreover, at some point, he masturbates and this brings out clearly his perverted personality. He even goes to church because by doing so he would be close to beautiful women.

On the other side, Duke is a commanding and probably unloving man. He says, Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt/ Wheneer I passed her; but who passed without/ Much the same smile? / This grew; I gave commands/ Then all smiles stopped together (Browning line 19-24). He only gave commands to his duchess and this stopped all smiles.

At this point, the reader gets a picture of an unhappy wife. If Duke loved his duchess, then he would not command her, killing her smiles. Duke is also selfish and he wants to control everything in his duchesses life. He does not want her to appreciate other people but him alone. This is selfishness.

Duke and Ulysses share few characteristics. They are proud. However, these two characters have numerous differences. While Ulysses loves her wife even after she cheats on him, Duke is always complaining about his wife. Even though the duchess was impressed by almost everything, it is selfish for duke to expect her to think about and appreciate him alone. Ulysses is a pervert and he does many things for the wrong reasons viz. going to church to meet beautiful women.

Works Cited

Browning, Roberts. My Last Duchess. In The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume E: The Victorian Age. Greenblatt, Stephen, Abrams, M., Christ, Carol, & Robson ,Catherine (Eds). New York; W. W. Norton & Company, 2005.

Introduction

The word of literature is entire in its shaping and significance for a reader. In this respect the deepest thoughts projected by an author can be caught and further evaluated for the purpose of gaining more aesthetic and life wisdom. The poetic literature provides suchlike line in the ideas due to not only the graphical implementation of text, but with the help of correct impressive means and stylistic devices. The poem by Robert Browning My Last Duchess and the poem by Sylvia Plath Daddy are analyzed in the paper with particular attitude to how the first person narration is reflected on each speakers psyche. Moreover, the comparative analysis is imposed for the purpose of making parallels between both poems in the details, setting, and features maintained. All in all, the discussion seeks to find out the peculiarities of both poems in their poetical and notional coloring.

Discussion

Comparison of both poems

First of all, one should understand that the ideas raised in the poems should not be comprehended in a direct way. The use of different stylistic devices which provide sub contextual effects of exaggeration and diminishing of definite feelings provided in both poems imparts additional expression on a reader. Hence, the poem by Sylvia Plath provides rather aggressive but realistic, quite pessimistic but true description of a girls father whom she adored, but who appeared for her inglorious and worthy death. In the Brownings poem My Last Duchess the main theme is patterned over the latest Duchess of Duke who confesses at the portrait of his dead wife that it is he who made her early demise. Notwithstanding, the Duke being the speaker in the poem continues pointing out other works of art in his collection and negotiates about supposed marriage with the emissary. Themes in both poems are full of chilly and inhumane feelings of the speakers. This is seen on the examples of their quite strict and lack of merciful attitude remarks about the object of their cordial discussion.

Sylvia Plath and Daddy

The first person narration in both poems designates the personal feelings of speakers and correlates their inner struggle with the life obstacles which were obvious and rather equivocal. The voice of a girl in Plaths poem and the voice of a man in Brownings one dramatize the plots and the setting of both. In this respect one should bear in mind the reality of what is discussed in the poems. In fact, these are the true stories of historical events apparent for different epochs. In My Last Duchess the poem shows the events of the approximately 16^th century. In relation to Plaths poem, the events point out the twentieth century in time when the fascist chimera fell down on the mankind in the world and in Europe, particularly. The moral ideals are almost trite in the soul coloring of both speakers. The morality seems to play no significant role in their lives. Moreover, the prescription of their disappointment is indicated in a straightforward manner. Hence, in Daddy the following lines evaluate the whole attitudinal character of the speaker:

Daddy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time
Marble-heavy, a bag full of God,
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal (Plath para. 2)

Here the dominance of negative attitude performs the initial behavior of the speaker. In fact, the author chose the most convenient stylistic transformation when provided the first person narration. Otherwise, the expressive effect could not be achieved and implemented. There is also some feature of ironic relation between the title and the content of the poem. This contrasts the idea of an honorable attitude toward parents and promotes more information on what was done by them. From the first side, a lot of cruelty is dampened by the rational, though, too sincere estimation of what had appeared in life of the daddy before.

Robert Browning and My Last Duchess.

Browning, on the other hand, is apt to characterize the background of the speaker in terms of sincere feelings of him as well. Though, the ignorant and rather outrageous attitude of the speaker toward his former and, unfortunately, dead wife is concerned with her allegedly unfaithfulness and disregard of the nobility of the Dukes name:

Or blush, at least. She thanked men,good! but thanked
SomehowI know not howas if she ranked
My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name
With anybodys gift. Whod stoop to blame
This sort of trifling? Even had you skill (Browning para. 1)

Thereupon, the egoistic and inhumane behavior of the Duke was the result of such trouble with a Duchess, as I think. Furthermore, the confession of his does not seem so cordial and sincere, but as an attempt to justify personal position in this very situation. The author describes such negative traits of character in the speaker and places it on the foreground of the poem, so that a reader could do own assumptions and assertions about him.

Conclusion

To conclude, the poems by Robert Browning My Last Duchess and by Sylvia Plath Daddy can be compared in their themes and ideas. However, the intentional coloring along with the relation to various events makes these poems different.

Works cited

Browning, Robert. My Last Duchess. Web.

Plath, Sylvia. Daddy. Ariel, 1966. Web.

Robert Browning drew his inspiration from the suspicious death of the seventeen-year-old duchess of Ferrara within three years of her marriage. Through the poem My Last Duchess, the poet deeply explores the mind of such powerful dukes of the Victorian era and the dark aspects of life, especially for women living in those days. Women were objects to men and disposable to the desire of their husbands (Martens 215). The duke in the poem wants to control his wifes aspects, including feelings. Edgar Allan Poe created the poem The Raven to exemplify peoples emotional battles during grief. The narrative is given in the first person to emphasize individual struggles experienced when battling loss and grief. My Last Duchess and The Raven are two different poems in the Victorian ages voice, form, style, and features. Regarding the differences between the poems, My Last Duchess is better than The Raven in readability and the use of poetical devices.

The two poems take distinct forms to express the writers ideas or messages. Brownings My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue because a single person speaks the poems words. The duke talks about his last duchess while another person listens to him. The dramatic aspect emanates from the second persons presence, who should be the recipient of the words that the readers hear. Poes The Raven takes the form of a ballad as the writer narrates a story about an evening following the loss of a loved one named Lenore. There are 18 stanzas in the poem, each carrying six lines. Poe utilizes the first-person narration to allow the reader to follow through the emotional progression of the speaker. Although these differences exist, The Raven is also dramatic since it uses trochaic octameter, which is considered a dramatic form of a meter. Therefore, My Last Duchess is a monologue, while The Raven is a narrative, but both poems are dramatic.

The voice and tone are different in Browning and Poes poems. My Last Duchess has a vulgar, cold, arrogant, and insensitive voice and tone. The duchess, through his words and actions, appears as controlling, brutal, and selfish. He wants his wife, the duchess, to exist only for him and hold his gifts in high esteem. For instance, he complains that his last duchess smiled pleasantly when he passed by but also gave similar smiles to everyone else (Browning 1). The voice of The Raven is despondent, dark, sorrowful, and melancholic. The speaker is grieving the loss of Lenore, his love, when a raven appears, and the only word it says to him is nevermore (Poe 2). The poets choice of words creates the despondent atmosphere, including grim, bleak, ghastly, and haunted (Poe 1-2). Browning and Poes poems are distinctively different in their voices.

The structures of My Last Duchess and The Raven are also discrete. Browning employed rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter style and enjambment on the lines. The lines have five sets with unstressed and stressed beats following each other. For example, the last line of the poem is an iambic pentameter. In addition to the ballad, first-person narrative, and distinct trochaic octameter structure of The Raven, it contains a consistent ABCBBB rhyme pattern. Poe likewise uses many words that have a similar ending, such as nevermore, ore, and Lenore. He also repeats the same word at the end of several lines, a style called epistrophe. Therefore, Brownings My Last Duchess and Poes The Raven have clear structural differences.

Browning and Poes poems share some literary devices, including alliteration and caesura. The former refers to the use of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words, while the latter describes pauses within lines. Browning mostly employed dashes in his caesurae; examples include A hearthow shall I say? too soon made glad//In speechwhich I have notto make your will (Browning 2). These pauses make the poem more conversational than poetic, making it more appealing to readers. Poe uses various punctuation styles to introduce pause, such as While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping//Eagerly I wished the morrow;vainly I had sought to borrow (Poe 1). In these lines, the first uses commas while the second employs a dash and a semi-colon. These literary devices helped the poets to express their desired ideas to the readers.

The view of women and their position also changed from the Romantic to the Victorian age, as portrayed through the poems. The former era treated women conventionally, but the latter questioned their role in society. Such a change explains why Browning composed My Last Duchess to challenge husbands widespread objectification of women. The approach of portraying the duke as brutal, arrogant, and controlling allows society to have conversations around such a subject and create a way for change. Additionally, Brownings poem is an example of how reality was infused into art and literature during the Victorian era (Armstrong 118). Although there were different values in the Romantic and Victorian ages, some of them continued into the later era.

My Last Duchess and The Raven were created during the Victorian era. Poetry in the Victorian and Romantic eras differs in several aspects. Nevertheless, poets in both periods used formal structures, rhymes, meters, and patterns. They also had male-dominated societies and used art to question religion while developing new ideas about it. Key differences appeared in the source of influence, language, concentration or focus, and themes. Some romantic values such as death and grief continued into the Victorian era. For instance, in We Are Seven, a romantic era poem, Wordsworth explores how children deal with grief better than adults do. Similarly, Poes The Raven shows how an adult is overcome by the loss of a loved one.

These two poems express a difference, showing that the Victorian era embraced reality more than the Romantic age. Poe questions the idea of reuniting with the dead in heaven when he questions the Raven (2). The response of nevermore leads to despair as the narrator feels that such a reunion does not exist. In addition, Victorian poetry does not only center on the poets attitude but also includes another person, while Romantic poems focus on the authors idea (Armstrong 227). For example, the raven in Poes poem helps the speaker understand his loss.

While it is difficult to choose between the two poems, My Last Duchess is better than The Raven in a few ways. Browning incorporates various literary devices to make the poem readable and conversational, giving readers better appeal than Poes The Raven. For instance, enjambment gives Brownings poem a faster pace and a natural voice. In addition, My Last Duchess employs a simpler English language than Poes poem, allowing most ordinary readers to understand it.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Isobel. Victorian Poetry: Poetry, Poetics and Politics. 2^nd ed., Routledge, 2019.

Browning, Robert. My Last Duchess and Other Poems. Courier Corporation, 1993.

Martens, Britta. Browning, Victorian Poetics and the Romantic Legacy: Challenging the Personal Voice. Routledge, 2016.

Poe, Edgar Allan. The Raven: (1845). Trade Binders Local, 1998. Web.

Abstract

This research paper presents a literary analysis of the poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. The poem itself represents a separate story but it is only after its detailed analysis that one can realize its expressiveness and the whole essence.

Introduction

The poem was written in 1841 and is a monologue of the duke of Ferrara in Italy whose wife died in 1561. The overall impression the poem produces is positive though the desire of the writer to separate the speaker from himself makes it a little confusing. The dramatic monologue of the duke, and especially his manner of presenting the events, makes it possible for the reader to find out some facts from his life. Imparting his story with the presumed listeners the duke lets them decipher the meaning of what he is saying in his intricate expressions and word-combinations. Some readers keep to the point that numerous literary devices used in the poem make it very complicated to comprehend whereas others state that they make the dukes speech even more expressive. There is a need to analyze literary devices the author of the poem uses to convey its meaning in order to find out their significance for this piece of writing.

Key points

The first four words of the poem can be used as key words for comprehending it as a whole. Thats helps the reader understand that the style of the poem is conversational. My tells the reader about the dukes possession and that it was namely his duchess he is going to tell about. Last suggests that this woman was not the first wife of dukes which forms a certain idea about him and helps the reader acquire the first impression about the character. And finally, Duchess presupposes that already reading this first line the reader must imagine what the duchess is supposed to look like and then compare this image to what will be described further.

Speaker and Tone

It can be noticed that the speaker of My Last Duchess is addressing another person and lets the reader watch this conversation. By removing himself as the center of attention, the poet allows us to replace him (Joseph A. Dupras 3) and to view the presented story from the perspective of observers. The speakers tone gives the reader the impression of an arrogant person who treats his property rather selfishly; the tone makes it clear that the speaker did not like his wifes flirting with other man and shows what it led to Wheneer I passed her; but who passed without/Much the same smile? / This grew; I gave commands; /Then all smiles stopped together (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21).

Stylistic Devices

Metaphors

The poem displays a frequent use of stylistic devices which make it more colorful and help the speaker express his emotion. Therefore, a number of simple cognitive metaphors is used: spot of joy which can be observed in lines fourteen and fifteen in order to turn attention to the beauty of the duchesss cheeks which blushed easily; depth and passion of its earnest glance (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) is used to show that the painting indeed resembled the original and emphasizes the beauty of the duchess; a heart [&] too soon made glad, to easily impressed (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) shows the duchess naivety and frivolity; then all smiles stopped together (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21) is used by the author to show the abrupt change of the state of affairs.

Irony

The irony can be observed in dukes describing the painting using personification and pointing at its depth and passion which clearly contradicts what he in fact says about the actual person. Another irony is realized in the lines where the duke speaks of his having no speech skills when indeed before that he was talking very eloquently and in rhymes. This is deliberately used by him in order to conceal his arrogance and selfishness. And, eventually, Browning uses a dramatic irony which completely reflects the callousness of the dukes character when he is calling the girl my object which shows that he is treating her as another possession of his.

Other Stylistic Devices

As for other stylistic devices in the poem, simile can be observed in the line Looking as if she were alive (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) which both lets the reader know that the duchess is already dead and shows that the painting was performed by a talented artist. Parenthesis in lines nine and ten is another reminding of a selfish character of the duke who is pointing out that it is only his permission that lets to draw the curtains.

Other Characteristics

Ultimately, it should be mentioned that the poem is written in AABB rhyme scheme and its syntax has a loose and relaxed manner. The emotional climax is achieved by the line Then all the smiles stopped (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21) when the overall tone of the poem is changing from enthusiastic description of beauty to a sad and serious telling about dukes ordering to murder his wife.

Conclusion

Taken into consideration everything mentioned above it can be stated that numerous literary devices the author uses in the poem make it even more comprehensive and facilitates understanding of the concealed ideas. Literary devices make the poem bright and fresh and if they were absent, the poem would miss emotional coloring and expressiveness.

Works Cited

Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly, Joel Spector. Robert Browning: Robert Browning. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2003

Dupras, Joseph A. Brownings My Last Duchess: Paragon and Parergon. Papers on Language & Literature 32.1(1996): 3 Questia. 2009. Web.

Abstract

This research paper presents a literary analysis of the poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. The poem itself represents a separate story but it is only after its detailed analysis that one can realize its expressiveness and the whole essence.

Introduction

The poem was written in 1841 and is a monologue of the duke of Ferrara in Italy whose wife died in 1561. The overall impression the poem produces is positive though the desire of the writer to separate the speaker from himself makes it a little confusing. The dramatic monologue of the duke, and especially his manner of presenting the events, makes it possible for the reader to find out some facts from his life. Imparting his story with the presumed listeners the duke lets them decipher the meaning of what he is saying in his intricate expressions and word-combinations. Some readers keep to the point that numerous literary devices used in the poem make it very complicated to comprehend whereas others state that they make the dukes speech even more expressive. There is a need to analyze literary devices the author of the poem uses to convey its meaning in order to find out their significance for this piece of writing.

Key points

The first four words of the poem can be used as key words for comprehending it as a whole. Thats helps the reader understand that the style of the poem is conversational. My tells the reader about the dukes possession and that it was namely his duchess he is going to tell about. Last suggests that this woman was not the first wife of dukes which forms a certain idea about him and helps the reader acquire the first impression about the character. And finally, Duchess presupposes that already reading this first line the reader must imagine what the duchess is supposed to look like and then compare this image to what will be described further.

Speaker and Tone

It can be noticed that the speaker of My Last Duchess is addressing another person and lets the reader watch this conversation. By removing himself as the center of attention, the poet allows us to replace him (Joseph A. Dupras 3) and to view the presented story from the perspective of observers. The speakers tone gives the reader the impression of an arrogant person who treats his property rather selfishly; the tone makes it clear that the speaker did not like his wifes flirting with other man and shows what it led to Wheneer I passed her; but who passed without/Much the same smile? / This grew; I gave commands; /Then all smiles stopped together (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21).

Stylistic Devices

Metaphors

The poem displays a frequent use of stylistic devices which make it more colorful and help the speaker express his emotion. Therefore, a number of simple cognitive metaphors is used: spot of joy which can be observed in lines fourteen and fifteen in order to turn attention to the beauty of the duchesss cheeks which blushed easily; depth and passion of its earnest glance (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) is used to show that the painting indeed resembled the original and emphasizes the beauty of the duchess; a heart [&] too soon made glad, to easily impressed (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) shows the duchess naivety and frivolity; then all smiles stopped together (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21) is used by the author to show the abrupt change of the state of affairs.

Irony

The irony can be observed in dukes describing the painting using personification and pointing at its depth and passion which clearly contradicts what he in fact says about the actual person. Another irony is realized in the lines where the duke speaks of his having no speech skills when indeed before that he was talking very eloquently and in rhymes. This is deliberately used by him in order to conceal his arrogance and selfishness. And, eventually, Browning uses a dramatic irony which completely reflects the callousness of the dukes character when he is calling the girl my object which shows that he is treating her as another possession of his.

Other Stylistic Devices

As for other stylistic devices in the poem, simile can be observed in the line Looking as if she were alive (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 20) which both lets the reader know that the duchess is already dead and shows that the painting was performed by a talented artist. Parenthesis in lines nine and ten is another reminding of a selfish character of the duke who is pointing out that it is only his permission that lets to draw the curtains.

Other Characteristics

Ultimately, it should be mentioned that the poem is written in AABB rhyme scheme and its syntax has a loose and relaxed manner. The emotional climax is achieved by the line Then all the smiles stopped (Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly and Joel Spector 21) when the overall tone of the poem is changing from enthusiastic description of beauty to a sad and serious telling about dukes ordering to murder his wife.

Conclusion

Taken into consideration everything mentioned above it can be stated that numerous literary devices the author uses in the poem make it even more comprehensive and facilitates understanding of the concealed ideas. Literary devices make the poem bright and fresh and if they were absent, the poem would miss emotional coloring and expressiveness.

Works Cited

Robert Browning, Eileen Gillooly, Joel Spector. Robert Browning: Robert Browning. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2003

Dupras, Joseph A. Brownings My Last Duchess: Paragon and Parergon. Papers on Language & Literature 32.1(1996): 3 Questia. 2009. Web.

In the world of poetry, John Keats and Robert Browning have remarkable contributions through their work. Though they belong to different literary era and have variety in their beliefs, writings, both of them have flourished the English literature with their individuality. In addition, “Ode” and “My last” are remarkable works of the respective poets, which showcases their mastery of writing.

So, in this paper, the following discussions will explore the works of Keats and Brownings by analyzing two of their poems “Ode “ and “My Last Duchess” through their writing styles and structures. It will also show how their visions are portrayed in their poems with reflection of their literary eras. Along with that, the differences in their beliefs reflected in their works will also be focused.

John Keats is an English poet of the Romantic era. In his short life of 25 years, he had a remarkable career through his wonderful writings like any other great poet. At first, he did not get recognition for his great writings. However, by the end of the 19th century, he was one of the most beloved poets of his era. He had published only fifty-four poems. Despite having short life span, he explored and masterly used wide range of poetic forms. Ode was one of his finest creations. Ode is one form of lyric poetry for praising something, through which the poet can express his emotions with sensual imagery. In addition, some of his notable works include “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”, “Ode to a Nightingale”, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”and “Sleep and Poetry”.

Robert Browning was English poet and playwright of Victorian era. From the beginning, he was interested in poetry. In the teenage, romantic poets like Shelly and Lord Byron inspired him towards poetry. He was renowned for dramatic monologue, the form he mastered and made his writings unique. Dramatic monologue is a kind of poetry which is written in the form of speech or narrative by an imagined person and the speaker unintentionally reveals traits of their character while explaining a specific situation. “My last duchess” is one of his best works to showcase his mastery of dramatic monologue. Along with this, some of his other remarkable works are- “The Ring and the Book”, “Rabbi Ben Ezra”, “The Pied Piper of Hameline”, “A Tale”. Among these, The children’s poem “The Pied Piper of Hameline” of 1842 was the one for which he was famous but he did not value it enormously. Along with this, “The Ring and the Book” was his another masterpiece.

As a part of an era which is considered as triumph of emotions, he wonderfully portrayed his feelings through his writings. The depiction of natural imagery in his poetry also reflects the literary era he belongs to. In his writings, the idea of imagination is present which leads readers into an imaginary world, contradictory to the real world. In many of his poems, the idea of death, time are also present. On the contrary, Robert Browning is more focused on social issues. Dark humor is another component of his writings. Through his writings, he showed how the patriarchal society was dominating towards women. They had no way of expressing their feelings. They only needed to follow what they are told to do. In his writing, he presented more realistic ideas than the Romantic poets. Hence, the shift of ideas was evident from the romantic, nature related writing towards a more realistic one.

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” is one of the finest creations of John Keats, written in 1819. Shackford in her paper titled “The ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’” stated that “The Ode on a Grecian Urn is the culmination of Keats’s interest in form and is also the most positive expression of his belief in the communicative, the ministering powers of beauty”(7). It was the third of the five great odes of his. It is also believed that the odes- Psyche, Nightingale, Grecian Urn, Melancholy and Autumn are sequentially written. In this ode, the speaker addresses the Grecian urn as “unravish’d bride of quietness”, “foster-child of silence and slow time”. He also personifies the urn as “historian” who can tell tales. There is also reference of arts which are frozen in the urn’s body. The different arts frozen in urn’s body leads the speaker into the world of imagination. It continues throughout the poem. Later on, in the final stanza the speaker says to the urn when his generation will be dead, the urn will be there through the lines:

“When old age shall this generation waste,

Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe”

After that, the speaker urges to the urn to pass the message to the world that beauty lies in truth and that is all the urn knows and needs to know, through the last two lines:

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

“My Last Duchess” is one of the popular writings of Robert Browning. It was written in 1842 and appeared in Dramatic Lyrics which is contained in Bells and Pomegranates. The reason behind this poem being Brownings popular one is that this poem is remarkable example of Browning’s dramatic monologue. The plot of the poem moves around the duke and his dominance. Through this poem Browning shows how the patriarchal society used to dominate females. In this poem, the duke is the speaker of the poem. At the very beginning of the poem, he is showing his palace and his art collection to a guest and he is interested to marry that person’s daughter. Then, he shows him the portrait of his last duchess, his late wife who a lovely, young girl. Monteiro in his paper titled “Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess’” stated that “The gesture implicit in the first line directs us toward the revealed portrait of the last Duchess, but an earlier moment in the performance has come with the withdrawing of the curtain before the painting, for the speaker soon insists, “none puts by/ The curtain I have drawn for you, but I.”(235). He talks about the portrait and the duchess. Here, the aggressive, controlling nature of the duke can be detected by these lines:

“But to myself they turned (since none puts by

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)”

These lines shows as if he does not even want that no one other than him could see her wife. It can also be interpreted as if it is he who will decide before whom his wife will appear or not. It will be his decision with whom she can talk or not. There is no need for anything of her choice or opinion. This shows the typical picture of women in the Victorian era. Women did not have anything to say, they were suppose to just follow what they are told to do. By continuing, he talks about her (duchess) nature. Apparently, it seems like the duchess was a person having low moral values, who used to talk, laugh, flirt with anyone through the lines:

“Sir, ‘twas not

Her husband’s presence only, called that spot

Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek;”

These lines shows that the duke was not ready to accept that his wife could smile or stay happy with anyone else. She should be only smiling with her husband. He emphasizes “her husband’s presence”(14) shows the desire of domination which duke wanted to have over the duchess. Later on, through his continuation of monologue, it can be assured that he was the one who was responsible for the premature death of the duchess. It was his commands through which she is today only a portrait with ultimate silence. It can be referred to these lines:

“I gave commands;

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands

As if alive.”

Later on, the duke proceeds with the guest to show him his other arts in his collection.

However, for comparing Keats and Browning’s works, the most visible difference is in the structure of their poems. For example, in the “ode” of Keats there is difference in rhyme scheme in some stanzas. On the other hand, Browning’s “My last” is perfectly rhymed.

Keat’s “ode” consists of 5 stanzas, each with ten lines. It is written in iambic pentameter, which means each line consisting 10 syllables. For the perfect iambic pentameter line 8 can be chosen-

What men | or gods | are these? | What mai- | dens loth?

Line 17 also shows the same pattern-

Bold lo- |ver ne-| ver ,ne- | ver canst | thou kiss

The rhyme scheme of this poem is not perfect. The first four lines of each stanza are the same and that is ABAB. However, the later lines changes in different stanzas. In the first stanza, the later six lines are rhymed as CDEDCE. It is different with the second stanza. In the second stanza, the rhyme scheme of later six are as CDECED. The third and fourth stanza has the same rhyme scheme, and that is CDECDE. The last stanza is rhymed as CDEDCE, just like the first stanza.

Browning’s “My last” clearly shows there is no stanzas, rather consists of one long stream of couplets with 56 lines. This lack of distinct stanzas may indicate the duke’s self-obsession. The whole poem is with only his lines, that ended up not having any stanza break as he did not pass the floor to the person with whom he was talking. In addition, in this poem the presence of both open and closed couplets are visible. There is open couplets as there is lack of punctuation at the end of the line. In this poem, open couplets are more than closed ones. There is also use of enjambment in this poem, since sentence goes to the next line and not necessarily end at the end of the line. Second line of the poem shows enjambment-

Looking as if she were alive. I call

The sentence does not end at the end of the sentence, it ended before and the next sentence continued to be the next line. So, it is an example of enjambment.

This poem is written in iambic pentameter which means there will be ten syllables each line. Those syllables will be an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. Through the last line of the poem, it can be shown-

Which Claus | of Inns- | bruck cast | in bronze | for me!

In this line, there are ten syllables. This pattern is broken in the second line of the poem-

Looking | as if | she were | alive | I call

Here, the word “Looking” is a trochee. A trochee is metrical pattern in poems where there will a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. Same type of break in pattern can be noticed in line 43-

Never | to stoop. | Oh, sir, | she smiled, | no doubt,

Line 55 shows the same-

Taming | a sea- | horse, thought | a rar | ity,

This poem is written in rhyming couplets. The rhyme scheme of this poem is AABBCCDD. It remains the same throughout the whole poem.

By analyzing the two poems, In the “ode”, the way in which Keats portrays the exploration of the idea that art can go beyond time and reality, made the poem significant. Human beings are mortals. Every living creature of this world, have to leave this earth at one point. However, the beauty of any art, any message frozen in arts can escape the inevitability of death. All of these are interpreted through imagination, which is deceiving human beings. It shows the notion of eternity which is contradictory with reality. Everything is imagined here which reflects the literary era in which Keats belongs to, the Romantic era. On the other hand, through the poem “My last duchess”, Browning showed how the male dominated society subjugated women. The way the duke treated the duchess exactly shows the domination of the patriarchal society. It is also reflecting the current scenario of our society. The duchess had to die just because he could not fit into the criteria of the duke, as if her life’s worth is just nothing. It also reflects the cruel scenario of women of the Victorian age. It is also related with our country or Asian subcontinent as well. He also tried to portray the strict social codes of society for women. These ideas of his writings reflects the period in which Browning belongs to, that is the Victorian era.

To sum up, As Keats and Browning belong to different literary era, their beliefs, writing subjects, themes, structures are very different from each other. Keats in his writings uses imagination, nature, time, death. On the contrary, Browning’s poems are of social issues, dark humour, irony, challenging vocabulary. Their writing styles are also different, where Keats works with ode, Browning mastery on dramatic monologue. At last, though there are many differences in keat’s and Browning’s works, both of them remarkably contributed for enriching English literature.

Works cited

1. Keats, John. “Ode on a Grecian Urn.” The Journal of Museum Education, vol. 25, no. 1/2, 2000, pp. 20–20. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40479175.
2. Browning, Robert. “My Last Duchess by Robert Browning.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43768/my-last-duchess.
3. Monteiro, George. “Browning’s ‘My Last Duchess.’” Victorian Poetry, vol. 1, no. 3, 1963, pp. 235. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40001200.
4. Shackford, Martha Hale. “The ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn.’” Keats-Shelley Journal, vol. 4, 1955, pp. 7. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30212521.

Poets, during the 19th century, emphasized passion and emotion in their poetry based on experiences that they had faced during their lifetime. The three poems in this essay will show or represent an experience that each poet had experienced. A mixture of jealousy; confliction; and regret, the poems “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman, and “Ulysses” by Lord Tennyson-Alfred explored the theme of loss through character analysis and the use of different poetic techniques.

In, “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, the Duke of Ferrara is showing a portrait of his late wife to an envoy of a Count. He speaks of her “improper” ways; such as her glances towards others and her possible affection towards other men. He also speaks of how the late duchess did not appreciate the, “gift” (Browning line 33) the Duke had given her. The gift was his nine-hundred-year-old name. Towards the end of the poem, the Duke reveals that he had his late wife murdered by saying, “I gave commands; / Then all smiles stopped together”, (Browning 45-46), and then joins with the Count to discuss the agreement of his new marriage with the Count’s daughter. Browning, in this poem, displayed the Duke as a monster or villain. The Duke’s character expresses his feelings of anger and hatred towards his late wife but uses false humility to keep his charms alive. The poet used the Duke’s character to convey the idea of loss with his jealousy and demand for control. For example, the Duke shows jealousy when he says, “A heart-how shall I say?- too soon made glad, / Too easily impressed…and her looks went everywhere” (Browning 22-23). This quote provides the idea that the Duke was jealous of his wife’s glances towards others that were not him and that she was impressed too easily by others. The jealousy represented in this quote drove his anger to new heights. Another example of jealousy in the poem is, “as if she ranked / My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name / With anybody’s gift” (Browning 32-34). From this quote, the reader is able to understand that the Duke feels like his wife did not accept his lineage name and she did not deserve it. The Duke’s monstrous side became enraged because his tone, during this part of the poem, showed his fury and anger the most. He is basically saying that she did not accept his name as a “good” wife. After his outburst towards the envoy, he realizes that his anger was beginning to show and uses false humility to try to keep his charm alive. Even though jealousy was one of many characteristics of the Duke, his main characteristic was his demand for control. Browning showed control between himself and the late Duchess and between him and the envoy. In the quote, “since none puts by / The curtain I have drawn for you, but I”, (Browning 9-10), the Duke says that nobody but him has the power to display this painting. Since the painting is in his home and he owns the painting, he is the only one who can control who sees it. The control over his wife is displayed throughout the entire poem because the Duke is controlling the story of his late Duchess and her death, making her seem like she had committed unspeakable sins and that she was not a respectful wife. The loss in this poem is more of “good riddance” rather than a mournful farewell. The character analysis of the Duke showed that he was glad his wife was dead because she was not at his beck-and-call like wives during the Romanticism era should have been. In opposite of this poem, the next poem focuses more on a tearful goodbye.

The next poem that uses a theme of loss is, “O Captain! My Captain” by Walt Whitman. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker shows his relief that the “ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won, /The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting” (Whitman 2-3). This means that the ship (war) has returned home to port (ended) and the people are cheering for its return. Even though everyone is celebrating this triumph, the speaker reveals that his captain’s body is lying, “on the deck” (Whitman 7), and has, “Fallen cold and dead” (Whitman 8). As the poem continues, the speaker wishes that the Captain to rise up and see that their uphill battle has been won. The speaker repeats the phrase, ‘For you” (Whitman 10-12) because he is telling his Captain that this achievement was all his doing and that this is his celebration. In the last stanza, the speaker is contrasting his feelings of mourning the death of his captain and the celebration of their triumphs. Whitman wrote this poem shortly after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, who the poet admired most. He experienced a great loss in his life and he wanted a way to memorialize the great President. One poetic technique that the poet used is that the entire poem is an extended metaphor to commemorate Lincoln’s life and his work. The Captain in the poem is Lincoln and the ship represents the nation following the Civil War. The “object won” (Whitman 20) represents the salvaged union. The speakers feeling towards the end of the poem embraces America’s confusion at the end of the Civil War. Another poetic device that was used was repetition. Whitman repeats the word “heart” (Whitman line 5) and the phrase “Fallen cold and dead” (Whitman lines 8, 16, 24), to show his grief and deep loss. The last poetic technique that Whitman uses to emphasize loss is anaphora. The lines that define this technique the most are “My Captain does not answer… / My father does not feel my arm” (Whitman lines 17 and 18). The poetic techniques Whitman used highlighted the theme of loss in a more mournful aspect than the first poem.

The final poem that explores loss is “Ulysses” by Lord Alfred Tennyson. The loss in this poem is not like the other losses that have been examined in this essay. The speaker of this poem is experiencing a loss of adventure and excitement in his life. The poem begins with the speaker complaining that he is “idle” (Tennyson 1) and that his “aged” (Tennyson 3) wife is as boring as the life he is living. The speaker continues by saying that he does not want to stop his travels because he, “has suffered greatly, both with those / That loved me, and alone; on shore…[and] the dim sea” (Tennyson 9-11). In the second part of the poem, the speaker is revealing the differences between him and his son. The main difference that he noticed is how his son was made for the political life of being a ruler rather the adventure part of it. The last part of the poem focuses on Ulysses addressing his “[hearty] mariners” (Tennyson 45). The poetic techniques in this poem emphasize the loss of years in life, or growing old. For example, when Ulysses says, “this still hearth” (Tennyson 2), he is using symbolism for the stillness or dullness of his old age. Another example of the poetic technique used is, “There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail; / There gloom the dark, broad seas.” (Tennyson 44-45). This quote uses imagery to portray Ulysses reminiscing about his time at sea. One final poetic technique Tennyson used was personification. For example, “For always roaming with a hungry heart” (Tennyson 12) shows Ulysses’ desire and hunger for adventure. The poetic techniques in the poem emphasize the speaker’s loss of adventure. In conclusion, each poet showed a theme of loss in their poem with the help of character analysis and poetic techniques. Browning used the Duke’s character analysis of jealousy and demand for control to show that the loss of his wife meant nothing to him; while Whitman and Tennyson used poetic techniques to represent the loss of something of value to them, like the loss of an admired patriot and the loss of youthful years.

Robert browning was an English poet that wrote many poems which were known for their irony, characterisation and historical settings. Robert Browning’s illustrates distinctive ideas through his characters of the dangers of socially acceptable behaviours of the Victorian era. He depicts his characters as psychotic, self-centred, yet madly in love to express the morals towards the obsession he portrays as love. The Laboratory and My last Duchess display a variety of these themes, they also have their own distinctive ideas. Both of these poems explore the aspect of murder and the motivations behind it, however they have distinct ideas at the heart of the poems which make them all unique.

Writers like Robert Browning explore shocking, challenging yet, distinctive ideas that reveal to the modern viewers the way that women were controlled by men or were in the control of men during the Victorian era. However in Browning’s ‘The Laboratory’ Robert transforms the tale of one were it is a lady’s nasty plot to kill her romantic rival. Browning based his text off a real-life figure, a French woman named Madame de Brinvilliers, a psychotic ex-lover who under any circumstances wants her lover back.I found it very hard to believe yet intriguing that a human could plan in such a cold and calculating way. In Browning’s dramatic monologue ‘The Laboratory’ the themes related to the texts are jealousy and revenge. This is wisely implanted throughout the poem by giving the viewers the disturbing mindset of the female persona who is planning to murder her romantic rival. In stanza two, we are shown the woman’s jealousy in the quote, “He is with her; and they know I know where they are.” From this quote we learn that the speaker once again discloses her paranoia and jealousy as she is overthinking about the couple being together, which can also suggest that her partner cheated on her. Repetition is frequently used throughout the poem, especially when it was displayed through the quote “While they laugh, laugh at me”. This quote informs the readers that the protagonist is clearly upset at the fact that her rival is spending time with her true love. We can also detect a hint of suspicion in the tone of her voice; which may hint that she is emotionally distraught. The theme of power is shown through the use of onomatopoeia and alliteration when the speaker says “Empty church, to pray God in, for them!—I am here. Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste, Pound at thy powder,—I am not in haste!”. This shows the audience how the speaker is in power and now is taking control over the poison to kill her ex-lover’s new love interest. Therefore, we can effectively tell that Robert Browning hs used distinctive ideas in his text.

Furthermore, another extraordinary poem done by Robert Browning “My Last Duchess” displays much of the same yet distant distinctive ideas. In Browning’s dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” the themes of power and jealousy are at the heart of the poem by showing the viewers a glimpse into the disturbed male point of view/ persona, were The Duke is shown to control the Duchess. Robert uses a variety of techniques like symbolism in the text were the Duke says. “Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity.” through the use of symbolism Robert is able to compare a woman to a seahorse to emphasize his point on how women should be under the control of men. Otherwise they would end up acting wrongfully which leads to unwanted consequences. This displays the power he liked to hold over the Duchess. Another effective technique Browning uses is accumulation. This technique is shown when the duke vocalises “Easily impressed: She liked whatever She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.” Duke jealousy is interpreted to start increasing overall because she shows attention to everything except him. The choice of wording reveals that she is easily impressed by anyone and anything. This type of jealousy is found in toxic romantic situations. It is clear that her ruined their relationship due to his jealousy and insecurity. Hence, this shows that Robert Browning uses distinctive ideas in his work.

Both poems are of contemporary relevance, as people today are still fascinated by murder, mystery and tales of unrequited love. It is very obvious that the poems were written in the 16th-century though, as some of the language is no longer in use today. Robert Browning’s use of distinctive ideas through the use of two effective and significant themes power and jealousy. He additionally uses literary techniques such as onomatopoeia, symbolism, repetition and alliteration to make a colossal impact on the readers. Both of these extraordinary texts were written during the 16th-century, in the Victorian era related to the socially acceptable behaviours by society.

In the poem ‘my last duchess’ Browning concentrates on how humans can abuse their power. In the poem, The Duke is annoyed because he feels his wife was ‘two easily impressed’ and that her ‘looks went everywhere,’. throughout the poem Browning implies that the Duke couldn’t stand the way the Duchess treated him the same as everyone else, showing the audience that he thought he was superior to everybody else just from his power. the Dukes anger levels increase throughout the poem as he battles to control his wife, this is shown by the author using enjambment over several lines which suggests that the duke is getting carried away with his anger. The duke craved power and control over his wife and when he couldn’t have it he ‘gave commands; then all smiles stopped together’ although this line is very vague it leads the reader to believe that the Duke had his wife killed, this line has a evil tone. even after her death, The Duke still felt the need to have power over his wife, one way he does this is not letting anyone see the picture of her that he had, this is shown when he says ‘no one puts by the curtain I have drawn for you, but I’. this shows that the cheek saw his wife as just another one of his possessions and he controls her now she’s dead as he couldn’t when she was alive

Similarly, ‘ozymandias’ also explores human power and the power nature has over humas. the poem describes a statue in a desert of a King who ruled the past society. his face is proud with a ‘sneer of cold command’ . However, this oxymoron tells us that this statue is now a ‘colossal wreck’ with a ‘shattered visage’. this is ironic because even a powerful human can’t control the damaging effects of time and nature. the ruined statue implies that human achievements are insignificant compared to the passing of time. the ruined statue can also be a symbol for the temporary power of human achievement. Shelley’s Use of irony reflects his hatred and his belief that it is possible to overturn social order. ultimately nature has ruined the statue showing us that nature and time have more power than humans could ever have. the last line ‘the lone and level sands far away.’ empathises the insignificance of ozymandias and the significance of nature as it will last longer than any of us ever will.

The poem ‘my last Duchess’ is written with rhyming couplets which helps to create a rigid form that indicates how the Duke controls the poem just like he controls the death of his wife. how regular the rhyme scheme is, is also showing us the Dukes stubborn character. the rigid rhyme scheme also gives no space for change or questioning. in the poem the Duke is having a conversation with a visitor and how the poem is written gives the impression that the Duke is having a conversation and gives it a chatty tone.

On the other hand, ‘ozymandias’ is a sonnet but does not follow the regular sonnet rhyme scheme. this reflects the way human power can easily be destroyed. this is also shown throughout the poem as it is often interrupted which reflects how human power can easily be destroyed. the poems contrast as ‘ozymandiua’ shows us how human power can be taken away from you at any time due to the significance of nature and how nature is more powerful than any human could ever be. Similarly in ‘ my last duchess’ it shown that’s power cannot get you through everything and make you better then everybody else as his wife still treated him the same as everybody else, which he couldn’t stand, because he believed he should be treated better done everybody else just because of his power. both poems show the audience that’s power cannot control everything.

In the Victorian age women are fully helpless. They depend on men for their social security, sex and marriage. That’s why marriage is the most significant point in a woman’s life at this age. And women were dominated by their sexuality and were expected to fall silently into the social mold that was crafted by men. Though women were regarded as flimsy, sensitive and dutiful.

In the poem ‘My Last Duchess Robert Browning nicely portrayed that kind of social picture. The dominant person of this is duke Ferra. At the beginning of the poem we can see he portrays his dead wife’ painting that hangs on the wall. And he describes the listener without any emotions. That expresses the Victorian characteristics of men. However, then the duke complained about his last duchess that she treated all people, even servants, the same as she treated the duke. But this made the duke mad and jealous. And then the duke stopped all similes together.

‘ She smiled, no doubt, whenever I passed her, but who passed without, Much the same smile? ‘

This gree, I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together ‘

The duchess has no fault but she faces the ultimate date because of the power of the duke. In the Victorian era this was the harsh reality of society. The only flat the duchess has is that she was a kind-hearted woman. But if the duke properly talks to her I think he will manage her easily. But the duke didn’t do that because he was the decision maker and was all in all of the Victorian era. This age men create principles, and control society by their mind or intellectual strength. On the other hand women are oppressed since they were loyal to men.

Women are helpless, they need to live and the only thing to survive is get married. And the majority of women did not have the option not to marry, it was a simple necessity for survival in the Victorian era. Because society prevented women. Women are fully dependent on men. And that is why men easily dominate women. In this poem, Browning shows this kind of dominance by the description of the Last Duchess.

Basically through the characteristics of jaguar, Ted Hughes is trying to portray human nature in our society.

In the poem we can see apes, parrots, tigers, lions and the boa both are lifeless. They all are hopeless, they cannot think of their freedom. They do not want to escape from the cage. Some human beings are like this type of animal that we do not want to change. We do not have any consciousness about society. We all are busy with silly things.

But on the other hand in the poem the only creature jaguar is lively, he moves around the cage and he is hopeful and conscious about freedom. Generally, the movement of the jaguar Ted Hughes shows us that except those people like the parrot, tiger and boa some people are always lively, strong and hopeful of their freedom, their thoughts. And they never give up their hope. They cherished freedom, hopes are always in their heart like the jaguar. In the poem all people are ruched in the jaguar cage. Because he is the only creature that moves into the zoo. And people like to sew him. And this gives the real meaning of the poem. We human beings are individual from each other and somehow we can not live with the real meaning of life like the jaguar. Because the jaguar never loses his hope of freedom and he always keeps moving and by getting any change he takes it and gets out of the cage. We some people are like the jaguar that are different from others and think always differently and always look forward to some changes like the jaguar. Because of this poem, the jaguar makes the hope of freedom with his movement.